Bugs item #493628, was opened at 2001-12-15 03:37
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Category: Python Interpreter Core
Group: Not a Bug
Status: Closed
Resolution: Wont Fix
Priority: 5
Submitted By: Chris Withers (fresh)
Assigned to: Nobody/Anonymous (nobody)
Summary: import not pythonic in 2.1.1
Initial Comment:
Take a package 'aPackage', which contains a sub-package 'aSubPackage' that in turn contains a
module 'aModule' that defines a class 'aClass'.
If I do:
import aPackage.aSubPackage
print aPackage.aSubPackage.aModule
I get:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "x.py", line xx, in ?
print aPackage.aSubPackage.aModule
AttributeError: 'aPackage.aSubPackage' module has no attribute 'aModule'
A yet, if I do:
import aPackage.aSubPackage.aModule
print aPackage.aSubPackage.aModule
I get:
<module 'aPackage.aSubPackage.aModule' from 'some_path'>
...as expected, which is very confusing and doesn't feel 'right' :-S
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>Comment By: Chris Withers (fresh)
Date: 2001-12-18 08:56
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I've added this feature request to PEP 42.
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Comment By: Chris Withers (fresh)
Date: 2001-12-18 08:56
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Thanks for the pointers :-)
I would use pickling, but I'm not sure MySQL database connections would take too well to being pickled :-S
(an attribute of the object to be stored is a mySQLdb database connection)
And yeah, reading through this, it's __import__ not import that's confusing. Why is the m =
sys.modules[module] needed?
Also, when using syntax like import item.subitem.subsubitem, why that last subitem be a class or function?
cheers,
Chris
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Comment By: Guido van Rossum (gvanrossum)
Date: 2001-12-17 06:35
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Yeah, Zope has many __init__.py files that I consider
immoral. We're fixing this in Zope3. :-)
What you're doing is similar to what pickle does, by the
way. Can't you store pickles?
Several tips:
- instead of getting str(object.__class__) and then parsing
the result, use
module, klass = k.__class__.__name__,
k.__class__.__module__
- __import__ *does* support packages, if you do it right:
__import__(module)
m = sys.modules[module]
- Instead of exec("k ="...), use
k = getattr(m, klass)
So please don't blame this in import. :-)
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Comment By: Chris Withers (fresh)
Date: 2001-12-17 03:41
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> OK, the motivation is that importing a package shouldn't
> recursively import all its submodules -- else importing a
> top-level package could do an immense amount of work.
Fair enough, I guess I don't use any packages where this is
true, apart from Zope, but "import Zope" certainly takes
some time anyway ;-)
To answer Tim's question, I need to store the minimum
amount of information necessary to re-constitute an object
in a MySQL database. The attributes that need to persist
are easy, just shove 'em in columns.
However, to actually create the object, I need to
instantiate a class. With the above restrictions, I've
ended doing:
k = str(object.__class__)
i = k.rindex('.')
module = k[:i]
klass = k[i+1:]
..and storing module and class in columns.
Then, to reconstitute the object, I do:
exec("import "+module)
exec("k = "+module+'.'+klass)
object=k()
the second exec is needed because import fails if the last
name isn't a module or package.
the first exec is needed because:
1. __import__ doesn't handle . seperated names to import
2. If I use __import__ to import the top level package,
none of the modules/packages below it are imported so
getattr(module,klass) fails with an AttributeError
Thinking about it, if (1) worked, then I probably wouldn't
have a problem...
That said, if there's a simpler way to do all this, I'd
happily use that ;-)
cheers,
Chris
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Comment By: Chris Withers (fresh)
Date: 2001-12-16 12:45
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> I'm not sure what to do with your whine about being one of
> the many who find it counter-intuitive. Can you explain how
> you would like it to behave?
Sorry, that was me being unclear... I meant I am probably one of the few who finds it unintuitive ;-)
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Comment By: Guido van Rossum (gvanrossum)
Date: 2001-12-16 11:38
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OK, the motivation is that importing a package shouldn't
recursively import all its submodules -- else importing a
top-level package could do an immense amount of work.
The motivation for the thing you quote is less clear -- it
follows from the requirement that in "import <something>",
"<something>" refers to a module (where a package is a
special case of a module).
I'm not sure what to do with your whine about being one of
the many who find it counter-intuitive. Can you explain how
you would like it to behave?
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Comment By: Tim Peters (tim_one)
Date: 2001-12-16 10:03
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Chris, why do you think you need to use an exec stmt? You
haven't shown an example of why it's needed, and it sure
isn't obvious.
Modules must be imported, and importing a module M requires
an import stmt whose last path component is M -- that's
about all there is to it.
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Comment By: Chris Withers (fresh)
Date: 2001-12-16 04:58
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Well, I read it, and it explains the history, but it doesn't give reasons, particularly for:
> Contrarily, when using syntax like import item.subitem.subsubitem, each item except for the last must be
a package; the last item can be a module
> or a package but can't be a class or function or variable defined in the previous item.
...or for the above stuff.
But, while I find it counter-intuitive (and means I have to use unpleasant exec statements), I am but one
voice among many who probably feel differently so I'll just accept it as one of the things i don't like about
python...
thanks for your time :-)
Chris
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Comment By: Guido van Rossum (gvanrossum)
Date: 2001-12-15 09:46
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http://www.python.org/doc/essays/packages.html
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Comment By: Chris Withers (fresh)
Date: 2001-12-15 09:15
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Okay, if it's intended, that means there's a good reason for it...
...where can I look for enlightenment as to what that is?
cheers,
Chris
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Comment By: Guido van Rossum (gvanrossum)
Date: 2001-12-15 07:39
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Better adjust your intuition. :-)
This is as intended. Attributes of packages that are
*modules* are only loaded when the corresponding module is
explicitly imported (by you, or by some other code, e.g. the
package's __init__.py).
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