Organizing python code

[PythonNewbie]

Hello, I am trying to organize code that a student had written. Currently it is one really long file of different classes which makes it very tough to follow things. I would prefer to have meaningful groups of classes in different files. Can someone suggest a solution.

Sorry, a rather simple question.

[bartonc]

Hello, I am trying to organize code that a student had written. Currently it is one really long file of different classes which makes it very tough to follow things. I would prefer to have meaningful groups of classes in different files. Can someone suggest a solution.

Sorry, a rather simple question.

Hello PythonNewbie. Long time no post.
Perhaps you can discover some meaningful grouping by looking at the underlieing data. All classes that deal with a particular chunk of data will go into one module. Eventually there will be (hopefully) one set of functions and classes which oversees the creation and communication between all the others.
Check out the new Python > Code Forum for some examples. Links to these fourms are in a sticky above and in the announcement. Perhaps I will be able to draw a picture as well.

[PythonNewbie]

Well, let me be little more precise.

This program basically takes a big input files and sends it to different servers that host different analysis program by posting on forms. Then it submits the reports in a local database. It works fairly ok but it has absolutely no comments and I need to add some functionality to it.

Right now the code is:

class 1

class 2
.
.
.
class n-1

class n

I would like to separate out the classes that deal with posting data on a website, the one that deals with local database, ones that checks if the input is ok, etc etc. in separate files. Can I just copy paste classes, say 1, 4 and 6, that deal with posting the input file to different web servers into a separate new file? Then import that file in the file that contains the "main file"? Does that make sense? I guess they refer to things like this as a package in programming lingo.

I will look at the link you suggested. Thanks!

[bartonc]

Well, let me be little more precise.

This program basically takes a big input files and sends it to different servers that host different analysis program by posting on forms. Then it submits the reports in a local database. It works fairly ok but it has absolutely no comments and I need to add some functionality to it.

Right now the code is:

class 1

class 2
.
.
.
class n-1

class n

I would like to separate out the classes that deal with posting data on a website, the one that deals with local database, ones that checks if the input is ok, etc etc. in separate files. Can I just copy paste classes, say 1, 4 and 6, that deal with posting the input file to different web servers into a separate new file? Then import that file in the file that contains the "main file"? Does that make sense? I guess they refer to things like this as a package in programming lingo.

I will look at the link you suggested. Thanks!

Anything in the huge file that looks like

class myClass(superClass):
    def etc():
        pass # etc

is quite simply moved to it's own module (in the lingo).
In the main module, it is then refered to as

import moduleName
instance = moduleName.myClass()

But thing in a module that look like

a = 10

with no indentation are actually run at import time and you'll need to decide (or find out by trial and error) which classes make use of them. One way around that is

from moduleName import *

but this practice is discouraged because it defeats the purpose of your original post.

[bartonc]

Anything in the huge file that looks like

class myClass(superClass):
    def etc():
        pass # etc

is quite simply moved to it's own module (in the lingo).
In the main module, it is then refered to as

import moduleName
instance = moduleName.myClass()

But thing in a module that look like

a = 10

with no indentation are actually run at import time and you'll need to decide (or find out by trial and error) which classes make use of them. One way around that is

from moduleName import *

but this practice is discouraged because it defeats the purpose of your original post.

One additional trick often used is

def _semiPrivate():
    # your code here

Such semi private functions probable belong in the main module. They are not import with the * syntax. You then refer to them as

moduleName._semiPrivate()

[PythonNewbie]

Thanks as always! Time to clean it up - hopefully I wont break it beyond fix!

[bartonc]

Thanks as always! Time to clean it up - hopefully I wont break it beyond fix!

You are welcome. Good luck.