cpython-lru_cache-weakref: Doc/tutorial/modules.rst annotate

annotate Doc/tutorial/modules.rst @ 48980:5fd39b84fc29 legacy-trunk

Issue #3726: Allowed spaces in separators in logging configuration files.

author	Vinay Sajip <vinay_sajip@yahoo.co.uk>
date	Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:20:05 +0000
parents	fb14ff057c09
children	ee9ced92843a

rev	line source
42603 c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	1 .. _tut-modules:
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	2
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	3 *******
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	4 Modules
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	5 *******
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	6
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	7 If you quit from the Python interpreter and enter it again, the definitions you
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	8 have made (functions and variables) are lost. Therefore, if you want to write a
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	9 somewhat longer program, you are better off using a text editor to prepare the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	10 input for the interpreter and running it with that file as input instead. This
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	11 is known as creating a script. As your program gets longer, you may want to
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	12 split it into several files for easier maintenance. You may also want to use a
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	13 handy function that you've written in several programs without copying its
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	14 definition into each program.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	15
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	16 To support this, Python has a way to put definitions in a file and use them in a
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	17 script or in an interactive instance of the interpreter. Such a file is called a
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	18 module; definitions from a module can be imported into other modules or into
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	19 the main module (the collection of variables that you have access to in a
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	20 script executed at the top level and in calculator mode).
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	21
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	22 A module is a file containing Python definitions and statements. The file name
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	23 is the module name with the suffix :file:`.py` appended. Within a module, the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	24 module's name (as a string) is available as the value of the global variable
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	25 ``__name__``. For instance, use your favorite text editor to create a file
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	26 called :file:`fibo.py` in the current directory with the following contents::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	27
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	28 # Fibonacci numbers module
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	29
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	30 def fib(n): # write Fibonacci series up to n
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	31 a, b = 0, 1
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	32 while b < n:
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	33 print b,
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	34 a, b = b, a+b
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	35
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	36 def fib2(n): # return Fibonacci series up to n
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	37 result = []
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	38 a, b = 0, 1
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	39 while b < n:
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	40 result.append(b)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	41 a, b = b, a+b
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	42 return result
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	43
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	44 Now enter the Python interpreter and import this module with the following
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	45 command::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	46
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	47 >>> import fibo
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	48
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	49 This does not enter the names of the functions defined in ``fibo`` directly in
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	50 the current symbol table; it only enters the module name ``fibo`` there. Using
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	51 the module name you can access the functions::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	52
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	53 >>> fibo.fib(1000)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	54 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	55 >>> fibo.fib2(100)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	56 [1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89]
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	57 >>> fibo.__name__
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	58 'fibo'
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	59
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	60 If you intend to use a function often you can assign it to a local name::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	61
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	62 >>> fib = fibo.fib
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	63 >>> fib(500)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	64 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	65
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	66
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	67 .. _tut-moremodules:
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	68
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	69 More on Modules
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	70 ===============
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	71
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	72 A module can contain executable statements as well as function definitions.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	73 These statements are intended to initialize the module. They are executed only
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	74 the first time the module is imported somewhere. [#]_
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	75
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	76 Each module has its own private symbol table, which is used as the global symbol
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	77 table by all functions defined in the module. Thus, the author of a module can
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	78 use global variables in the module without worrying about accidental clashes
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	79 with a user's global variables. On the other hand, if you know what you are
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	80 doing you can touch a module's global variables with the same notation used to
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	81 refer to its functions, ``modname.itemname``.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	82
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	83 Modules can import other modules. It is customary but not required to place all
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	84 :keyword:`import` statements at the beginning of a module (or script, for that
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	85 matter). The imported module names are placed in the importing module's global
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	86 symbol table.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	87
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	88 There is a variant of the :keyword:`import` statement that imports names from a
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	89 module directly into the importing module's symbol table. For example::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	90
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	91 >>> from fibo import fib, fib2
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	92 >>> fib(500)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	93 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	94
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	95 This does not introduce the module name from which the imports are taken in the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	96 local symbol table (so in the example, ``fibo`` is not defined).
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	97
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	98 There is even a variant to import all names that a module defines::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	99
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	100 >>> from fibo import *
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	101 >>> fib(500)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	102 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	103
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	104 This imports all names except those beginning with an underscore (``_``).
