Eric Snow added the comment: __file__ is the filename from which the module *was* loaded (the inspect doc [1] should probably reflect that [2]). The import machinery only uses the module's __spec__ (origin, etc.). __file__ is set strictly as informational (and for backward-compatibility).
Per the language reference [3], __file__ may be omitted when it does not have semantic meaning. It also says "Ultimately, the loader is what makes use of __file__", but that hasn't been accurate since PEP 451 landed. [4] Notably, though, for now the module __repr__() *does* use __file__ if it is available (and the loader doesn't implement module_repr). The counterpart of __file__ within a module's spec is __spec__.origin. The two should stay in sync. In the case of frozen modules origin is set to "frozen". Giving __file__ to frozen modules is inaccurate. The file probably won't be there and the module certainly wasn't loaded from that location. Stdlib modules should not rely on all module's having __file__. Removing __file__ from frozen modules was a change in 3.4 and I'd consider it a 3.4 bug if any stdlib module relied on it. For that matter, I'd consider it a bug if a module relied on all modules having __file__ or even __file__ being set to an actual filename. Would it be inappropriate to set an additional informational attribute on frozen modules to indicate the original path? Something like __frozen_filename__. Then you wouldn't need to rely on __code__.co_filename. p.s. Searching for __file__ in the docs [5] illustrates its prevalence. [1] https://docs.python.org/3/library/inspect.html#types-and-members [2] issue #21760 [3] https://docs.python.org/3/reference/import.html#__file__ [4] issue #21761 [5] https://docs.python.org/3/search.html?q=__file__ ---------- nosy: +brett.cannon, eric.snow, ncoghlan _______________________________________ Python tracker <rep...@bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue21736> _______________________________________ _______________________________________________ Python-bugs-list mailing list Unsubscribe: https://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-bugs-list/archive%40mail-archive.com
