mrstevegross wrote:
Is there a common way to initialize various stuff in a module? That
is, I have some code in my module that I want to run whenever the
module is imported. Currently, my module looks like this:
=== foo.py ===
def something():
...
def somethingelse():
...
something()
=== EOF ===
Is the 'something()' line at the end in an ok location? I just put it
at the end. Maybe there's some special __init__() mechanism for
modules? Or should I use the 'if __name__ != '__main__'' trick?
Thanks,
--Steve
You're doing fine. Everything in the module is run when it's imported.
Running a definition, of course, compiles it, and adds its name to the
module's namespace. But anything outside of a definition or class, or
other qualifier will just be run.
If the module will never be used as a script, the if __name__ == logic
isn't needed. If you want this initialization code to be run *only* if
it's not being run as a script, then you'd do as you suggest, if
__name__ != "__main__"
But usually, the initialization code wants to be run whether it's being
used as a script, or as a library module. So leave the conditional off,
till you actually decide what behavior should be conditional.
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