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	105
46786 ccc337b45b2e Add a note about using reload(). Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: 44383 diff changeset	106 .. note::
ccc337b45b2e Add a note about using reload(). Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: 44383 diff changeset	107
ccc337b45b2e Add a note about using reload(). Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: 44383 diff changeset	108 For efficiency reasons, each module is only imported once per interpreter
ccc337b45b2e Add a note about using reload(). Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: 44383 diff changeset	109 session. Therefore, if you change your modules, you must restart the
ccc337b45b2e Add a note about using reload(). Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: 44383 diff changeset	110 interpreter -- or, if it's just one module you want to test interactively,
46860 fb14ff057c09 reload() takes the module itself. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: 46786 diff changeset	111 use :func:`reload`, e.g. ``reload(modulename)``.
46786 ccc337b45b2e Add a note about using reload(). Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: 44383 diff changeset	112
42603 c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	113
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	114 .. _tut-modulesasscripts:
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	115
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	116 Executing modules as scripts
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	117 ----------------------------
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	118
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	119 When you run a Python module with ::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	120
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	121 python fibo.py <arguments>
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	122
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	123 the code in the module will be executed, just as if you imported it, but with
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	124 the ``__name__`` set to ``"__main__"``. That means that by adding this code at
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	125 the end of your module::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	126
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	127 if __name__ == "__main__":
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	128 import sys
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	129 fib(int(sys.argv[1]))
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	130
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	131 you can make the file usable as a script as well as an importable module,
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	132 because the code that parses the command line only runs if the module is
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	133 executed as the "main" file::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	134
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	135 $ python fibo.py 50
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	136 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	137
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	138 If the module is imported, the code is not run::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	139
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	140 >>> import fibo
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	141 >>>
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	142
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	143 This is often used either to provide a convenient user interface to a module, or
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	144 for testing purposes (running the module as a script executes a test suite).
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	145
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	146
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	147 .. _tut-searchpath:
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	148
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	149 The Module Search Path
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	150 ----------------------
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	151
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	152 .. index:: triple: module; search; path
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	153
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	154 When a module named :mod:`spam` is imported, the interpreter searches for a file
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	155 named :file:`spam.py` in the current directory, and then in the list of
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	156 directories specified by the environment variable :envvar:`PYTHONPATH`. This
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	157 has the same syntax as the shell variable :envvar:`PATH`, that is, a list of
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	158 directory names. When :envvar:`PYTHONPATH` is not set, or when the file is not
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	159 found there, the search continues in an installation-dependent default path; on
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	160 Unix, this is usually :file:`.:/usr/local/lib/python`.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	161
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	162 Actually, modules are searched in the list of directories given by the variable
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	163 ``sys.path`` which is initialized from the directory containing the input script
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	164 (or the current directory), :envvar:`PYTHONPATH` and the installation- dependent
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	165 default. This allows Python programs that know what they're doing to modify or
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	166 replace the module search path. Note that because the directory containing the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	167 script being run is on the search path, it is important that the script not have
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	168 the same name as a standard module, or Python will attempt to load the script as
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	169 a module when that module is imported. This will generally be an error. See
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	170 section :ref:`tut-standardmodules` for more information.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	171
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	172
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	173 "Compiled" Python files
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	174 -----------------------
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	175
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	176 As an important speed-up of the start-up time for short programs that use a lot
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	177 of standard modules, if a file called :file:`spam.pyc` exists in the directory
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	178 where :file:`spam.py` is found, this is assumed to contain an
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	179 already-"byte-compiled" version of the module :mod:`spam`. The modification time
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	180 of the version of :file:`spam.py` used to create :file:`spam.pyc` is recorded in
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	181 :file:`spam.pyc`, and the :file:`.pyc` file is ignored if these don't match.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	182
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	183 Normally, you don't need to do anything to create the :file:`spam.pyc` file.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	184 Whenever :file:`spam.py` is successfully compiled, an attempt is made to write
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	185 the compiled version to :file:`spam.pyc`. It is not an error if this attempt
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	186 fails; if for any reason the file is not written completely, the resulting
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	187 :file:`spam.pyc` file will be recognized as invalid and thus ignored later. The
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	188 contents of the :file:`spam.pyc` file are platform independent, so a Python
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	189 module directory can be shared by machines of different architectures.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	190
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	191 Some tips for experts:
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	192
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	193 * When the Python interpreter is invoked with the :option:`-O` flag, optimized
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	194 code is generated and stored in :file:`.pyo` files. The optimizer currently
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	195 doesn't help much; it only removes :keyword:`assert` statements. When
43627 faf5de69e977 Add :term:s for descriptors. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: 42603 diff changeset	196 :option:`-O` is used, all :term:`bytecode` is optimized; ``.pyc`` files are
faf5de69e977 Add :term:s for descriptors. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: 42603 diff changeset	197 ignored and ``.py`` files are compiled to optimized bytecode.
