Importing a class without knowing the module

[Mike Meyer]

aleax at mail.comcast.net (Alex Martelli) writes:
> Mike Meyer <mwm at mired.org> wrote:
>    ...
>> >> >> How about adding Foo.__file__ to the serialized data?
>    ...
>> >> depends on somewhere on it. You can use the module name if you have it
>> >> available. If not, deriving the module name from the file name is
>> >> about the best you can do.
>> > I disagree with the last sentence.  From a filepath of
>    ...
>> You should read the next-to-last sentence, which says to use the
>> module name if you have it. The last sentence starts "If not" -
>> meaning you don't have the module name. *That's* the case for which
>> the file name is about the best you can do.
> I see!  Thanks for clarifying.  Could you please give me an example of a
> Foo class which has a Foo.__file__ attribute but not a Foo.__module__
> attribute?  Sorry, must be some moment of weakness on my mind's part
> (quite possible, since I am recovering from recent surgery), but I
> cannot think of a situation where that would be the case (while classes
> with __module__ and w/o __file__ are the normal situation).  Were there
> no case in which, given a class, you can learn about its file (by a
> __file__ attribute) but not about its module (by a __module__
> attribute), I would of course hope that my inability to parse that
> sentence of yours, which would under such hypothetical circumstaces be
> an absurd hypothesis, might be more forgivable.

A classes __module__ attribute doesn't always tell you the name of the
module - or at least, not a name that would be usefull for the the OPs
use case. That's the case where you don't have the module name.  The
reference to a classes __file__ attribute was meant to be to the
modules __file__ attribute - I'm surprised that no one picked up on
that. Again, assuming that the module has an __file__ attribute at
all. Getting the __file__ attribute to a module you don't know the
name of is a bit tricky, but possible.

    <mike
-- 
Mike Meyer <mwm at mired.org>			http://www.mired.org/home/mwm/
Independent WWW/Perforce/FreeBSD/Unix consultant, email for more information.