[Python-Dev] New and Improved Import Hooks (original) (raw)

Fredrik Lundh fredrik@pythonware.com
Thu, 5 Dec 2002 11:40:52 +0100

mal wrote:

> Why not leave sys.path as list of ordinary strings and add > all the extra support to the existing import mechanism via > hooks at the right places ?!

since everybody knows that sys.path is used to specify the search path for modules, sys.path is the right place.

Here's a sketch: =20 1. User programs register import hooks based on REs which are used to match the entries in sys.path, e.g. ".*.zip" for ZIP importers (caching could help in improving the mapping performance).

a solution that won't let you wrap up the standard library isn't much of a solution (portions of both RE engines are written in Python)

I think this is overkill. let's keep it simple and grokable.