Capitalization standards in importing in python - python

There are a lot of standard abbreviations used for importing modules in python. I frequently see
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
import networkx as nx
I notice that all of these are lower case. I can't think of any exceptions. However, it is case sensitive, so we certainly can use capital letters. Is there any PEP standard about this? In particular, would there be any problem with creating modules with capitalized names and importing them with capitalizations?
For example:
import MyClass as MC
import TomAndJerry as TaJ
(please note - I'm not really interested in personal opinions - but rather whether there are official standards)

There are indeed official standards:
Modules should have short, all-lowercase names. Underscores can be
used in the module name if it improves readability. Python packages
should also have short, all-lowercase names, although the use of
underscores is discouraged.
When an extension module written in C or C++ has an accompanying
Python module that provides a higher level (e.g. more object oriented)
interface, the C/C++ module has a leading underscore (e.g. _socket ).

PEP 8 covers package and module names specifically stating:
Modules should have short, all-lowercase names. Underscores can be used in the module name if it improves readability. Python packages should also have short, all-lowercase names, although the use of underscores is discouraged.

There is a standard.
It also gets violated not infrequently. The most common example of off the top of my head is cPickle.

Related

Use same name for module and package

When developing in Python, I try to follow PEP8 conventions. So I use lower case for module (i.e. file) names and package (i.e. directories) names.
Most of the time, I end up with the same name.
For example, say I work on a calendar manager, I'll create a directory called calendar_manager1 and put inside a file called calendar_manager.py.
This always bothers me a little when I then have to type from calendar_manager import calendar_manager, as I wonder if this is slightly wrong, or goes against the guidelines of the language. On the other hand, there is often one single name that makes sense to me for a project, and it seems natural to use it both for the package and module.
I notice few of the well known python packages do this. datetime is a notable exception, as both the package and module are called datetime, therefore needing to import it like this from datetime import datetime.
Is it recognized as good practice or not to have the same name for both? As I do not want to encourage subjective answers, can anyone point me to an authoritative source, or objective data that indicates one way or the other? I could not find anything on that specific point in PEP8.
1 I know PEP8 does not encourage underscores for package names, but this has actually become accepted practice in the Python community. I find it clearer than juxtaposing words together, like calendarmanager
There are a few questions on Stack Overflow on using the same name for module and package, but they address solving technical problems around it, not higher level discussion about naming conventions.
Python Enhancement Proposals (PEP)
A common theme across several Python Enhancement Proposals (PEP) to enforce the use of all-lowercase or sneak_case for names (packages, modules, functions, variables, etc.), so is the use of underscores being usually discouraged when naming a package as you too mentioned.
That doesn't mean that you need to use fused lowercase names like calendarmanager and/or stick with only using descriptive or non-single names for packages and modules alike.
Although it is recommended that one should adhere to using certain PEP conventions, it is also advised that everyone should do whatever makes more sense according to their needs, the same why reason people use underscores for package names despite it being discouraged.
Same Name & Non-Single Names
Using the exact same name for a package and the module that's inside can, depending on the name and name length, make it difficult to read and remember every time.
If you decide to use non-single names, consider using a shortname:
import calendar_manager.calendar_manager as shortname
Add the same name again:
import calendar_manager.calendar_manager as calendar_manager
Names, Cases & Examples
Names should have meaning, while also being relatively simple. Modules & packages should both have a meaningfully and memorable name, just like projects.
You have two names and nothing says they have to be the same length or the same case, you are free to choose what you feel makes more sense to you and your use case.
There are a plethora of different supported case formats available out there. Use them to suit your needs, not to hinder your progress.
Example using snake_case and camelCase:
Package name: “calendar_utils”
Module name: “calenderManager”
from calender_utils import calenderManager
A different example using camelCase and then snake_case:
Package name: “calendarUtils”
Module name: “calender_manager”
from calenderUtils import calender_manager
Example using snake_case and a shorter name:
Package name: “calendar_utils”
Module name: “manager”
from calender_utils import manager
Example using camelCase and a shorter name:
Package name: “calendarUtils”
Module name: “manager”
from calenderUtils import manager

