473,320 Members | 1,794 Online
Bytes | Software Development & Data Engineering Community
Post Job

Home Posts Topics Members FAQ

Join Bytes to post your question to a community of 473,320 software developers and data experts.

Calling a function from module question.

Is there any way I could have the following work?

First I would have a module define a function to do
something like print some data.

----- module_name.py -----

[snip]

def print_this(data):
print "This is the data: %s" %data

[/snip]

-----------------------------
Then I would have a script that uses the
print_this function defined in the module
without using the module name in the call.

----- test_file.py -----

[snip]

import module_name.py
print_this("lots of data")

[/snip]

----------------------

Now, I know I can call the function using
module_name.print_this("lots of data")
but can using the module name at the beginning
be avoided?

If not, why? I am sure there is a good pythonic
explanation.

Thanks
Jul 18 '05 #1
9 1609
Sean wrote:
Then I would have a script that uses the
print_this function defined in the module
without using the module name in the call.


from module_name import print_this

or, even:

from module_name import print_this as other_nice_name

--Irmen
Jul 18 '05 #2
> Sean wrote:
Then I would have a script that uses the
print_this function defined in the module
without using the module name in the call.


from module_name import print_this

or, even:

from module_name import print_this as other_nice_name


So what if I have a whole bunch of functions - say 25 of them.
Is there a way to do this without naming each function?
Jul 18 '05 #3
Sean wrote:
Sean wrote:
Then I would have a script that uses the
print_this function defined in the module
without using the module name in the call.


from module_name import print_this

or, even:

from module_name import print_this as other_nice_name


So what if I have a whole bunch of functions - say 25 of them.
Is there a way to do this without naming each function?


Yes [1], but it's basically deprecated and you shouldn't use it.
Consider refactoring your code.

Steve

[1] http://docs.python.org/ref/import.html
Jul 18 '05 #4
>>>from module_name import print_this

or, even:

from module_name import print_this as other_nice_name


So what if I have a whole bunch of functions - say 25 of them.
Is there a way to do this without naming each function?


Yes [1], but it's basically deprecated and you shouldn't use it. Consider
refactoring your code.


Refactoring my code? Sorry, I am not sure what you mean here.

How would one refactor the example in my original post?
Jul 18 '05 #5
Sean wrote:
from module_name import print_this

or, even:
from module_name import print_this as other_nice_name

So what if I have a whole bunch of functions - say 25 of them.
Is there a way to do this without naming each function?


Yes [1], but it's basically deprecated and you shouldn't use it. Consider
refactoring your code.


Refactoring my code? Sorry, I am not sure what you mean here.

How would one refactor the example in my original post?


The original post only had one name to import, not 25, so refactoring
isn't really necessary. ;) What are the 25 functions you want to
import? Perhaps you can group them together in classes? Or maybe a
couple of (sub-)modules is the way to go...

STeVe
Jul 18 '05 #6

"Sean" <se**@buildingonline.com> wrote in message
news:UTsQd.32669$6u.27954@fed1read02...
import module_name.py


leave off the .py

Irmen answered your main question.

Terry J. Reedy

Jul 18 '05 #7
Sean wrote:
So what if I have a whole bunch of functions - say 25 of them.
Is there a way to do this without naming each function?


Yes [1], but it's basically deprecated and you shouldn't use it. Consider
refactoring your code.


Refactoring my code? Sorry, I am not sure what you mean here.


'Refactoring' is just a fancy way of saying 'reorganizing'. What it
means in this case is to look at the reason that you have 25 functions
in this other module whose name you don't want to type. Perhaps
reassembling those functions into a class or two will let you have
fewer names to import, or perhaps there's no compelling reason for
them to be in a different module to begin with. (Or, more likely, you
should just not worry about using the module name. It's really better
to keep track of where all of your names come from, and fully
qualified names do that nicely. What do you see as the harm of using it?)

Jeff Shannon
Technician/Programmer
Credit International

Jul 18 '05 #8
Sean wrote:
Sean wrote:

Then I would have a script that uses the
print_this function defined in the module
without using the module name in the call.


from module_name import print_this

or, even:

from module_name import print_this as other_nice_name

So what if I have a whole bunch of functions - say 25 of them.
Is there a way to do this without naming each function?


You do that like so: "from module import *". But you should avoid that,
as stated in the Python help:

Note that in general the practice of importing * from a module or
package is frowned upon, since it often causes poorly readable code.
However, it is okay to use it to save typing in interactive sessions,
and certain modules are designed to export only names that follow
certain patterns.

