abcd a écrit :
I have a file, "a.py"
blah = None
def go():
global blah
blah = 5
>>From the python interpreter I try....
>>>>from a import *
blah
go()
blah
...i was hoping to see "5" get printed out the second time I displayed
blah, but it doesn't. Now, if I type this same code directly into the
python interpreter it works as i was hoping. what i am missing?
In Python, 'global' means 'module level'. And 'variables' are
name:object bindings in a namespace (mostly function, class or module).
The way you import blah and go from module a creates two names (blah and
go) in the current namespace, and bind these names to resp. a.blah and
a.go. The fact that go rebinds a.blah doesn't impact current namespace's
blah.
The following session may help you understanding what happens:
>>from a import *
dir()
['__builtins__', '__doc__', '__name__', 'blah', 'go']
>>import a
dir()
['__builtins__', '__doc__', '__name__', 'a', 'blah', 'go']
>>dir(a)
['__builtins__', '__doc__', '__file__', '__name__', 'blah', 'go']
>>go is a.go
True
>>go()
blah
a.blah
5
>>>
Note that rebinding a name and mutating a (mutable) object are two
distinct operations:
# b.py
blah = ['42']
def go():
blah[0] = "yo"
def gotcha():
global blah
blah = ['gotcha']
>>from b import *
import b
blah
['42']
>>blah is b.blah
True
>>go()
blah
['yo']
>>b.blah
['yo']
>>blah is b.blah
True
>>gotcha()
blah
['yo']
>>b.blah
['gotcha']
>>>
To make a long story short:
1/ avoid globals whenever possible
2/ when using (module) globals, either use them as pseudoconstants or as
module's 'private' variables (IOW : only functions from the same module
can modify/rebind them).
HTH