42603 c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	198
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	199 * Passing two :option:`-O` flags to the Python interpreter (:option:`-OO`) will
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	200 cause the bytecode compiler to perform optimizations that could in some rare
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	201 cases result in malfunctioning programs. Currently only ``__doc__`` strings are
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	202 removed from the bytecode, resulting in more compact :file:`.pyo` files. Since
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	203 some programs may rely on having these available, you should only use this
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	204 option if you know what you're doing.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	205
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	206 * A program doesn't run any faster when it is read from a :file:`.pyc` or
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	207 :file:`.pyo` file than when it is read from a :file:`.py` file; the only thing
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	208 that's faster about :file:`.pyc` or :file:`.pyo` files is the speed with which
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	209 they are loaded.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	210
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	211 * When a script is run by giving its name on the command line, the bytecode for
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	212 the script is never written to a :file:`.pyc` or :file:`.pyo` file. Thus, the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	213 startup time of a script may be reduced by moving most of its code to a module
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	214 and having a small bootstrap script that imports that module. It is also
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	215 possible to name a :file:`.pyc` or :file:`.pyo` file directly on the command
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	216 line.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	217
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	218 * It is possible to have a file called :file:`spam.pyc` (or :file:`spam.pyo`
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	219 when :option:`-O` is used) without a file :file:`spam.py` for the same module.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	220 This can be used to distribute a library of Python code in a form that is
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	221 moderately hard to reverse engineer.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	222
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	223 .. index:: module: compileall
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	224
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	225 * The module :mod:`compileall` can create :file:`.pyc` files (or :file:`.pyo`
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	226 files when :option:`-O` is used) for all modules in a directory.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	227
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	228
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	229 .. _tut-standardmodules:
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	230
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	231 Standard Modules
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	232 ================
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	233
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	234 .. index:: module: sys
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	235
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	236 Python comes with a library of standard modules, described in a separate
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	237 document, the Python Library Reference ("Library Reference" hereafter). Some
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	238 modules are built into the interpreter; these provide access to operations that
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	239 are not part of the core of the language but are nevertheless built in, either
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	240 for efficiency or to provide access to operating system primitives such as
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	241 system calls. The set of such modules is a configuration option which also
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	242 depends on the underlying platform For example, the :mod:`winreg` module is only
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	243 provided on Windows systems. One particular module deserves some attention:
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	244 :mod:`sys`, which is built into every Python interpreter. The variables
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	245 ``sys.ps1`` and ``sys.ps2`` define the strings used as primary and secondary
44383 3625234bf3d2 Some cleanup in the docs. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: 43627 diff changeset	246 prompts::
42603 c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	247
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	248 >>> import sys
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	249 >>> sys.ps1
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	250 '>>> '
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	251 >>> sys.ps2
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	252 '... '
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	253 >>> sys.ps1 = 'C> '
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	254 C> print 'Yuck!'
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	255 Yuck!
