[Python-Dev] Question on imports and packages

[Brett Cannon]

On Tue, Nov 2, 2010 at 17:35, Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> wrote:
> If you are importing the code, the __module__ attribute on each class
> should tell you where it is actually defined (as opposed to where you
> imported it from). Then sys.modules gives you the module object which
> has a __file__ attribute, etc.

What Guido said. It's the equivalent of browsing an object that a
function returned to you. Working backwards to where something is
defined has nothing to do with imports and more to do with __module__,
__class__, etc. Import has nothing to do with introspection for things
that you access off of a module that happened to have imported the
object.

>
> On Tue, Nov 2, 2010 at 4:44 PM, Raymond Hettinger
> <raymond.hettinger at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Brett,  Does the import mechanism for importing packages preserve enough information to be able to figure-out where all the components are defined?  I'm wondering if it is possible for the class browser to be built-out to scan/navigate class structure across a module that has been split into a package.
>
> --
> --Guido van Rossum (python.org/~guido)
>