Naming convention for containers in the Python standard library

Consider the naming convention used for different types of containers in the Python standard library:
Why do some methods follow camel case, but others like deque and defaultdict don't? How are these methods different from each other in a way that would explain this difference?
If it's because at some point the convention changed, why wouldn't the module e.g. provide alias them with camel case names to old names as well?
Usually in python, class names follow the "pascal" case convention, methods / functions follow the "snake" case convention.
But here is a official reference from https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0008/:
Package and Module Names
Modules should have short, all-lowercase
names. Underscores can be used in the module name if it improves
readability. Python packages should also have short, all-lowercase
names, although the use of underscores is discouraged.
When an extension module written in C or C++ has an accompanying
Python module that provides a higher level (e.g. more object oriented)
interface, the C/C++ module has a leading underscore (e.g. _socket).
Class names
Class names should normally use the CapWords convention.
The naming convention for functions may be used instead in cases where
the interface is documented and used primarily as a callable.
Note that there is a separate convention for builtin names: most
builtin names are single words (or two words run together), with the
CapWords convention used only for exception names and builtin
constants.

What is the capitalization standard for class names in the Python Standard Library?

The norm for Python standard library classes seems to be that class names are lowercase - this appears to hold true for built-ins such as str and int as well as for most classes that are part of standard library modules that must be imported such as datetime.date or datetime.datetime.
But, certain standard library classes such as enum.Enum and decimal.Decimal are capitalized. At first glance, it might seem that classes are capitalized when their name is equal to the module name, but that does not hold true in all cases (such as datetime.datetime).
What's the rationale/logic behind the capitalization conventions for class names in the Python Standard Library?
The Key Resources section of the Developers Guide lists PEP 8 as the style guide.
From PEP 8 Naming Conventions, emphasis mine.
The naming conventions of Python's library are a bit of a mess, so
we'll never get this completely consistent -- nevertheless, here are
the currently recommended naming standards. New modules and packages
(including third party frameworks) should be written to these
standards, but where an existing library has a different style,
internal consistency is preferred.
Also from PEP 8
A style guide is about consistency. Consistency with this style guide
is important. Consistency within a project is more important.
Consistency within one module or function is the most important.
...
Some other good reasons to ignore a particular guideline:
To be consistent with surrounding code that also breaks it (maybe for historic reasons) -- although this is also an opportunity to clean
up someone else's mess (in true XP style).
Because the code in question predates the introduction of the guideline and there is no other reason to be modifying that code.
You probably will never know why Standard Library naming conventions conflict with PEP 8 but it is probably a good idea to follow it for new stuff or even in your own projects.
Pep 8 is considered to be the standard style guide by many Python devs. This recommends to name classes using CamelCase/CapWords.
The naming convention for functions may be used instead in cases where the interface is documented and used primarily as a callable.
Note that there is a separate convention for builtin names: most builtin names are single words (or two words run together), with the CapWords convention used only for exception names and builtin constants.
Check this link for PEP8 naming conventions and standards.
datetime is a part of standard library,
Python’s standard library is very extensive, offering a wide range of facilities as indicated by the long table of contents listed below. The library contains built-in modules (written in C) that provide access to system functionality such as file I/O that would otherwise be inaccessible to Python programmers, as well as modules written in Python that provide standardized solutions for many problems that occur in everyday programming.
In some cases, like sklearn, nltk, django, the package names are all lowercase. This link will take you there.
Modules should have short, all-lowercase names. Underscores can be used in the module name if it improves readability. Python packages should also have short, all-lowercase names, although the use of underscores is discouraged.
When an extension module written in C or C++ has an accompanying Python module that provides a higher level (e.g. more object oriented) interface, the C/C++ module has a leading underscore (e.g. _socket ).
I hope this covers all the questions.

What is the underscore prefix for python file name?

