Importing modules from parent folder

Question

I am running Python 2.5.

This is my folder tree:

ptdraft/   nib.py   simulations/     life/       life.py 

(I also have __init__.py in each folder, omitted here for readability)

How do I import the nib module from inside the life module? I am hoping it is possible to do without tinkering with sys.path.

Note: The main module being run is in the ptdraft folder.

Answer 1

You could use relative imports (python >= 2.5):

from ... import nib 

(What’s New in Python 2.5) PEP 328: Absolute and Relative Imports

EDIT: added another dot '.' to go up two packages

Answer 2

Relative imports (as in from .. import mymodule) only work in a package. To import 'mymodule' that is in the parent directory of your current module:

import os import sys import inspect  currentdir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(inspect.getfile(inspect.currentframe()))) parentdir = os.path.dirname(currentdir) sys.path.insert(0, parentdir)   import mymodule 

edit: the __file__ attribute is not always given. Instead of using os.path.abspath(__file__) I now suggested using the inspect module to retrieve the filename (and path) of the current file