Importing Modules

Importing a Module

• Any Python source file can be used as a module
• To load code as a module, use the import statement

• The import statement does the following:

  1. Creates a new namespace

     • This namespace serves as a container for all the objects defined in the corresponding source file

  2. Executes code within the module

     • It executes module code contained within the newly created namespace

  3. Creates a name within the caller

     • This name refers to the module namespace
     • This name matches the name of the module

Accessing the Namespace of a Module

• Modules ar first class objects in Python
• Meaning, they can be assigned to the variables
• These variables can be placed in data structures (e.g. lists)
• Technically, a module object is a layer over a dictionary
• This dictionary holds the contents of the module namespace
• This dictionary is available as the __dict__ of a module

References

• Python Essential Reference