Python Module Import: Single-line vs Multi-line

Question

So this is just a simple question. In python when importing modules, what is the difference between this:

from module import a, b, c, d

and

Answer 1

I would suggest not to follow PEP-8 blindly. When you have about half screen worth of imports, things start becoming uncomfortable and PEP-8 is then in conflicts with PEP-20 readability guidelines.

My preference is,

1. Put all built-in imports on one line such as sys, os, time etc.
2. For other imports, use one line per package (not module)

Above gives you good balance because the reader can still quickly glance the dependencies while achieving reasonable compactness.

For example,

My Preference

# one line per package

import os, json, time, sys, math
import numpy as np
import torch, torch.nn as nn, torch.autograd, torch.nn.functional as F
from torchvision models, transforms

PEP-8 Recommandation

# one line per module or from ... import statement

import os
import json
import time
import sys
import math

import numpy as np

import torch
from torch import nn as nn, autograd, nn.functional as F
from torchvision import models, transforms