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Understanding_Python_Import

The document provides a beginner's guide to using the 'import' statement in Python, explaining how it allows programmers to utilize pre-written code from modules instead of writing everything from scratch. It includes examples of basic syntax, importing specific functions, and creating aliases for modules. Additionally, it outlines the sources of modules, including built-in, third-party, and user-created files.

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2 views3 pages

Understanding_Python_Import

The document provides a beginner's guide to using the 'import' statement in Python, explaining how it allows programmers to utilize pre-written code from modules instead of writing everything from scratch. It includes examples of basic syntax, importing specific functions, and creating aliases for modules. Additionally, it outlines the sources of modules, including built-in, third-party, and user-created files.

Uploaded by

santosh.gudi1422
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

PYTHON FOR BEGINNERS

Understanding import
A from-scratch guide to using other people's code in your own programs

The Problem import Solves

When you write Python code, you don't want to write everything from scratch every time. Someone has already
written code to do common things — math operations, working with dates, generating random numbers, and much
more. That code lives in files called modules.

import is how you tell Python: “I want to use code that someone already wrote, which lives in another file.”

A Real-World Analogy

🍳 Think of your kitchen


You don't own a farm, a flour mill, and an oven factory. Instead, you go to the store and bring in (import)
flour, sugar, and eggs — things made elsewhere — and use them in your recipe. import in Python does the
same thing: it brings in a ready-made package of code so you can use it in your program.

Basic Syntax

Here's the simplest possible example:

import math

print([Link](16)) # 4.0

What happened here:

● import math — Python loads a built-in module called math, which has lots of math-related functions.
● [Link](16) — you use dot notation (module_name.function_name) to reach a function inside that module.

⚠ Remember
You must write math. before sqrt — Python needs to know which module the function came from.

Understanding import in Python | Page 1


Importing Only What You Need

If you only want one specific thing from a module (not the whole thing):

from math import sqrt

print(sqrt(16)) # 4.0

Notice: now you don't need math. anymore, because you imported sqrt directly.

Giving It a Nickname (Alias)

Module names can be long, so people give them shorter nicknames using as:

import math as m

print([Link](16)) # 4.0

This is extremely common with popular libraries, for example:

import pandas as pd
import numpy as np

Where Do Modules Come From?

There are three sources you'll encounter:

Type Example Description

Built-in math, random, datetime Comes free with Python — no installation needed

Written by others; install first with pip install


Third-party pandas, requests
<name>

Your own files import my_script Code you wrote yourself, saved in another .py file

Quick Example with random

import random

Understanding import in Python | Page 2


number = [Link](1, 10) # random whole number between 1 and 10
print(number)

✅ Recap
import brings in pre-written code. Use “import module” for the whole module, “from module import name”
for one piece, and “as” to give it a short nickname. Modules come from Python itself, from third parties (via
pip), or from your own files.

Understanding import in Python | Page 3

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