What\'s the Difference Between a Python Module and a Package?

Understanding Module vs. Package in Python

In Python, the distinction between a module and a package is primarily observed at the file system level. Let's delve into their key differences:

• Module: Any Python file is considered a module. The name of the module is derived from the file's base name without the ".py" extension.
• Package: A package is a collection of Python modules. Unlike modules, packages are represented by directories that contain an additional "__init__.py" file. This file distinguishes a package from a directory merely containing Python scripts. Packages can be nested within each other to any depth, as long as each directory has its "__init__.py" file.

While this distinction is evident in file system organization, it's important to note that when you import a module or package, the corresponding object created by Python is always of the type "module." However, in the case of importing a package, only variables, functions, and classes defined in the package's "__init__.py" file are directly accessible, not sub-packages or sub-modules.

Example

Consider the "xml" package in the Python standard library:

• The "xml" directory contains an "__init__.py" file and several sub-directories.
• One such sub-directory, "etree," contains an "__init__.py" file and a "ElementTree.py" file.

When importing the package interactively:

import xml

You notice that the "xml" object is of type "module." Accessing sub-components requires further imports:

import xml.etree
import xml.etree.ElementTree

Note: Python also includes built-in modules like "sys" that are implemented in C, but this distinction isn't typically included in discussions about modules and packages.

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