Run code depending on what is imported from a python module

Question

In python is it possible to write a module which results in the following behavior:

from my_module import normal_stuff
# nothing happens

but

from my_module import normal_stuff, arcane_magic
# some code has been executed behind the scenes (i.g. redefining sys.excepthook)

I imagine that this could be done by parsing the importing script with the help of the inspect-module but maybe there is a "cleaner" way.

See https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2447353/getattr-on-a-module for a possible solution; basically the module can replace its own entry in `sys.modules` with a class instance, which can have a `__getattribute__()` defined to do arbitrary things on access to a particular name. — jasonharper, Aug 18 '17 at 18:56

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 19 '17 at 09:37

0

I would just put the following code under my imports:

from my_module import normal_stuff, arcane_magic

if 'arcane_magic' in globals():
    # do some magic stuff
    pass

answered Aug 19 '17 at 09:37

kchomski

nice idea in principle but I look for a solution which does not depend on code in the importing script. The "magic" should completely be contained in `my_module` – cknoll Aug 20 '17 at 15:02

1 Answers1