The "certain patterns" usually occur in huge packages, such as in the
various GUI toolkits. E.g., all of the exported PyQt classes are
prefaced with Q (QButtonGroup, QTabWidget), so doing "from qt import *"
is fairly safe.

You can also import a module like so: "import module as m" to save on
some typing, if that is your concern. But namespaces are a feature of
Python, not a limitation, so the Python way is to use them for clearer
code. With a large number of functions like that, it sounds more like
you should be inheriting from a class anyway, which I think is what
Steven Bethard meant when he suggested refactoring.

For more information on the Python way, go to the Python interpreter and
type "import this" ;>)

--
Soraia: http://www.soraia.com

Jul 18 '05 #9
Sean, if you are asking what I think you are asking (I don't think name
hiding is the issue), you can use

from module_name import *

and you will end up with all of the functions at session scope. You can
use the 'as' to alias the function names if you wish

from module_name import fn1 as myfn1, fn2 as myfn2

but, um, that gets confusing.

Jul 18 '05 #10

This thread has been closed and replies have been disabled. Please start a new discussion.

Similar topics

1
by: Andrew Wilkinson | last post by:
Hi, First off I know that in almost all cases this would be a terrible thing to do, but this is an unusual case where this makes sense. Basically I have a procedure where you pass a string...
2
by: Marc Shapiro | last post by:
I am relatively new to python (I have used it on and off for a few small projects over the last few years) so I imagine that what I am trying to do has already been done, but practical experience,...
1
by: Stephen Kellett | last post by:
Hello everyone, I'm trying to do something in C calling Python and its failing. I'd be grateful if you could take a look and hopefully you have an answer. What I'm trying to do is determine...
6
by: jchao123 | last post by:
Dear All, I have an MDB file (Access 2000/XP) which contains generic routines I use in various apps (eg, API calls, File access classes etc). I have compiled into an MDE file which I reference...
1
by: Nick | last post by:
I have read many postings regarding the above thread but don't seem to have found the exact problem I am experiencing. I am using VS.NET and have 2 projects within the 1 solution. First project...
19
by: Ross A. Finlayson | last post by:
Hi, I hope you can help me understand the varargs facility. Say I am programming in ISO C including stdarg.h and I declare a function as so: void log_printf(const char* logfilename, const...
2
by: singlal | last post by:
Hi, my question was not getting any attention because it moved to 2nd page; so posting it again. Sorry for any inconvenience but I need to get it resolved fast. Need your help! ...
5
by: Stinky Pete | last post by:
Hi (again) ;-) I'm still very much at the bottom of a steep learning curve with VB, so any and all help is always appreciated. I've found some code to generate the user names who have logged...
4
by: MLH | last post by:
I have the following saved UNION query named qryPeople2NameInNPaperAd: SELECT & " " & & " " & & " " & & ", " & & " " & AS Item, tblVehicleJobs.VehicleJobID FROM tblVehicleJobs INNER...
0
by: DolphinDB | last post by:
Tired of spending countless mintues downsampling your data? Look no further! In this article, you’ll learn how to efficiently downsample 6.48 billion high-frequency records to 61 million...
0
by: ryjfgjl | last post by:
ExcelToDatabase: batch import excel into database automatically...
0
isladogs
by: isladogs | last post by:
The next Access Europe meeting will be on Wednesday 6 Mar 2024 starting at 18:00 UK time (6PM UTC) and finishing at about 19:15 (7.15PM). In this month's session, we are pleased to welcome back...
0
by: Vimpel783 | last post by:
Hello! Guys, I found this code on the Internet, but I need to modify it a little. It works well, the problem is this: Data is sent from only one cell, in this case B5, but it is necessary that data...
0
by: jfyes | last post by:
As a hardware engineer, after seeing that CEIWEI recently released a new tool for Modbus RTU Over TCP/UDP filtering and monitoring, I actively went to its official website to take a look. It turned...
0
by: ArrayDB | last post by:
The error message I've encountered is; ERROR:root:Error generating model response: exception: access violation writing 0x0000000000005140, which seems to be indicative of an access violation...
1
by: Defcon1945 | last post by:
I'm trying to learn Python using Pycharm but import shutil doesn't work
1
by: Shællîpôpï 09 | last post by:
If u are using a keypad phone, how do u turn on JavaScript, to access features like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram....
0
by: af34tf | last post by:
Hi Guys, I have a domain whose name is BytesLimited.com, and I want to sell it. Does anyone know about platforms that allow me to list my domain in auction for free. Thank you

By using Bytes.com and it's services, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

To disable or enable advertisements and analytics tracking please visit the manage ads & tracking page.