[Python-Dev] import.c

[Tim Peters]

Does anyone living understand import.c in all its gory glory now?

There are two things about it I'd like to address (or see addressed):

1. The business wherein a failing import leaves behind a (at least
   one) damaged (incomplete) module object in sys.modules has caused
   me debugging nightmares for years.  These are especially acute
   when "clever" code suppresses the errors.  Then sys.modules
   can claim to have modules that aren't actually usable, but
   would-be importers have no way to know which are damaged, or
   how badly damaged they may be.

2. Zope3 in particular is having horrid problems with circular
   imports.  These are also a bitch to track down.  I'm not sure
   it was any better in Zope2, but Zope3 has been undergoing
   frequent and massive refactorings (and a new round of unintended
   circular imports creates subtle problems each time).

If someone wants to fix these over the weekend, that would be great <wink>.