annotate Doc/tutorial/modules.rst @ 49961:e793fc3c8abe

More 3.0 -> 3.1 transistion in the Windows and OS/2 build files
author Christian Heimes <christian@cheimes.de>
date Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:27:25 +0000
parents 1635891b18e8
children 4229a4b14f1d
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1 .. _tut-modules:
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3 *******
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4 Modules
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5 *******
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6
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7 If you quit from the Python interpreter and enter it again, the definitions you
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8 have made (functions and variables) are lost. Therefore, if you want to write a
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9 somewhat longer program, you are better off using a text editor to prepare the
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10 input for the interpreter and running it with that file as input instead. This
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11 is known as creating a *script*. As your program gets longer, you may want to
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12 split it into several files for easier maintenance. You may also want to use a
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13 handy function that you've written in several programs without copying its
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14 definition into each program.
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15
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16 To support this, Python has a way to put definitions in a file and use them in a
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17 script or in an interactive instance of the interpreter. Such a file is called a
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18 *module*; definitions from a module can be *imported* into other modules or into
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19 the *main* module (the collection of variables that you have access to in a
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20 script executed at the top level and in calculator mode).
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21
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22 A module is a file containing Python definitions and statements. The file name
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23 is the module name with the suffix :file:`.py` appended. Within a module, the
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24 module's name (as a string) is available as the value of the global variable
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25 ``__name__``. For instance, use your favorite text editor to create a file
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26 called :file:`fibo.py` in the current directory with the following contents::
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27
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28 # Fibonacci numbers module
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29
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30 def fib(n): # write Fibonacci series up to n
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31 a, b = 0, 1
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32 while b < n:
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33 print(b, end=' ')
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34 a, b = b, a+b
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35 print()
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36
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37 def fib2(n): # return Fibonacci series up to n
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38 result = []
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39 a, b = 0, 1
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40 while b < n:
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41 result.append(b)
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42 a, b = b, a+b
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43 return result
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44
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45 Now enter the Python interpreter and import this module with the following
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46 command::
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47
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48 >>> import fibo
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49
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50 This does not enter the names of the functions defined in ``fibo`` directly in
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51 the current symbol table; it only enters the module name ``fibo`` there. Using
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52 the module name you can access the functions::
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53
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54 >>> fibo.fib(1000)
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55 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987
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56 >>> fibo.fib2(100)
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57 [1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89]
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58 >>> fibo.__name__
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59 'fibo'
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60
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61 If you intend to use a function often you can assign it to a local name::
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62
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63 >>> fib = fibo.fib
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64 >>> fib(500)
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65 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377
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66
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67
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68 .. _tut-moremodules:
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69
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70 More on Modules
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71 ===============
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72
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73 A module can contain executable statements as well as function definitions.
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74 These statements are intended to initialize the module. They are executed only
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75 the *first* time the module is imported somewhere. [#]_
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76
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77 Each module has its own private symbol table, which is used as the global symbol
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78 table by all functions defined in the module. Thus, the author of a module can
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79 use global variables in the module without worrying about accidental clashes
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80 with a user's global variables. On the other hand, if you know what you are
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81 doing you can touch a module's global variables with the same notation used to
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82 refer to its functions, ``modname.itemname``.
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83
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84 Modules can import other modules. It is customary but not required to place all
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85 :keyword:`import` statements at the beginning of a module (or script, for that
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86 matter). The imported module names are placed in the importing module's global
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87 symbol table.
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88
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89 There is a variant of the :keyword:`import` statement that imports names from a
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90 module directly into the importing module's symbol table. For example::
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91
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92 >>> from fibo import fib, fib2
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93 >>> fib(500)
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94 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377
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95
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96 This does not introduce the module name from which the imports are taken in the
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97 local symbol table (so in the example, ``fibo`` is not defined).
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98
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99 There is even a variant to import all names that a module defines::
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100
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101 >>> from fibo import *
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102 >>> fib(500)
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103 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377
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104
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105 This imports all names except those beginning with an underscore (``_``).
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106 In most cases Python programmers do not use this facility since it introduces
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107 an unknown set of names into the interpreter, possibly hiding some things
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108 you have already defined.
