mixing multiple python module path's

Question

I have ran into strange problem, which I cannot find an answer.

I want to use file which may be located in different modules, with same path names (folders contain empty init.py files as well):

road1/pato/
road2/pato/modtest.py

where modtest contains simply a=1 Simple script for testing, test.py , contains:

import pato.modtest
print(pato.modtest.a)

and running

PYTHONPATH=road2/ python test.py

runs fine as expected. What is confusing, is that

PYTHONPATH=road1/:road2/ python test.py

gives an error

ImportError: No module named 'pato.modtest'

All the documentation I have read states that PYTHONPATH may contain multiple path-s and it should be just fine, running program is just looking through them in order. In this case, however, adding empty path in the front of path seem to prevent reading from later path's. If this is expected behaviour, fine, I'd appreciate links to good docs about it.

gotcha, I was wondering if it was a delimiter issue, but Konrads is right — lemonhead
– lemonhead, Commented Jun 30, 2015 at 20:18

Konrads · Accepted Answer · 2015-06-30 19:59:06Z

2

You have a namespace clash.

According to your PYTHONOPATH, when you import "pato.modtest" Python first looks if "pato" or "pato.modtest" are present in the current namespace.
As they are not present it then goes to sys.path and tries the first path which in your case is "road1/".
It finds the module "pato" there and then looks for object "modtest", not having found, it looks for a module road1/pato/modtest, not having found, it gives up.

answered Jun 30, 2015 at 19:59

Konrads

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2 Comments

kakk11 Over a year ago

Thanks, I think I can live with that explanation. It is still not entirely clear to me, why Python does not look object from the next module if it is available, as it would with any regular file.

Konrads Over a year ago

Because Python had already found "pato", it has no reason to think there is another one named the same way.

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