Extending the import statement?

[Dimitris Garanatsios]

Hi there,

I was writing the __init__.py module for a package of mine and when i 
reached to the definition of the __all__ list, this "i want to become an 
import extension" idea crossed my mind...

Wouldn't be nice if, similarly to the way the __all__ definition works, 
one could import a group of names from a module/package by defining his 
own list and passing it as an import argument? Some examples:

from math import * # imports __all__ elements
from math import trigFuncs # imports __all_trigFuncs__ elements
from why_the_hell_i_named_this_like_that import justThese

and so on...

The extended import statement will recognize a group of names in the 
same way as the __all__ list or (optionally) can be given an arbitrary 
list of names to import.

Maybe this behavior can be implemented by writing a custom import 
function, but this is something i don't like doing at all. On the other 
hand, one could benefit from this kind of syntax as it

--- can be used inside a function, unlike the "from <xxx> import *" form
--- prevents namespace polution while preserving the functionality
     of a "from <xxx> import *" statement
--- makes (sometimes) code more flexible and/or readable

I admit that i myself can't think of a situation where this syntax is 
actually necessary, i just see it as a nice addition to the semantics of 
the import statement. Besides, i don't think it's a hard-to-implement 
feature and IMO it fits nicely with the language from a syntactic point 
of view...

So, any comments on the above? Maybe someone can think of another use of 
this thought...

Regards,
Dimitris
-- 
         /   /   \   \
        (  _|     |_  )
         \/  \___/  \/
Sometimes, solution is under your nose...
Sneeze carefully and blow with caution!