CODEWITHSUNDEEP
pythonimportpython-import
offchan
offchan

Reputation: 4187

Make imported modules private to other modules

Suppose I have a code like this in module a.py

import numpy as np

def sqrt(x):
  return np.sqrt(x)

And I have a module b.py written like this:

import a
print(a.sqrt(25))
print(a.np.sqrt(25))

I will see that the code runs fine and that when using autocomplete in most IDEs, I found that a.np is accessible. I want to make a.np private so that only a code can see that variable. I don't want b to be able to access a.np.

What is a good approach to make this possible?

Why do I want a.np to be inaccessible? Because I want it to not show in the autocomplete when I type a. and press Tab in Jupyter Lab. It hides what the modules can do because there are so many imports that I use in my module.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 209

Answers (2)

Azat Ibrakov
Azat Ibrakov

Reputation: 10971

I see 2 approaches here:

  1. more user-friendly solution: change alias names to "underscored" ones

    import numpy as _np
...

    this will not prevent from importing it, but it will say to user that this are implementation details and one should not depend on them.

  2. preferred-by-me solution: do nothing, leave it as it is, use semver and bump versions accordingly.

Upvotes: 0

bruno desthuilliers
bruno desthuilliers

Reputation: 77912

The solution is the same as for "protected" attributes / methods in a class (names defined in a module are actually - at runtime - attributes of the module object): prefix those names with a single leading underscore, ie

import numpy as _np

def sqrt(x):
  return _np.sqrt(x)

Note that this will NOT prevent someone to use a._np.sqrt(x), but at least it makes it quite clear that he is using a protected attribute.

Upvotes: 2

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