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109
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110 .. note::
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111
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112 For efficiency reasons, each module is only imported once per interpreter
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113 session. Therefore, if you change your modules, you must restart the
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114 interpreter -- or, if it's just one module you want to test interactively,
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115 use :func:`reload`, e.g. ``reload(modulename)``.
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116
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117
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118 .. _tut-modulesasscripts:
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119
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120 Executing modules as scripts
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121 ----------------------------
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122
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123 When you run a Python module with ::
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124
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125 python fibo.py <arguments>
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126
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127 the code in the module will be executed, just as if you imported it, but with
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128 the ``__name__`` set to ``"__main__"``. That means that by adding this code at
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129 the end of your module::
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130
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131 if __name__ == "__main__":
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132 import sys
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133 fib(int(sys.argv[1]))
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134
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135 you can make the file usable as a script as well as an importable module,
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136 because the code that parses the command line only runs if the module is
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137 executed as the "main" file::
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138
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139 $ python fibo.py 50
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140 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34
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141
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142 If the module is imported, the code is not run::
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143
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144 >>> import fibo
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145 >>>
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146
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147 This is often used either to provide a convenient user interface to a module, or
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148 for testing purposes (running the module as a script executes a test suite).
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149
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150
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151 .. _tut-searchpath:
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152
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153 The Module Search Path
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154 ----------------------
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155
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156 .. index:: triple: module; search; path
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157
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158 When a module named :mod:`spam` is imported, the interpreter searches for a file
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159 named :file:`spam.py` in the current directory, and then in the list of
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160 directories specified by the environment variable :envvar:`PYTHONPATH`. This
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161 has the same syntax as the shell variable :envvar:`PATH`, that is, a list of
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162 directory names. When :envvar:`PYTHONPATH` is not set, or when the file is not
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163 found there, the search continues in an installation-dependent default path; on
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164 Unix, this is usually :file:`.:/usr/local/lib/python`.
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165
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166 Actually, modules are searched in the list of directories given by the variable
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167 ``sys.path`` which is initialized from the directory containing the input script
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168 (or the current directory), :envvar:`PYTHONPATH` and the installation- dependent
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169 default. This allows Python programs that know what they're doing to modify or
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170 replace the module search path. Note that because the directory containing the
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171 script being run is on the search path, it is important that the script not have
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172 the same name as a standard module, or Python will attempt to load the script as
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173 a module when that module is imported. This will generally be an error. See
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174 section :ref:`tut-standardmodules` for more information.
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175
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176 .. %
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177 Do we need stuff on zip files etc. ? DUBOIS
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178
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179 "Compiled" Python files
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180 -----------------------
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181
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182 As an important speed-up of the start-up time for short programs that use a lot
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183 of standard modules, if a file called :file:`spam.pyc` exists in the directory
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184 where :file:`spam.py` is found, this is assumed to contain an
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185 already-"byte-compiled" version of the module :mod:`spam`. The modification time
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186 of the version of :file:`spam.py` used to create :file:`spam.pyc` is recorded in
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187 :file:`spam.pyc`, and the :file:`.pyc` file is ignored if these don't match.
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188
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189 Normally, you don't need to do anything to create the :file:`spam.pyc` file.
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190 Whenever :file:`spam.py` is successfully compiled, an attempt is made to write
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191 the compiled version to :file:`spam.pyc`. It is not an error if this attempt
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192 fails; if for any reason the file is not written completely, the resulting
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193 :file:`spam.pyc` file will be recognized as invalid and thus ignored later. The
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194 contents of the :file:`spam.pyc` file are platform independent, so a Python
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195 module directory can be shared by machines of different architectures.
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196
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197 Some tips for experts:
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198
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199 * When the Python interpreter is invoked with the :option:`-O` flag, optimized
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200 code is generated and stored in :file:`.pyo` files. The optimizer currently
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201 doesn't help much; it only removes :keyword:`assert` statements. When
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202 :option:`-O` is used, *all* :term:`bytecode` is optimized; ``.pyc`` files are
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203 ignored and ``.py`` files are compiled to optimized bytecode.
