[Python-Dev] Import semantics

[Bill Janssen]

> the difference in Jython is deliberate. I think the reason was to mimic 
> more the Java style for this, in java fully qualified names always work. 
> In jython importing the top level packages is enough to get a similar 
> effect.
> 
> This is unlikely to change for backward compatibility reasons, at least 
> from my POV.

While I appreciate the usage concerns, at some point someone has to
decide whether Jython is an implementation of Python, or a version of
BeanShell with odd syntax.  If it's Python, it has to comply with the
Python specification, regardless of what Java does.  If it doesn't do
that, it should be cast into the outer darkness of the Python world.

The escape hatch here would be to redefine the Python specification to
allow either behavior.

Bill