module imports and memory usage

[Brad Tilley]

Brad Tilley wrote:
> When memory usage is a concern, is it better to do:
> 
> from X import Y
> 
> or
> 
> import X
> 
> Also, is there a way to load and unload modules as they are needed. I 
> have some scripts that sleep for extended periods during a while loop 
> and I need to be as memory friendly as possible. I can post a detailed 
> script that currently uses ~ 10MB of memory if anyone is interested.
> 
> Thanks,
> Brad

I discovered that when I wrap my code up in a function def and call it 
that it uses around 4.6 MB of RAM all the time... even while sleeping. 
However, when I don't put it in a function def it uses around 2.6MB of 
data when it executes and only 100KB while sleeping. Why is this?