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 would like to add to this, there are somethings to consider during the import calls:

I have the following structure:

mod/
    __init__.py
    main.py
    a.py
    b.py
    c.py
    d.py

main.py:

import mod.a
import mod.b as b
from mod import c
import d

dis.dis shows the difference:

  1           0 LOAD_CONST               0 (-1)
              3 LOAD_CONST               1 (None)
              6 IMPORT_NAME              0 (mod.a)
              9 STORE_NAME               1 (mod)

  2          12 LOAD_CONST               0 (-1)
             15 LOAD_CONST               1 (None)
             18 IMPORT_NAME              2 (b)
             21 STORE_NAME               2 (b)

  3          24 LOAD_CONST               0 (-1)
             27 LOAD_CONST               2 (('c',))
             30 IMPORT_NAME              1 (mod)
             33 IMPORT_FROM              3 (c)
             36 STORE_NAME               3 (c)
             39 POP_TOP

  4          40 LOAD_CONST               0 (-1)
             43 LOAD_CONST               1 (None)
             46 IMPORT_NAME              4 (mod.d)
             49 LOAD_ATTR                5 (d)
             52 STORE_NAME               5 (d)
             55 LOAD_CONST               1 (None)

In the end they look the same (STORE_NAME is result in each example), but this is worth noting if you need to consider the following four circular imports:

example1

foo/
   __init__.py
   a.py
   b.py

a.py:
import foo.b 

b.py:
import foo.a

>>> import foo.a
>>>

This works

example2

bar/
   __init__.py
   a.py
   b.py

a.py:
import bar.b as b

b.py:
import bar.a as a

>>> import bar.a
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "", line 1, in 
  File "bar\a.py", line 1, in 
    import bar.b as b
  File "bar\b.py", line 1, in 
    import bar.a as a
AttributeError: 'module' object has no attribute 'a'

No dice

example3

baz/
   __init__.py
   a.py
   b.py

a.py:
from baz import b

b.py:
from baz import a

>>> import baz.a
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "", line 1, in 
  File "baz\a.py", line 1, in 
    from baz import b
  File "baz\b.py", line 1, in 
    from baz import a
ImportError: cannot import name a

Similar issue... but clearly from x import y is not the same as import import x.y as y

example4

qux/
   __init__.py
   a.py
   b.py

a.py:
import b 

b.py:
import a

>>> import qux.a
>>>

This one also works