[issue15104] Unclear language in __main__ description

[R. David Murray]

R. David Murray <rdmurray at bitdance.com> added the comment:

Hmm.  I think that chapter could use a more extensive rewrite with some additional information provided.  For example, you actually can have a __main__ module in a package, and anything inside it will execute when the package is run via -m.

The "otherwise anonymous" is a bit misleading, I think.  The real distinction is that when a module is run as a script, __name__ is set to __main__, whereas when it is imported, __name__ is the module name.  This distinction allows a module to easily detect when it is being run as a script rather than imported, and the "idiomatic 'conditional script' stanza" is how to implement the behavior of a module conditionally acting as a script depending on how it is accessed.

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nosy: +r.david.murray
stage:  -> needs patch
title: abusive language in __name__ description -> Unclear language in __main__ description
versions: +Python 2.7, Python 3.2, Python 3.3

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<http://bugs.python.org/issue15104>
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