[Python]Import: Using Non-Builtin Functions

Import: Using Non-Builtin Functions

Modules

Python contains many functions, but not all of them are immediately available as builtin functions. Instead of being available as builtins, some functions are saved in different modules. A module is a file containing function definitions and other statements.

We may also define our own modules with our own functions.

import

In order to gain access to the functions in a module, we must import that module.

The general form of an import statement is:

import module_name

To access a function within a module, we use:

module_name.function_name

For example, we can import the Python module math and call the function sqrt from it:

import math

def area2(side1, side2, side3):
        semi = semiperimeter(side1, side2, side3)
        area = math.sqrt(semi * (semi - side1) * (semi - side2) * (semi - side3))
        return area

In addition to importing Python's modules, we can also import the modules that we write. For example, to use the functions from triangle.py (from the video) in another module, we would import triangle. A module being imported should be in the same directory as the module importing it.