Re:Say “no” to import side‐effects in Python
by bjt on Saturday April 05, 2014 @10:23AM
(#7537147)
In case a non-Python programmer is reading this and misunderstood your comment, I'll point out that having code in __init__.py and having import-time side effects are completely unrelated.
When I put any code in __init__.py, it's usually just to make the import path shorter for the programmer using my library. So instead of this:
from mypackage.models import Foo
...users can do this:
from mypackage import Foo
And all it takes to support that is putting this in mypackage/__init__.py:
from mypackage.models import Foo
A quick Googling of "Should I put code in __init__.py" shows a lot of people doing that same pattern. It doesn't show a consensus of people saying that more substantial code in __init__.py is an anti-pattern.
When I put any code in __init__.py, it's usually just to make the import path shorter for the programmer using my library. So instead of this:
from mypackage.models import Foo
...users can do this:
from mypackage import Foo
And all it takes to support that is putting this in mypackage/__init__.py:
from mypackage.models import Foo
A quick Googling of "Should I put code in __init__.py" shows a lot of people doing that same pattern. It doesn't show a consensus of people saying that more substantial code in __init__.py is an anti-pattern.