Importing module with name given as a variable

[Sean Davis]

What is the "best practice" for importing an arbitrary module given
that the name is stored in a variable? The context is a simple web
application with URL dispatching to a module and function. I know of
__import__(), the imp module, and exec. For each of these, is there a
way to make them work "just like" the normal import call?

Thanks,
Sean

[Wojtek Walczak]

On Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:02:03 -0700 (PDT), Sean Davis wrote:

What is the "best practice" for importing an arbitrary module given
that the name is stored in a variable? The context is a simple web
application with URL dispatching to a module and function. I know of
__import__(), the imp module, and exec. For each of these, is there a
way to make them work "just like" the normal import call?

It all depends on your needs. If you have to deal with user
input to get the name of the module, better use __import__
than exec. __import__ works just like the normal import call:

import sys

is equal to:

sys = __import__('sys')

If you need, let's say, to search for a module that lies
outside sys.module paths, then use imp's functions.

HTH.

--
Regards,
Wojtek Walczak,
http://tosh.pl/gminick/