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	256 C>
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	257
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	258
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	259 These two variables are only defined if the interpreter is in interactive mode.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	260
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	261 The variable ``sys.path`` is a list of strings that determines the interpreter's
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	262 search path for modules. It is initialized to a default path taken from the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	263 environment variable :envvar:`PYTHONPATH`, or from a built-in default if
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	264 :envvar:`PYTHONPATH` is not set. You can modify it using standard list
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	265 operations::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	266
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	267 >>> import sys
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	268 >>> sys.path.append('/ufs/guido/lib/python')
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	269
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	270
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	271 .. _tut-dir:
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	272
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	273 The :func:`dir` Function
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	274 ========================
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	275
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	276 The built-in function :func:`dir` is used to find out which names a module
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	277 defines. It returns a sorted list of strings::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	278
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	279 >>> import fibo, sys
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	280 >>> dir(fibo)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	281 ['__name__', 'fib', 'fib2']
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	282 >>> dir(sys)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	283 ['__displayhook__', '__doc__', '__excepthook__', '__name__', '__stderr__',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	284 '__stdin__', '__stdout__', '_getframe', 'api_version', 'argv',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	285 'builtin_module_names', 'byteorder', 'callstats', 'copyright',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	286 'displayhook', 'exc_clear', 'exc_info', 'exc_type', 'excepthook',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	287 'exec_prefix', 'executable', 'exit', 'getdefaultencoding', 'getdlopenflags',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	288 'getrecursionlimit', 'getrefcount', 'hexversion', 'maxint', 'maxunicode',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	289 'meta_path', 'modules', 'path', 'path_hooks', 'path_importer_cache',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	290 'platform', 'prefix', 'ps1', 'ps2', 'setcheckinterval', 'setdlopenflags',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	291 'setprofile', 'setrecursionlimit', 'settrace', 'stderr', 'stdin', 'stdout',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	292 'version', 'version_info', 'warnoptions']
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	293
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	294 Without arguments, :func:`dir` lists the names you have defined currently::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	295
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	296 >>> a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	297 >>> import fibo
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	298 >>> fib = fibo.fib
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	299 >>> dir()
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	300 ['__builtins__', '__doc__', '__file__', '__name__', 'a', 'fib', 'fibo', 'sys']
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	301
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	302 Note that it lists all types of names: variables, modules, functions, etc.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	303
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	304 .. index:: module: __builtin__
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	305
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	306 :func:`dir` does not list the names of built-in functions and variables. If you
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	307 want a list of those, they are defined in the standard module
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	308 :mod:`__builtin__`::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	309
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	310 >>> import __builtin__
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	311 >>> dir(__builtin__)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	312 ['ArithmeticError', 'AssertionError', 'AttributeError', 'DeprecationWarning',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	313 'EOFError', 'Ellipsis', 'EnvironmentError', 'Exception', 'False',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	314 'FloatingPointError', 'FutureWarning', 'IOError', 'ImportError',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	315 'IndentationError', 'IndexError', 'KeyError', 'KeyboardInterrupt',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	316 'LookupError', 'MemoryError', 'NameError', 'None', 'NotImplemented',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	317 'NotImplementedError', 'OSError', 'OverflowError',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	318 'PendingDeprecationWarning', 'ReferenceError', 'RuntimeError',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	319 'RuntimeWarning', 'StandardError', 'StopIteration', 'SyntaxError',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	320 'SyntaxWarning', 'SystemError', 'SystemExit', 'TabError', 'True',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	321 'TypeError', 'UnboundLocalError', 'UnicodeDecodeError',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	322 'UnicodeEncodeError', 'UnicodeError', 'UnicodeTranslateError',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	323 'UserWarning', 'ValueError', 'Warning', 'WindowsError',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	324 'ZeroDivisionError', '_', '__debug__', '__doc__', '__import__',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	325 '__name__', 'abs', 'apply', 'basestring', 'bool', 'buffer',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	326 'callable', 'chr', 'classmethod', 'cmp', 'coerce', 'compile',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	327 'complex', 'copyright', 'credits', 'delattr', 'dict', 'dir', 'divmod',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	328 'enumerate', 'eval', 'execfile', 'exit', 'file', 'filter', 'float',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	329 'frozenset', 'getattr', 'globals', 'hasattr', 'hash', 'help', 'hex',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	330 'id', 'input', 'int', 'intern', 'isinstance', 'issubclass', 'iter',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	331 'len', 'license', 'list', 'locals', 'long', 'map', 'max', 'min',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	332 'object', 'oct', 'open', 'ord', 'pow', 'property', 'quit', 'range',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	333 'raw_input', 'reduce', 'reload', 'repr', 'reversed', 'round', 'set',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	334 'setattr', 'slice', 'sorted', 'staticmethod', 'str', 'sum', 'super',
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	335 'tuple', 'type', 'unichr', 'unicode', 'vars', 'xrange', 'zip']
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	336
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	337
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	338 .. _tut-packages:
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	339
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	340 Packages
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	341 ========
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	342
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	343 Packages are a way of structuring Python's module namespace by using "dotted
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	344 module names". For example, the module name :mod:`A.B` designates a submodule
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	345 named ``B`` in a package named ``A``. Just like the use of modules saves the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	346 authors of different modules from having to worry about each other's global
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	347 variable names, the use of dotted module names saves the authors of multi-module
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	348 packages like NumPy or the Python Imaging Library from having to worry about
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	349 each other's module names.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	350
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	351 Suppose you want to design a collection of modules (a "package") for the uniform
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	352 handling of sound files and sound data. There are many different sound file
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	353 formats (usually recognized by their extension, for example: :file:`.wav`,
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	354 :file:`.aiff`, :file:`.au`), so you may need to create and maintain a growing
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	355 collection of modules for the conversion between the various file formats.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	356 There are also many different operations you might want to perform on sound data
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	357 (such as mixing, adding echo, applying an equalizer function, creating an
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	358 artificial stereo effect), so in addition you will be writing a never-ending
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	359 stream of modules to perform these operations. Here's a possible structure for
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	360 your package (expressed in terms of a hierarchical filesystem)::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	361
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	362 sound/ Top-level package
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	363 __init__.py Initialize the sound package
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	364 formats/ Subpackage for file format conversions
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	365 __init__.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	366 wavread.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	367 wavwrite.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	368 aiffread.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	369 aiffwrite.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	370 auread.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	371 auwrite.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	372 ...
