Python modules play a crucial role in organizing and reusing code in your programs. By breaking down your code into modules, you can promote better organization and facilitate code reuse, making your code more manageable and maintainable.
In Python, every file can be treated as a module. To use a module from another file, you can import it into your current file. Typically, one file serves as the entry point of your program, while the other files act as modules, exposing functions that can be called from different files.
Let’s consider an example where we have a file named dog.py:
def bark():
print('WOF!')
To use the bark() function from dog.py in another file, we can import the module using the import statement and then reference the function using the dot notation module_name.function_name():
import dog
dog.bark()
Alternatively, we can use the from ... import ... syntax to directly import the function and call it without the module name:
from dog import bark
bark()
The first approach allows us to load everything defined in the file, while the second approach allows us to pick specific functions or objects that we need.
It’s worth mentioning that module import depends on the location of the file in the filesystem. For instance, if you have a dog.py file in a lib subfolder, you need to create an empty file named __init__.py in that folder to inform Python that it contains modules.
Once you have the lib subfolder with the __init__.py file, you can import the dog module from lib using the following syntax:
from lib import dog
dog.bark()
Alternatively, you can import the specific function from lib.dog like this:
from lib.dog import bark
bark()
By using modules, you can organize your code into logical units and improve code reusability. As a result, your programs become more modular, easier to maintain, and allow for better collaboration among developers. Embracing the power of modules in Python can significantly enhance the overall quality of your codebase.