Best way to handle changing list of class imports

[Scott Grant]

On Oct 10, 2:42 pm, "Diez B. Roggisch" <de... at nospam.web.de> wrote:
> Scott Grant schrieb:
>
>
>
> > Hi there,
>
> > I'd like to set up a framework in which I can add or remove new
> > classes of a given expected subclass to my package, and have the
> > system load that set at runtime and be able to use them.  In essence,
> > if I have a class X, and subclasses A, B, and C that derive from X,
> > what's the most pythonic way to allow me to add or remove A, B, or C
> > from the package before runtime, to iterate over all known imported
> > classes that inherit from X, while minimizing the modifications to my
> > existing program.
>
> > Is the best way to set up a directory in my package for these classes,
> > and to define the list of active imports in the __all__ list in
> > __init__.py?  Or is there a better way?
>
> > For detail, I'm writing a system that students will be able to submit
> > game strategies that will compete against each other in a framework
> > that passes them game state and expects moves in return.  It would be
> > great to be able to add or remove these player strategies as new ones
> > come in, but I don't want to add a bunch of overhead importing each
> > one specifically in the game manager itself.
>
> I think you re-think your approach and kind of invert it. Instead of
> viewing your system as game-strategies plugged into the framework, make
> a game-strategy *use* your framework.
>
> Thus what your students deliver must be an executable script that sets
> up the game, and then passes the own strategy into it.
>
> Diez

Part of the benefit of the original approach (and the main reason I
want to use it that way) is that in multi-player or competitive games,
these strategies should be able to compete against each other.  It it
was a rock-paper-scissors system, I'd like strategy A to compete
against strategy B, and with large sets of strategies, to allow my
system to set up a crosstable with the minimal amount of hardcoding.
I'd like to know which strategy is best by setting up a competition
against all other submissions.