What Does The Google Styling Guide Say About Imports

Understanding the upsides and downsides.

Recently, I was reviewing Google’s Python style guide. Here’s what it says about imports.

When writing import statements, it is recommended to import the module instead of a function.

Quoting from the style guide:

Use import statements for packages and modules only, not for individual classes or functions.

Advantages:

• Namespace clarity: Importing the module makes the source of the function clear during invocation. For instance, my_module.my_function() tells that my_function is defined in my_module.

• Fewer import statements: If you intend to use many functions from a specific module, importing each function may not be feasible, as shown below:

  

Disadvantage:

• Explicitness: When you import a function instead of a module, it's immediately clear which functions you intend to use from the module.

Over to you: While the guideline is intended for Google's internal stuff, it may be applicable elsewhere. Yet, when would you still prefer importing functions over modules? Let me know :)

Read the full guide here: Google style guide.

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Find the code for my tips here: GitHub.

I like to explore, experiment and write about data science concepts and tools. You can read my articles on Medium. Also, you can connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter.