Python : Import modules once then share with several files

Question

I have files as follow,

file1.py file2.py file3.py 

Let's say that all three use

lib7.py lib8.py lib9.py 

Currently each of the three files has the lines

import lib7 import lib8 import lib9 

How can I setup my directory/code such that the libs are imported only once, and then shared among the three files?

Answer 1

You will have to import something at least once per file. But you can set it up such that this is a single import line:

The probably cleanest way is to create a folder lib, move all lib?.py in there, and add an empty file called __init__.py to it.

This way you create a package out of your lib?.py files. It can then be used like this:

import lib lib.lib7 

---

Depending on where you want to end up, you might also want to have some code in the __init__.py:

from lib7 import * from lib8 import * from lib9 import * 

This way you get all symbols from the individual lib?.py in a single import lib:

import lib lib.something_from_lib7