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204
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205 * Passing two :option:`-O` flags to the Python interpreter (:option:`-OO`) will
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206 cause the bytecode compiler to perform optimizations that could in some rare
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207 cases result in malfunctioning programs. Currently only ``__doc__`` strings are
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208 removed from the bytecode, resulting in more compact :file:`.pyo` files. Since
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209 some programs may rely on having these available, you should only use this
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210 option if you know what you're doing.
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211
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212 * A program doesn't run any faster when it is read from a :file:`.pyc` or
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213 :file:`.pyo` file than when it is read from a :file:`.py` file; the only thing
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214 that's faster about :file:`.pyc` or :file:`.pyo` files is the speed with which
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215 they are loaded.
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216
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217 * When a script is run by giving its name on the command line, the bytecode for
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218 the script is never written to a :file:`.pyc` or :file:`.pyo` file. Thus, the
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219 startup time of a script may be reduced by moving most of its code to a module
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220 and having a small bootstrap script that imports that module. It is also
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221 possible to name a :file:`.pyc` or :file:`.pyo` file directly on the command
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222 line.
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223
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224 * It is possible to have a file called :file:`spam.pyc` (or :file:`spam.pyo`
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225 when :option:`-O` is used) without a file :file:`spam.py` for the same module.
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226 This can be used to distribute a library of Python code in a form that is
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227 moderately hard to reverse engineer.
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228
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229 .. index:: module: compileall
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230
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231 * The module :mod:`compileall` can create :file:`.pyc` files (or :file:`.pyo`
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232 files when :option:`-O` is used) for all modules in a directory.
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233
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234
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235 .. _tut-standardmodules:
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236
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237 Standard Modules
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238 ================
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239
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240 .. index:: module: sys
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241
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242 Python comes with a library of standard modules, described in a separate
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243 document, the Python Library Reference ("Library Reference" hereafter). Some
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244 modules are built into the interpreter; these provide access to operations that
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245 are not part of the core of the language but are nevertheless built in, either
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246 for efficiency or to provide access to operating system primitives such as
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247 system calls. The set of such modules is a configuration option which also
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248 depends on the underlying platform For example, the :mod:`winreg` module is only
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249 provided on Windows systems. One particular module deserves some attention:
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250 :mod:`sys`, which is built into every Python interpreter. The variables
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251 ``sys.ps1`` and ``sys.ps2`` define the strings used as primary and secondary
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252 prompts::
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253
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254 >>> import sys
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255 >>> sys.ps1
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256 '>>> '
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257 >>> sys.ps2
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258 '... '
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259 >>> sys.ps1 = 'C> '
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260 C> print('Yuck!')
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261 Yuck!
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262 C>
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263
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264
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265 These two variables are only defined if the interpreter is in interactive mode.
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266
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267 The variable ``sys.path`` is a list of strings that determines the interpreter's
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268 search path for modules. It is initialized to a default path taken from the
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269 environment variable :envvar:`PYTHONPATH`, or from a built-in default if
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270 :envvar:`PYTHONPATH` is not set. You can modify it using standard list
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271 operations::
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272
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273 >>> import sys
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274 >>> sys.path.append('/ufs/guido/lib/python')
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275
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276
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277 .. _tut-dir:
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278
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279 The :func:`dir` Function
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280 ========================
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281
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282 The built-in function :func:`dir` is used to find out which names a module
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283 defines. It returns a sorted list of strings::
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284
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285 >>> import fibo, sys
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286 >>> dir(fibo)
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287 ['__name__', 'fib', 'fib2']
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288 >>> dir(sys)
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289 ['__displayhook__', '__doc__', '__excepthook__', '__name__', '__stderr__',
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290 '__stdin__', '__stdout__', '_getframe', 'api_version', 'argv',
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291 'builtin_module_names', 'byteorder', 'callstats', 'copyright',
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292 'displayhook', 'exc_info', 'excepthook',
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293 'exec_prefix', 'executable', 'exit', 'getdefaultencoding', 'getdlopenflags',
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294 'getrecursionlimit', 'getrefcount', 'hexversion', 'maxint', 'maxunicode',
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295 'meta_path', 'modules', 'path', 'path_hooks', 'path_importer_cache',
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296 'platform', 'prefix', 'ps1', 'ps2', 'setcheckinterval', 'setdlopenflags',
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297 'setprofile', 'setrecursionlimit', 'settrace', 'stderr', 'stdin', 'stdout',
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298 'version', 'version_info', 'warnoptions']
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299
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300 Without arguments, :func:`dir` lists the names you have defined currently::
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301
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302 >>> a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
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303 >>> import fibo
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304 >>> fib = fibo.fib
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305 >>> dir()
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306 ['__builtins__', '__doc__', '__file__', '__name__', 'a', 'fib', 'fibo', 'sys']
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307
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308 Note that it lists all types of names: variables, modules, functions, etc.
