What is absolute import in Python and how is it used

Question

Hi all, I am fairly new to Python. Looking for some basic help.

How to use import statements in a proper way. Now I use Python 2.7. If I move to 3.x are there any conflicts with absolute imports? And also what is the difference between absolute and relative imports?

Answer 1

An absolute {import, path, URL} tells you exactly how to get the thing you are after, usually by specifying every part:

import os, sys
from datetime import datetime
from my_package.module import some_function

Relative {imports, paths, URLs} are exactly what they say they are: they're relative to their current location. That is, if the directory structure changes or the file moves, these may break (because they no longer mean the same thing).

from .module_in_same_dir import some_function
from ..module_in_parent_dir import other_function

Hence, absolute imports are preferred for code that will be shared.