In cherryPy for example, there are files like:
__init__.py
_cptools.py
How are they different? What does this mean?
__...__ means reserved Python name (both in filenames and in other names). You shouldn't invent your own names using the double-underscore notation; and if you use existing, they have special functionality.
In this particular example, __init__.py defines the 'main' unit for a package; it also causes Python to treat the specific directory as a package. It is the unit that will be used when you call import cherryPy (and cherryPy is a directory). This is briefly explained in the Modules tutorial.
Another example is the __eq__ method which provides equality comparison for a class. You are allowed to call those methods directly (and you use them implicitly when you use the == operator, for example); however, newer Python versions may define more such methods and thus you shouldn't invent your own __-names because they might then collide. You can find quite a detailed list of such methods in Data model docs.
_... is often used as 'internal' name. For example, modules starting with _ shouldn't be used directly; similarly, methods with _ are supposedly-private and so on. It's just a convention but you should respect it.
These, and other, naming conventions are described in detail in Style Guide for Python Code - Descriptive: Naming Styles
Briefly:
__double_leading_and_trailing_underscore__: "magic" objects or attributes that live in user-controlled namespaces. E.g.__init__, __import__ or __file__. Never invent such names; only use them as documented.
_single_leading_underscore: weak "internal use" indicator. E.g. from M import * does not import objects whose name starts with an underscore.
__init__.py is a special file that, when existing in a folder turns that folder into module. Upon importing the module, __init__.py gets executed. The other one is just a naming convention but I would guess this would say that you shouldn't import that file directly.
Take a look here: 6.4. Packages for an explanation of how to create modules.
General rule: If anything in Python is namend __anything__ then it is something special and you should read about it before using it (e.g. magic functions).
The current chosen answer already gave good explanation on the double-underscore notation for __init__.py.
And I believe there is no real need for _cptools.py notation in a filename. It is presumably an unnecessary extended usage of applying the "single leading underscore" rule from the Style Guide for Python Code - Descriptive: Naming Styles:
_single_leading_underscore: weak "internal use" indicator. E.g. from M import * does not import objects whose name starts with an underscore.
If anything, the said Style Guide actually is against using _single_leading_underscore.py in filename. Its Package and Module Names section only mentions such usage when a module is implemented in C/C++.
In general, that _single_leading_underscore notation is typically observed in function names, method names and member variables, to differentiate them from other normal methods.
There is few need (if any at all), to use _single_leading_underscore.py on filename, because the developers are not scrapers , they are unlikely to salvage a file based on its filename. They would just follow a package's highest level of APIs (technically speaking, its exposed entities defined by __all__), therefore all the filenames are not even noticeable, let alone to be a factor, of whether a file (i.e. module) would be used.

Python naming conventions for modules

I have a module whose purpose is to define a class called "nib". (and a few related classes too.) How should I call the module itself? "nib"? "nibmodule"? Anything else?
Just nib. Name the class Nib, with a capital N. For more on naming conventions and other style advice, see PEP 8, the Python style guide.
I would call it nib.py. And I would also name the class Nib.
In a larger python project I'm working on, we have lots of modules defining basically one important class. Classes are named beginning with a capital letter. The modules are named like the class in lowercase. This leads to imports like the following:
from nib import Nib
from foo import Foo
from spam.eggs import Eggs, FriedEggs
It's a bit like emulating the Java way. One class per file. But with the added flexibility, that you can allways add another class to a single file if it makes sense.
I know my solution is not very popular from the pythonic point of view, but I prefer to use the Java approach of one module->one class, with the module named as the class.
I do understand the reason behind the python style, but I am not too fond of having a very large file containing a lot of classes. I find it difficult to browse, despite folding.
Another reason is version control: having a large file means that your commits tend to concentrate on that file. This can potentially lead to a higher quantity of conflicts to be resolved. You also loose the additional log information that your commit modifies specific files (therefore involving specific classes). Instead you see a modification to the module file, with only the commit comment to understand what modification has been done.
Summing up, if you prefer the python philosophy, go for the suggestions of the other posts. If you instead prefer the java-like philosophy, create a Nib.py containing class Nib.
nib is fine. If in doubt, refer to the Python style guide.
From PEP 8:
Package and Module Names
Modules should have short, all-lowercase names. Underscores can be used
in the module name if it improves readability. Python packages should
also have short, all-lowercase names, although the use of underscores is
discouraged.
Since module names are mapped to file names, and some file systems are
case insensitive and truncate long names, it is important that module
names be chosen to be fairly short -- this won't be a problem on Unix,
but it may be a problem when the code is transported to older Mac or
Windows versions, or DOS.
When an extension module written in C or C++ has an accompanying Python
module that provides a higher level (e.g. more object oriented)
interface, the C/C++ module has a leading underscore (e.g. _socket).
From PEP-8: Package and Module Names:
Modules should have short, all-lowercase names. Underscores can be
used in the module name if it improves readability.
Python packages should also have short, all-lowercase names, although the use of
underscores is discouraged.
When an extension module written in C or C++ has an accompanying
Python module that provides a higher level (e.g. more object oriented)
interface, the C/C++ module has a leading underscore (e.g. _socket).

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