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309
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310 .. index:: module: builtins
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311
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312 :func:`dir` does not list the names of built-in functions and variables. If you
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313 want a list of those, they are defined in the standard module
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314 :mod:`builtins`::
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315
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316 >>> import builtins
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317 >>> dir(builtins)
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318
43115
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319 ['ArithmeticError', 'AssertionError', 'AttributeError', 'BaseException', 'Buffer
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320 Error', 'DeprecationWarning', 'EOFError', 'Ellipsis', 'EnvironmentError', 'Excep
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321 tion', 'False', 'FloatingPointError', 'FutureWarning', 'GeneratorExit', 'IOError
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322 ', 'ImportError', 'ImportWarning', 'IndentationError', 'IndexError', 'KeyError',
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323 'KeyboardInterrupt', 'LookupError', 'MemoryError', 'NameError', 'None', 'NotImp
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324 lemented', 'NotImplementedError', 'OSError', 'OverflowError', 'PendingDeprecatio
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325 nWarning', 'ReferenceError', 'RuntimeError', 'RuntimeWarning', 'StopIteration',
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326 'SyntaxError', 'SyntaxWarning', 'SystemError', 'SystemExit', 'TabError', 'True',
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327 'TypeError', 'UnboundLocalError', 'UnicodeDecodeError', 'UnicodeEncodeError', '
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328 UnicodeError', 'UnicodeTranslateError', 'UnicodeWarning', 'UserWarning', 'ValueE
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329 rror', 'Warning', 'ZeroDivisionError', '__build_class__', '__debug__', '__doc__'
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330 , '__import__', '__name__', 'abs', 'all', 'any', 'basestring', 'bin', 'bool', 'b
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331 uffer', 'bytes', 'chr', 'chr8', 'classmethod', 'cmp', 'compile', 'complex', 'cop
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332 yright', 'credits', 'delattr', 'dict', 'dir', 'divmod', 'enumerate', 'eval', 'ex
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333 ec', 'exit', 'filter', 'float', 'frozenset', 'getattr', 'globals', 'hasattr', 'h
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334 ash', 'help', 'hex', 'id', 'input', 'int', 'isinstance', 'issubclass', 'iter', '
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335 len', 'license', 'list', 'locals', 'map', 'max', 'memoryview', 'min', 'next', 'o
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336 bject', 'oct', 'open', 'ord', 'pow', 'print', 'property', 'quit', 'range', 'repr
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337 ', 'reversed', 'round', 'set', 'setattr', 'slice', 'sorted', 'staticmethod', 'st
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338 r', 'str8', 'sum', 'super', 'trunc', 'tuple', 'type', 'vars', 'zip']
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339
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340 .. _tut-packages:
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341
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342 Packages
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343 ========
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344
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345 Packages are a way of structuring Python's module namespace by using "dotted
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346 module names". For example, the module name :mod:`A.B` designates a submodule
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347 named ``B`` in a package named ``A``. Just like the use of modules saves the
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348 authors of different modules from having to worry about each other's global
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349 variable names, the use of dotted module names saves the authors of multi-module
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350 packages like NumPy or the Python Imaging Library from having to worry about
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351 each other's module names.
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352
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353 Suppose you want to design a collection of modules (a "package") for the uniform
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354 handling of sound files and sound data. There are many different sound file
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355 formats (usually recognized by their extension, for example: :file:`.wav`,
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356 :file:`.aiff`, :file:`.au`), so you may need to create and maintain a growing
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357 collection of modules for the conversion between the various file formats.