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	373 effects/ Subpackage for sound effects
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	374 __init__.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	375 echo.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	376 surround.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	377 reverse.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	378 ...
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	379 filters/ Subpackage for filters
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	380 __init__.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	381 equalizer.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	382 vocoder.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	383 karaoke.py
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	384 ...
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	385
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	386 When importing the package, Python searches through the directories on
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	387 ``sys.path`` looking for the package subdirectory.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	388
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	389 The :file:`__init__.py` files are required to make Python treat the directories
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	390 as containing packages; this is done to prevent directories with a common name,
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	391 such as ``string``, from unintentionally hiding valid modules that occur later
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	392 on the module search path. In the simplest case, :file:`__init__.py` can just be
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	393 an empty file, but it can also execute initialization code for the package or
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	394 set the ``__all__`` variable, described later.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	395
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	396 Users of the package can import individual modules from the package, for
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	397 example::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	398
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	399 import sound.effects.echo
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	400
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	401 This loads the submodule :mod:`sound.effects.echo`. It must be referenced with
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	402 its full name. ::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	403
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	404 sound.effects.echo.echofilter(input, output, delay=0.7, atten=4)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	405
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	406 An alternative way of importing the submodule is::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	407
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	408 from sound.effects import echo
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	409
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	410 This also loads the submodule :mod:`echo`, and makes it available without its
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	411 package prefix, so it can be used as follows::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	412
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	413 echo.echofilter(input, output, delay=0.7, atten=4)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	414
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	415 Yet another variation is to import the desired function or variable directly::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	416
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	417 from sound.effects.echo import echofilter
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	418
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	419 Again, this loads the submodule :mod:`echo`, but this makes its function
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	420 :func:`echofilter` directly available::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	421
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	422 echofilter(input, output, delay=0.7, atten=4)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	423
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	424 Note that when using ``from package import item``, the item can be either a
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	425 submodule (or subpackage) of the package, or some other name defined in the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	426 package, like a function, class or variable. The ``import`` statement first
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	427 tests whether the item is defined in the package; if not, it assumes it is a
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	428 module and attempts to load it. If it fails to find it, an :exc:`ImportError`
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	429 exception is raised.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	430
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	431 Contrarily, when using syntax like ``import item.subitem.subsubitem``, each item
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	432 except for the last must be a package; the last item can be a module or a
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	433 package but can't be a class or function or variable defined in the previous
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	434 item.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	435
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	436
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	437 .. _tut-pkg-import-star:
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	438
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	439 Importing \* From a Package
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	440 ---------------------------
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	441
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	442 .. index:: single: __all__
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	443
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	444 Now what happens when the user writes ``from sound.effects import *``? Ideally,
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	445 one would hope that this somehow goes out to the filesystem, finds which
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	446 submodules are present in the package, and imports them all. Unfortunately,
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	447 this operation does not work very well on Windows platforms, where the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	448 filesystem does not always have accurate information about the case of a
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	449 filename! On these platforms, there is no guaranteed way to know whether a file
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	450 :file:`ECHO.PY` should be imported as a module :mod:`echo`, :mod:`Echo` or
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	451 :mod:`ECHO`. (For example, Windows 95 has the annoying practice of showing all
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	452 file names with a capitalized first letter.) The DOS 8+3 filename restriction
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	453 adds another interesting problem for long module names.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	454
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	455 The only solution is for the package author to provide an explicit index of the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	456 package. The import statement uses the following convention: if a package's
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	457 :file:`__init__.py` code defines a list named ``__all__``, it is taken to be the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	458 list of module names that should be imported when ``from package import *`` is
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	459 encountered. It is up to the package author to keep this list up-to-date when a
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	460 new version of the package is released. Package authors may also decide not to
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	461 support it, if they don't see a use for importing \* from their package. For
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	462 example, the file :file:`sounds/effects/__init__.py` could contain the following
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	463 code::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	464
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	465 __all__ = ["echo", "surround", "reverse"]
