Python Unable to place the module - python

I have just started learning python version 3 and trying to create a file in python.
I placed the file in all the places which is shown by this set of command.
import sys
sys.path
The file has a simple function something like this
def hello(var):
print("Hello "+var)
But when I run it
hello("Google")
I am getting NameError.
Please can anybody help me? I am using Windows. Or is it that I have to call by file name and not by function name? If so, how should I call it?
Thanks in advance to whoever helps me.

You need to import your file first:
import myModule
(assuming your file is called myModule.py)
Then you can call the function like this:
myModule.hello('world')
Alternative syntax:
from myModule import hello
hello('world')

Related

How to import a file from a package which is importing another file from the same package

I've been working on a project where I have a file which needs to call a function from a file in a sub package/directory, which in turn is calling a function from another file in the same sub package. As such, I have a main file which is importing a sub file. This sub file is also importing another sub file which is in the same package.
The first sub file has no issue whatsoever importing the second sub file. The main file also has no issue importing the first sub file. However, when I put it all together and run the main file, Python thinks that the second sub file doesn't exist, which I find strange. I've simplified and visualised my problem with an example below:
I have the following file hierarchy:
test_package\
__init__.py
main_file.py
test_sub_package\
__init__.py
subfile1.py
subfile2.py
main_file code:
import test_sub_package.subfile1
subfile1 code:
import subfile2
subfile2 code:
def get_string():
return ("Hello, World!")
So, I would expect main_file to import subfile2 via subfile1. However this doesn't seem to be the case because I get an error:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "...\Test\main_file.py", line 1, in <module>
import test_package.subfile1
File "...\Test\test_sub_package\subfile1.py", line 1, in <module>
import subfile2
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'subfile2'
I was a little surprised that I got this error before I even attempted to call the functionality in subfile2. Either way, I'm confused why this doesn't work. Am I just doing something stupid here or am I trying to do something Python fundamentally doesn't support. If anyone can give me a solution it would be most appreciated.
I suspect this is probably a duplicate but I couldn't find an answer to my specific problem. So, sorry in advance.
When you import a module into another module from the same directory you must use must use a relative import in subfile1.py you will need to write:
from . import subfile2
Note, that doesn't give subfile 1 access to get_string to use it in subfile1, you would need to either write subfile2.get_string() or import it directly with:
from .subfile2 import get_string
I have tried this out and it works, I hope this helps :)
Note: that, if you are running a python script, and you need to import a module in that same directory, you can just say import module_name. It makes a difference if it is a script you are running, or a module that is being used in some other script. For a detailed explanation as to why see here
(I assume from your error message that you want to run main.py, if this is not the case you will need to change import test_sub_package.subfile1 to from . import test_sub_package.subfile1)
main file should be:
from test_sub_package.subfile1 import get_string
get_string()
subfile1.py
import test_sub_package.subfile2

Get the list of local functions from a python file into another python file

I have a requirement where I need to parse the functions defined in a python file from another python file.
e.g. I have a python file with following contents:
a.py
import os, sys
def function1('text'):
pass
def function2('text'):
pass
Another file is:
b.py
interested_func = 'function2'
function_list = <code to fetch the functions defined in a.py>
if interested_func in function_list:
print 'match found'
How can I get the functions from a.py into b.py so that I can compare the same with the 'interested_func' data and can do specific task based on the match.
Please note that I have 100s of files with different functions defined inside them, so I do not want to import the file.
Please help, thanks in advance!
You should probably use the importlib module:
import importlib
obj = importlib.import_module(module)
print(dir(obj))
You can read more about importlib over in the Python docs.
If that doesn't work for you, then you'll probably want to look at some static code analysis tools such as pylint that might give you a clue into how to do this sort of thing. Another place to look would be to check out PyDev's source code and see how it does code analysis.

