Use 'import module' or 'from module import'?

Question

I\'ve tried to find a comprehensive guide on whether it is best to use import module or from module import. I\'ve just started with Python and I\'m

Answer 1

I've just discovered one more subtle difference between these two methods.

If module foo uses a following import:

from itertools import count

Then module bar can by mistake use count as though it was defined in foo, not in itertools:

import foo
foo.count()

If foo uses:

import itertools

the mistake is still possible, but less likely to be made. bar needs to:

import foo
foo.itertools.count()

This caused some troubles to me. I had a module that by mistake imported an exception from a module that did not define it, only imported it from other module (using from module import SomeException). When the import was no longer needed and removed, the offending module was broken.