[Python-Dev] Add a -z interpreter flag to execute a zip file

[Andy C]

On 7/13/07, Greg Ewing <greg.ewing at canterbury.ac.nz> wrote:
> Andy C wrote:
> > What does "if __name__ == '__main__" mean in
> > __main__.py?  : )  If someone tries does import __main__ from another
> > module in the program, won't that result in an infinite loop?
>
> Is there a reason not to use __init__.py for this?

Well, you might have multiple executable .py files in the same source
tree.  So then you would want to build multiple .pyz files, each of
which has a different __zipmain__.

I think of __zipmain__ as part of the format of the .pyz file, not
part of the source tree.  In particular, it specifies what
module/function to run in the zipped source tree (and I imagine it
will be adapted for other uses).  In this model you're separating your
development tree and the thing you deploy, which is not always the
case in Python.

Andy