Python Calling Function from Another File

I am using Python 2.7 on Windows 7 Professional.
I am trying to call a function saved in another file to run in this file's code.
Function called dosomething is found in anotherfile.py
anotherfile.py is in the same directory as current code.
My call in this file is simple:
import anotherfile
print anotherfile.dosomething
I am getting an error: No module named anotherfile
The problem is the same as I found in this post
I don't understand the solution but I'd like any insight?
Thank you.
EDIT: The other question/answers discuss resetting CLASSPATH and setting PYTHONPATH. I explored this but was not sure how to do this. Perhaps relevant?
Let us have two files in the same directory. Files are called main.py and another.py.
First write a method in another.py:
def do_something():
return "This is the do something method"
Then call the method from main.py. Here is the main.py:
import another
print another.do_something()
Run main.py and you will get output like this:
This is the do something method
N.B.: The above code is being executed using Python 2.7 in Windows 10.
Specify the module then the file then the import like so:
from this_module.anotherfile import dosomething
or if you want all functions from "anotherfile.py"
from this_module.anotherfile import *
and then you can call the "dosomething" command without the "anotherfile" prefix.
I ran into same problem. After ample of trials, I ended up solving it with the below mentioned solution:
Make sure your current file and anotherfile.py lies in same location of system path.
Say your another.py and current file lies at location : "C:/Users/ABC"
In case, one is not aware of system path. Use below code in current file:
import sys
print(sys.path)
import sys
sys.path.append('/C:/Users/ABC/')
Then you do below code in same current code:
from another import dosomething
I found the issue. Python was looking in another directory for the files. I explicitly set my working directory as the path to where thisfile.py and anotherfile.py reside and it works. Thank you for all the quick replies.

How can I import a python file through a command prompt?

I am working on project euler and wanted to time all of my code. What I have is directory of files in the form 'problemxxx.py' where xxx is the problem number. Each of these files has a main() function that returns the answer. So I have created a file called run.py, located in the same directory as the problem files. I am able to get the name of the file through command prompt. But when I try to import the problem file, I continue to get ImportError: No module named problem. Below is the code for run.py so far, along with the command prompt used.
# run.py
import sys
problem = sys.argv[1]
import problem # I have also tired 'from problem import main' w/ same result
# will add timeit functions later, but trying to get this to run first
problem.main()
The command prompts that I have tried are the following: (both of which give the ImportError stated above)
python run.py problem001
python run.py problem001.py
How can I import the function main() from the file problem001.py? Does importing not work with the file name stored as a variable? Is there a better solution than trying to get the file name through command prompt? Let me know if I need to add more information, and thank you for any help!
You can do this by using the __import__() function.
# run.py
import sys
problem = __import__(sys.argv[1], fromlist=["main"]) # I have also tired 'from problem import main' w/ same result
problem.main()
Then if you have problem001.py like this:
def main():
print "In sub_main"
Calling python run.py problem001 prints:
In sub_main
A cleaner way to do this (instead of the __import__ way) is to use the importlib module. Your run.py needs to changes:
import importlib
problem = importlib.import_module(sys.argv[1])
Alternatives are mentioned in this question.
For sure! You can use __ import_ built-in function like __import__(problem). However this is not recommended to use, because it is not nice in terms of coding-style. I think if you are using this for testing purposes then you should use unittest module, either way try to avoid these constructions.
Regards
You can use exec() trick:
import sys
problem = sys.argv[1]
exec('import %s' % problem)
exec('%s.main()' % problem)

Accessing a function from a module

I cant figure out how to add my simple function to my main program file. why not ?
when i do this:
import print_text
echothis("this is text")
exit()
cant understand why people think this is such a bad question.
this doesnt work either:
print_text.echothis("this is text")
same thing happens if i type any of the answers below.
including:
from print_text import echothis
I just get this error:
from: can't read /var/mail/print_text
./blah3.py: line 3: syntax error near unexpected token `"this is text"'
./blah3.py: line 3: `print_text.echothis("this is text")'
or a variant without the /var/mail line...
*this file is named print_text.py*
#!/usr/bin/env python
import time
import random
import string
import threading
import sys
def echothis(txt):
woo=txt
stdout.write(woo)
EDIT: You're actually not having a python issue but a bash one. You're running your python script as if it were bash (hence the 'from: can't read from'), did you put #!/usr/bin/env python at the beginning of the file you're running (not print_text.py, the other one)? You could alternatively call it that way: python myfile.py and it should work.
When you import a module, it is namespaced, so if you want to use anything that is from that module, you need to call it using the proper namespace. Here, you would call you echothis function using print_text.echothis.
Alternatively, if you want to include echothis in your main namespace, you can use the from print_text import echothis syntax.
Try this:
import print_text
print_text.echothis("this is a text")

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