Override namespace in Python

Question

Say there is a folder, '/home/user/temp/a40bd22344'. The name is completely random and changes in every iteration. I need to be able to import this folder in Python using a fixed name, say 'project'. I know I can add this folder to sys.path to enable import lookup, but is there a way to replace 'a40bd22344' with 'project'?

Maybe some clever hacks in init.py?

Added:

It needs to be global - that is, other scripts loading 'project' via the standard:

import project

Have to work properly, loading a40bd22344 instead.

Answer 1

Here's one way to do it, without touching sys.path, using the imp module in Python:

import imp

f, filename, desc = imp.find_module('a40bd22344', ['/home/user/temp/'])
project = imp.load_module('a40bd22344', f, filename, desc)

project.some_func()

Here is a link to some good documentation on the imp module:

• imp — Access the import internals