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	466
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	467 This would mean that ``from sound.effects import *`` would import the three
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	468 named submodules of the :mod:`sound` package.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	469
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	470 If ``__all__`` is not defined, the statement ``from sound.effects import *``
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	471 does not import all submodules from the package :mod:`sound.effects` into the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	472 current namespace; it only ensures that the package :mod:`sound.effects` has
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	473 been imported (possibly running any initialization code in :file:`__init__.py`)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	474 and then imports whatever names are defined in the package. This includes any
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	475 names defined (and submodules explicitly loaded) by :file:`__init__.py`. It
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	476 also includes any submodules of the package that were explicitly loaded by
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	477 previous import statements. Consider this code::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	478
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	479 import sound.effects.echo
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	480 import sound.effects.surround
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	481 from sound.effects import *
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	482
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	483 In this example, the echo and surround modules are imported in the current
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	484 namespace because they are defined in the :mod:`sound.effects` package when the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	485 ``from...import`` statement is executed. (This also works when ``__all__`` is
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	486 defined.)
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	487
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	488 Note that in general the practice of importing ``*`` from a module or package is
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	489 frowned upon, since it often causes poorly readable code. However, it is okay to
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	490 use it to save typing in interactive sessions, and certain modules are designed
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	491 to export only names that follow certain patterns.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	492
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	493 Remember, there is nothing wrong with using ``from Package import
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	494 specific_submodule``! In fact, this is the recommended notation unless the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	495 importing module needs to use submodules with the same name from different
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	496 packages.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	497
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	498
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	499 Intra-package References
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	500 ------------------------
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	501
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	502 The submodules often need to refer to each other. For example, the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	503 :mod:`surround` module might use the :mod:`echo` module. In fact, such
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	504 references are so common that the :keyword:`import` statement first looks in the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	505 containing package before looking in the standard module search path. Thus, the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	506 :mod:`surround` module can simply use ``import echo`` or ``from echo import
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	507 echofilter``. If the imported module is not found in the current package (the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	508 package of which the current module is a submodule), the :keyword:`import`
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	509 statement looks for a top-level module with the given name.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	510
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	511 When packages are structured into subpackages (as with the :mod:`sound` package
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	512 in the example), you can use absolute imports to refer to submodules of siblings
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	513 packages. For example, if the module :mod:`sound.filters.vocoder` needs to use
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	514 the :mod:`echo` module in the :mod:`sound.effects` package, it can use ``from
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	515 sound.effects import echo``.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	516
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	517 Starting with Python 2.5, in addition to the implicit relative imports described
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	518 above, you can write explicit relative imports with the ``from module import
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	519 name`` form of import statement. These explicit relative imports use leading
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	520 dots to indicate the current and parent packages involved in the relative
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	521 import. From the :mod:`surround` module for example, you might use::
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	522
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	523 from . import echo
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	524 from .. import formats
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	525 from ..filters import equalizer
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	526
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	527 Note that both explicit and implicit relative imports are based on the name of
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	528 the current module. Since the name of the main module is always ``"__main__"``,
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	529 modules intended for use as the main module of a Python application should
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	530 always use absolute imports.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	531
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	532
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	533 Packages in Multiple Directories
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	534 --------------------------------
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	535
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	536 Packages support one more special attribute, :attr:`__path__`. This is
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	537 initialized to be a list containing the name of the directory holding the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	538 package's :file:`__init__.py` before the code in that file is executed. This
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	539 variable can be modified; doing so affects future searches for modules and
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	540 subpackages contained in the package.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	541
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	542 While this feature is not often needed, it can be used to extend the set of
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	543 modules found in a package.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	544
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	545
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	546 .. rubric:: Footnotes
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	547
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	548 .. [#] In fact function definitions are also 'statements' that are 'executed'; the
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	549 execution enters the function name in the module's global symbol table.
c62f6669ae22 Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place. Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> parents: diff changeset	550

Mercurial > cpython-lru_cache-weakref

annotate Doc/tutorial/modules.rst @ 48980:5fd39b84fc29 legacy-trunk