Python packaging, relative modules and cyclic dependencies

Take a look at flask, pip

Inside their own modules, flask:

Let’s look at flask/init.py:

# utilities we import from Werkzeug and Jinja2 that are unused
# in the module but are exported as public interface.
from werkzeug.exceptions import abort
from werkzeug.utils import redirect
from jinja2 import Markup, escape

from .app import Flask, Request, Response
from .config import Config
from .helpers import url_for, flash, send_file, send_from_directory, \
    get_flashed_messages, get_template_attribute, make_response, safe_join, \
    stream_with_context
from .globals import current_app, g, request, session, _request_ctx_stack, \
     _app_ctx_stack
from .ctx import has_request_context, has_app_context, \
     after_this_request, copy_current_request_context
from .module import Module
from .blueprints import Blueprint
from .templating import render_template, render_template_string

# the signals
from .signals import signals_available, template_rendered, request_started, \
     request_finished, got_request_exception, request_tearing_down, \
     appcontext_tearing_down, appcontext_pushed, \
     appcontext_popped, message_flashed

https://github.com/mitsuhiko/flask/blob/master/flask/ctx.py is importing relatively with names:

from werkzeug.exceptions import HTTPException

from .globals import _request_ctx_stack, _app_ctx_stack
from .module import blueprint_is_module
from .signals import appcontext_pushed, appcontext_popped

I heard before its best practice to just import the module and access it namespaced.

Pip pip.init.py:

#!/usr/bin/env python
import os
import optparse

import sys
import re

from pip.exceptions import InstallationError, CommandError, PipError
from pip.log import logger
from pip.util import get_installed_distributions, get_prog
from pip.vcs import git, mercurial, subversion, bazaar  # noqa
from pip.baseparser import ConfigOptionParser, UpdatingDefaultsHelpFormatter
from pip.commands import commands, get_summaries, get_similar_command

Look at the top of pip.log:

""Logging
"""

import sys
import os
import logging

import pkg_resources

from pip import backwardcompat
from pip._vendor import colorama

Where pip.backwardcompat is a module.

Wrap your brain around this concept.

This is not an applied application being used for a personal project, this is a proper package that stands on its own. It’s Flask.

Look at __init__.

Software development with time constrictions may not permit every project to be module, but for software that goes up on pypi or gets reused at work, adhering to good architecture will save time.