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I understand that if __name__ == "__main__" is important when there are py files that your main module imports. When you deploy a much simpler .py module. where you only import pandas, sklearn etc, and none of your own helper functions, is it still a good practice to use if __name__ == "__main__" and if so, why is that?

EDIT:

Yes, y'all are absolutely right. I meant to say this module will never be imported by other modules. Given that, should I use if __name__ == "__main__"? and if so, why? As @MistarMiyagi pointed out, yes, if it's a good practice to use the if statement is a very open ended question. I am now asking if not using the is statement in this scenario would potentially cause any issues.

Jack Smith
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  • *"is important when there are py files that your main module imports"* – no, it's important when your main module is imported *by* other files. – mkrieger1 Oct 20 '21 at 13:17
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    Which it should be if you have any kind of decent testing. – chepner Oct 20 '21 at 13:17
  • For the record, I don't think the other Q&A answers this one. Yet in its current state this one seems unanswerable: One can very easily test whether it is necessary *for a specific script*, but *in general* there are many things that *may be* relevant. Likewise whether it is "good practice" is rather open, since one might factor in all sorts of software quality criteria (consistency, maintainability, clarity, ...). I think [edit]ing the question to make it more specific or at least less opinion based might help; just focusing on *either* necessity or good practice would be good. – MisterMiyagi Oct 20 '21 at 13:21
  • I think you misunderstood the concept. It's not important when your module is importing something (like `pandas`, `numpy` etc). It is important when some other python scripts try to import your file. – MSH Oct 20 '21 at 13:22
  • _this module will never be imported by other_... So, you have no unit tests? – OneCricketeer Oct 20 '21 at 14:44
  • If the module will never be imported by other modules, then `__name__` will always be `"__main__"` and the if statement is not useful. It's still possible to test such scripts, with e.g. [`runpy`](https://docs.python.org/3/library/runpy.html). – wim Oct 20 '21 at 14:47
  • @OneCricketeer, can you elaborate – Jack Smith Oct 21 '21 at 02:29
  • You should test your code to verify it actually runs like you expect... You need to import your other modules from test modules to actually test them... Look up test-driven development; never assume your code is bug free – OneCricketeer Oct 21 '21 at 03:37

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