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358 There are also many different operations you might want to perform on sound data
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359 (such as mixing, adding echo, applying an equalizer function, creating an
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360 artificial stereo effect), so in addition you will be writing a never-ending
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361 stream of modules to perform these operations. Here's a possible structure for
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362 your package (expressed in terms of a hierarchical filesystem)::
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363
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364 sound/ Top-level package
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365 __init__.py Initialize the sound package
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366 formats/ Subpackage for file format conversions
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367 __init__.py
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368 wavread.py
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369 wavwrite.py
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370 aiffread.py
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371 aiffwrite.py
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372 auread.py
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373 auwrite.py
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374 ...
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375 effects/ Subpackage for sound effects
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376 __init__.py
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377 echo.py
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378 surround.py
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379 reverse.py
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380 ...
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381 filters/ Subpackage for filters
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382 __init__.py
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383 equalizer.py
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384 vocoder.py
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385 karaoke.py
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386 ...
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387
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388 When importing the package, Python searches through the directories on
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389 ``sys.path`` looking for the package subdirectory.
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390
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391 The :file:`__init__.py` files are required to make Python treat the directories
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392 as containing packages; this is done to prevent directories with a common name,
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393 such as ``string``, from unintentionally hiding valid modules that occur later
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394 on the module search path. In the simplest case, :file:`__init__.py` can just be
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395 an empty file, but it can also execute initialization code for the package or
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396 set the ``__all__`` variable, described later.
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397
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398 Users of the package can import individual modules from the package, for
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399 example::
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400
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401 import sound.effects.echo
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402
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403 This loads the submodule :mod:`sound.effects.echo`. It must be referenced with
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404 its full name. ::
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405
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406 sound.effects.echo.echofilter(input, output, delay=0.7, atten=4)
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407
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408 An alternative way of importing the submodule is::
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409
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410 from sound.effects import echo
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411
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412 This also loads the submodule :mod:`echo`, and makes it available without its
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413 package prefix, so it can be used as follows::
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414
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415 echo.echofilter(input, output, delay=0.7, atten=4)
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416
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417 Yet another variation is to import the desired function or variable directly::
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418
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419 from sound.effects.echo import echofilter
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420
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421 Again, this loads the submodule :mod:`echo`, but this makes its function
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422 :func:`echofilter` directly available::
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423
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424 echofilter(input, output, delay=0.7, atten=4)
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425
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426 Note that when using ``from package import item``, the item can be either a
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427 submodule (or subpackage) of the package, or some other name defined in the
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428 package, like a function, class or variable. The ``import`` statement first
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429 tests whether the item is defined in the package; if not, it assumes it is a
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430 module and attempts to load it. If it fails to find it, an :exc:`ImportError`
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431 exception is raised.
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432
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433 Contrarily, when using syntax like ``import item.subitem.subsubitem``, each item
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434 except for the last must be a package; the last item can be a module or a
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435 package but can't be a class or function or variable defined in the previous
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436 item.
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437
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438
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439 .. _tut-pkg-import-star:
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440
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441 Importing \* From a Package
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442 ---------------------------
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443
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444 .. index:: single: __all__
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445
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446 Now what happens when the user writes ``from sound.effects import *``? Ideally,
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447 one would hope that this somehow goes out to the filesystem, finds which
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448 submodules are present in the package, and imports them all. Unfortunately,
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449 this operation does not work very well on Windows platforms, where the
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450 filesystem does not always have accurate information about the case of a
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451 filename! On these platforms, there is no guaranteed way to know whether a file
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452 :file:`ECHO.PY` should be imported as a module :mod:`echo`, :mod:`Echo` or
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453 :mod:`ECHO`. (For example, Windows 95 has the annoying practice of showing all
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454 file names with a capitalized first letter.) The DOS 8+3 filename restriction
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455 adds another interesting problem for long module names.
