How can I import a Python module dynamically given the full path?
Importing programmatically
To programmatically import a module, use importlib.import_module().
import importlib
itertools = importlib.import_module('itertools')
Checking if a module can be imported
If you need to find out if a module can be imported without actually doing the import, then you should use importlib.util.find_spec().
Note that if name is a submodule (contains a dot), importlib.util.find_spec() will import the parent module.
import importlib.util
import sys
# For illustrative purposes.
name = 'itertools'
if name in sys.modules:
print(f"{name!r} already in sys.modules")
elif (spec := importlib.util.find_spec(name)) is not None:
# If you chose to perform the actual import ...
module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
sys.modules[name] = module
spec.loader.exec_module(module)
print(f"{name!r} has been imported")
else:
print(f"can't find the {name!r} module")
Importing a source file directly
To import a Python source file directly, use the following recipe:
import importlib.util
import sys
# For illustrative purposes.
import tokenize
file_path = tokenize.__file__
module_name = tokenize.__name__
spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(module_name, file_path)
module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
sys.modules[module_name] = module
spec.loader.exec_module(module)
Implementing lazy imports
The example below shows how to implement lazy imports:
import importlib.util
import sys
def lazy_import(name):
spec = importlib.util.find_spec(name)
loader = importlib.util.LazyLoader(spec.loader)
spec.loader = loader
module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
sys.modules[name] = module
loader.exec_module(module)
return module
lazy_typing = lazy_import("typing")
#lazy_typing is a real module object,
#but it is not loaded in memory yet.
lazy_typing.TYPE_CHECKING
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
-
How to remove an element from a list by index in Python?
To remove an element from a list by index in Python, you can use the del statement. Here is an example: a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] del a[2] print(a) # [1, 2, 4, 5] The del statement removes the element at...
Questions -
Proper way to declare custom exceptions in modern Python?
In modern Python, the recommended way to declare custom exceptions is to create a new class that inherits from the built-in Exception class. This class should define any additional attributes or me...
Questions -
How do I remove a trailing newline in Python?
You can use the rstrip() method to remove a trailing newline from a string. Here is an example: s = "Hello, World!\n" s = s.rstrip() print(s) This will print "Hello, World!" (without the newline). ...
Questions -
How to remove a key from a Python dictionary?
To remove a key from a dictionary, you can use the del statement. Here's an example: my_dict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3} del my_dict['b'] print(my_dict) # Output: {'a': 1, 'c': 3} Alternatively, yo...
Questions
We are hiring.
Software is our way of making the world a tiny bit better. We build tools for the makers of tomorrow.
Help us in making the internet more reliable.
Help us with developer education and get paid.
