Is python package itself a module?

Question

I was just trying to understand modules and packages in python, and as fas as I understood:

A module is a file containing Python definitions and statements.

A package is a directory containing modules or other packages.

Now, I made a very simple directory structure like below:

my_package/
 __init__.py
 my_module.py

Then, inside the interpreter, I did:

>>> import my_package
>>> type(my_package)
<type 'module'>
>>> from my_package import my_module
>>> type(my_module)
<type 'module'>

So, Python says, my_package and my_module, both are modules. Where is the package? Is package just a term used for description purposes and has no official identity as a class or object inside the core language? What are packages and modules for the interpreter?

Answer 1

Yes, a package can be imported as a module; the module's contents are in __init.py__.

The term package refers to the directory; it allows modules and subpackages to exist in the package namespace.

• Manish Jain: So, it imports the package as a module. There is no term like package for a interpreter. Is it?
• Wooble: @ManishJain: the interpreter is aware of packages (e.g., it won't allow relative imports outside of them), but a package isn't a distinct object, no.