[Tutor] definition of a library

[Erik Price]

I've seen the word "library" used in the context of software code since 
before I can remember.  I've never really known what it is.  So I 
googled...

...according to webopedia.internet.com, a library has two definitions:

(1) A collection of files.

(2) In programming, a library is a collection of precompiled routines 
that a program can use. The routines, sometimes called modules, are 
stored in object format. Libraries are particularly useful for storing 
frequently used routines because you do not need to explicitly link them 
to every program that uses them. The linker automatically looks in 
libraries for routines that it does not find elsewhere. In MS-Windows 
environments, library files have a .DLL extension.

I'm referring to the second definition, when I ask my question -- are 
there libraries in Python?  Does the Python binary know where to search 
for this code, or do I need to import it as I do with modules?  Are 
libraries in Python generally in already-compiled form (as described in 
the second definition) or are they generally raw source code?

Thank you.


Erik