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456
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457 The only solution is for the package author to provide an explicit index of the
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458 package. The import statement uses the following convention: if a package's
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459 :file:`__init__.py` code defines a list named ``__all__``, it is taken to be the
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460 list of module names that should be imported when ``from package import *`` is
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461 encountered. It is up to the package author to keep this list up-to-date when a
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462 new version of the package is released. Package authors may also decide not to
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463 support it, if they don't see a use for importing \* from their package. For
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464 example, the file :file:`sounds/effects/__init__.py` could contain the following
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465 code::
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466
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467 __all__ = ["echo", "surround", "reverse"]
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468
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469 This would mean that ``from sound.effects import *`` would import the three
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470 named submodules of the :mod:`sound` package.
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471
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472 If ``__all__`` is not defined, the statement ``from sound.effects import *``
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473 does *not* import all submodules from the package :mod:`sound.effects` into the
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474 current namespace; it only ensures that the package :mod:`sound.effects` has
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475 been imported (possibly running any initialization code in :file:`__init__.py`)
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476 and then imports whatever names are defined in the package. This includes any
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477 names defined (and submodules explicitly loaded) by :file:`__init__.py`. It
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478 also includes any submodules of the package that were explicitly loaded by
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479 previous import statements. Consider this code::
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480
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481 import sound.effects.echo
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482 import sound.effects.surround
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483 from sound.effects import *
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484
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485 In this example, the echo and surround modules are imported in the current
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486 namespace because they are defined in the :mod:`sound.effects` package when the
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487 ``from...import`` statement is executed. (This also works when ``__all__`` is
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488 defined.)
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489
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490 Note that in general the practice of importing ``*`` from a module or package is
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491 frowned upon, since it often causes poorly readable code. However, it is okay to
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492 use it to save typing in interactive sessions, and certain modules are designed
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493 to export only names that follow certain patterns.
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494
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
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495 Remember, there is nothing wrong with using ``from Package import
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
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496 specific_submodule``! In fact, this is the recommended notation unless the
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
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497 importing module needs to use submodules with the same name from different
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
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498 packages.
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
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499
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
500
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
501 Intra-package References
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
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502 ------------------------
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
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503
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
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diff changeset
504 When packages are structured into subpackages (as with the :mod:`sound` package
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
505 in the example), you can use absolute imports to refer to submodules of siblings
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
506 packages. For example, if the module :mod:`sound.filters.vocoder` needs to use
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
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507 the :mod:`echo` module in the :mod:`sound.effects` package, it can use ``from
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508 sound.effects import echo``.
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
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509
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510 You can also write relative imports, with the ``from module import name`` form
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parents: 44396
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511 of import statement. These imports use leading dots to indicate the current and
03b1233bf5fe Remove many "versionchanged" items that didn't use the official markup,
Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents: 44396
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512 parent packages involved in the relative import. From the :mod:`surround`
03b1233bf5fe Remove many "versionchanged" items that didn't use the official markup,
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513 module for example, you might use::
42604
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
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diff changeset
514
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
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diff changeset
515 from . import echo
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
516 from .. import formats
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
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diff changeset
517 from ..filters import equalizer
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
518
46963
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519 Note that relative imports are based on the name of the current module. Since
03b1233bf5fe Remove many "versionchanged" items that didn't use the official markup,
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parents: 44396
diff changeset
520 the name of the main module is always ``"__main__"``, modules intended for use
03b1233bf5fe Remove many "versionchanged" items that didn't use the official markup,
Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents: 44396
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521 as the main module of a Python application must always use absolute imports.
42604
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
522
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
523
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
524 Packages in Multiple Directories
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
525 --------------------------------
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
526
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
527 Packages support one more special attribute, :attr:`__path__`. This is
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
528 initialized to be a list containing the name of the directory holding the
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
529 package's :file:`__init__.py` before the code in that file is executed. This
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
530 variable can be modified; doing so affects future searches for modules and
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
531 subpackages contained in the package.
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
532
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
533 While this feature is not often needed, it can be used to extend the set of
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
534 modules found in a package.
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
535
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
536
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
537 .. rubric:: Footnotes
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
538
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
539 .. [#] In fact function definitions are also 'statements' that are 'executed'; the
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Georg Brandl <georg@python.org>
parents:
diff changeset
540 execution enters the function name in the module's global symbol table.
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parents:
diff changeset
541