Python | __import __ () function

But what if the name of the required module is known to us only at runtime? How can we import this module? You can use the built-in __import__() function __import__() . It also helps to import modules at runtime.

Syntax: __import __ (name, globals, locals, fromlist, level)

Parameters:
name : Name of the module to be imported
globals and locals : Interpret names
formlist : Objects or submodules to be imported (as a list)
level : Specifies whether to use absolute or relative imports. Default is -1 (absolute and relative).

Example # 1 :

# import numpy module # this is equivalent to & quot; import numpy & quot; np = __ import__ ( ’ numpy’ , globals (), locals (), [], 0 )   # numpy array a = np.array ([ 1 , 2 , 3 ])   # prints the type print ( type (a))

Exit :

 "class ’numpy.ndarray’" 

Example # 2 :
Both of the following statements have the same meaning and do the same job.

# from numpy import complex as comp, array as arr np = __ import__ ( ’numpy’ , globals < / code> (), locals (), [ ’complex’ , ’ array’ ], 0 )   comp = np. complex arr = np.array

Application :
__import__() is not really required in day to day Python programming. Its direct use is rare. But sometimes, when you need to import modules at runtime, this feature is quite useful.