Grouping import statements in python

Question

I have started learning python recently and ran pylint on my python file. I got following comments.

from os import listdir
from os.path import isfile, join

I the above two lines, the Pylinter comment is

C:  5, 0: Imports from package os are not grouped (ungrouped-imports)

How can I achieve that ?

And another comment is in below line

import mimetypes, time, csv, platform, base64, django, sys, os, math, uuid, linecache, logging, requests

C:  5, 0: standard import "import mimetypes, time, csv, platform, base64, django, sys, os, math, uuid, linecache, logging, requests" should be placed before "import mimetypes, time, csv, platform, base64, django, sys, os, math, uuid, linecache, logging, requests" (wrong-import-order)

what does the above line mean and why is it required?

Answer 1

PEP8 suggests to order and group imports like so:

Imports should be grouped in the following order:

1. Standard library imports.

2. Related third party imports.

3. Local application/library specific imports.

You should put a blank line between each group of imports.

In your case, django and requests are third party imports, and so you should write

import mimetypes, time, csv, platform, base64, sys, os, math, uuid, linecache, logging

import django, requests

It can further be useful to alphabetize imports (in each group) when you have this many.

Further, pylint seems to like grouping beyond PEP8. In particular, imports from the same module/package should be grouped together. That is, add a space between your os imports and the rest, and maybe even throw the bare os import up there as well. In all:

import os
from os import listdir
from os.path import isfile, join

import base64, csv, linecache, logging, math, mimetypes, platform, time, sys, uuid

import django, requests