Is there Python equivalent to Perl BEGIN{} block?

[Alex]

On Mar 15, 5:42 am, Carl Banks <pavlovevide... at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mar 14, 6:37 pm, Alex <alex.pul... at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Mar 13, 6:21 pm, Carl Banks <pavlovevide... at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > On Mar 13, 7:02 am, Bruno Desthuilliers <bruno.
>
> > > 42.desthuilli... at wtf.websiteburo.oops.com> wrote:
> > > > Alex a écrit :
> > > > (sni)
>
> > > > > First of all thanks all for answering!
>
> > > > > I have some environment check and setup in the beginning of the code.
> > > > > I would like to move it to the end of the script.
>
> > > > Why ? (if I may ask...)
>
> > Sure, because of a readability (similar to function declarations in
> > C).
>
> > > > > But I want it to
> > > > > execute first, so the script will exit if the environment is not
> > > > > configured properly.
>
> > > > If you want some code to execute first when the script/module is loaded,
> > > > then keep this code where it belongs : at the beginning of the script.
>
> > > I concur with Bruno's recommendation: stuff you want to do first
> > > should come first in the script.  Things like BEGIN blocks hurt
> > > readability because you can't identify where execution begins without
> > > reading the whole file.
>
> > > Having said that, one thing that often happens in Python scripts is
> > > that all the functions are defined first, then the script logic
> > > follows.  So you could put the meat of your script in a function, then
> > > the "BEGIN" stuff after that functions:
>
> > > def run_script():
> > >     #
> > >     # script contained in this long function
> > >     #
>
> > > # Then test preconditions here...
> > > if os.environ["HELLO"] != "WORLD":
> > >     sys.exit(2)
>
> > > # Then call the run_script functions
> > > run_script()
>
> > > But having said THAT, I don't recommend you do that with
> > > preconditions.  If the script has a quick early exit scenario, you
> > > really ought to put that near the top, before the function
> > > definitions, to clearly show to a human reader what is necessary to
> > > run the script.
>
> > > Carl Banks
>
> > Hi,
>
> > Maybe i was a little bit unclear... I meant that i wanted to do
> > something like this:
>
> > #!usr/bin/env python
>
> > check_env()
>
> > from subprocess import *
>
> > class MyClass:
> >    # Class definition
>
> > def check_env():
> >    # Code
>
> > if __name__ == "__main__":
> >    # Script logic
>
> > The thing is, as i saw, that Python doesn't recognize the
> > "check_env()" function before it reaches the "def" statement.
>
> You could rearrange it like this and it will work:
>
> #!usr/bin/env python
>
> def check_env():
>    # Code
>
> check_env()
>
> from subprocess import *
>
> class MyClass:
>    # Class definition
>
> if __name__ == "__main__":
>    # Script logic
>
> Or, better yet, do what Arnaud Delobelle suggests.
>
> It's not a big deal to move imports down the page a bit, as long as
> you throw in a few clear comments explaning what you're doing and why.
>
> You might also consider putting check_env() in a separate module.
>
> Carl Banks

Hi guys,

Thanks for help! :)