[ python-Bugs-1719423 ] Python package support not properly documented

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Bugs item #1719423, was opened at 2007-05-15 12:39
Message generated for change (Comment added) made by collinwinter
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Category: Documentation
Group: None
Status: Open
Resolution: None
Priority: 6
Private: No
Submitted By: Michael Abbott (araneidae)
Assigned to: Nobody/Anonymous (nobody)
Summary: Python package support not properly documented

Initial Comment:
I can sum this report up most simply by quoting the message below:

http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/2001-October/107699.html

Note that this message was posted 5 1/2 years ago (by myself, as it happens), had no follow up, and the problem referred to remains current!  (The chapter on "import" is now section 6.12: nothing else has changed.)

The comment below that "presum[ably] nothing significant has changed" seems less than probable now!

I was looking to understand modules and packages a bit better: they don't behave like proper first class objects (is module.sub_module an attribute?  not really), and so the lack of definitive documentation in this area is sad, particularly after such a long time.


Body of original message follows


Package support in Python 2

Michael Abbott michael at rcp.co.uk
Wed Oct 3 10:58:08 CEST 2001


Is there up to date documentation for package support in Python 2?

Section 6.11 of the "Python Reference Manual" has the following nice quote:


[XXX Can't be bothered to spell this out right now; see the URL http://www.python.org/doc/essays/packages.html for more details, also about how the module search works from inside a package.] 


and the referred URL documents Python 1.5.  I presume that nothing significant has changed recently, but it's certainly disconcerting for something as fundamental as module importing to not actually be part of the core language documentation!


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>Comment By: Collin Winter (collinwinter)
Date: 2007-06-05 14:35

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Hi Michael, would you be interested in working on a docs patch for this?

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Comment By: Georg Brandl (gbrandl)
Date: 2007-05-15 16:41

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You are certainly right that this should be documented properly.

BTW, after you import x.y, y is an attribute of module x. When you write
"x.y.foo", Python knows nothing about modules any more, it just handles
attribute access of arbitrary objects which happen to be modules.

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