Understanding python imports

Question

In the process of learning Django and Python. I can\'t make sense of this.

(Example Notes:\'helloworld\' is the name of my project. It has 1 app called \'app\'.)

Answer 1

Python imports can import two different kinds of things: modules and objects.

import x

Imports an entire module named x.

import x.y

Imports a module named y and it's container x. You refer to x.y.

When you created it, however, you created this directory structure

x
    __init__.py
    y.py

When you add to the import statement, you identify specific objects to pull from the module and move into the global namespace

import x # the module as a whole
x.a # Must pick items out of the module
x.b

from x import a, b # two things lifted out of the module
a # items are global
b

If helloworld is a package (a directory, with an __init__.py file), it typically doesn't contain any objects.

from x import y # isn't sensible
import x.y # importing a whole module.

Sometimes, you will have objects defined in the __init__.py file.

Generally, use "from module import x" to pick specific objects out of a module.

Use import module to import an entire module.