Python Interpreter Mode - What are some ways to explore Python's modules and its usage

Question

While inside the Python Interpreter:

What are some ways to learn about the packages I have?

>>> man sys
File "<stdin>", line 1
    man sys
      ^

SyntaxError: invalid syntax

>>> sys --help
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: bad operand type for unary -: '_Helper'

Corrected:

>>> help(sys)
...

Now, how do I see all the packages available to me on my sys.path? And see their subsequent usage and documentation. I know that I can easily download a PDF but all this stuff is already baked in, I'd like to not duplicate files.

Thanks!

Answer 1

You can look at help("modules"), it displays the list of available modules. To explore a particular module/class/function use dir and __doc__:

>>> import sys
>>> sys.__doc__
"This module ..."

>>> dir(sys)
[..., 'setprofile', ...]

>>> print(sys.setprofile.__doc__)
setprofile(function)

Set the profiling function.  It will be called on each function call
and return.  See the profiler chapter in the library manual.