297 lines
8.8 KiB
Plaintext
297 lines
8.8 KiB
Plaintext
PEP: 369
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Title: Post import hooks
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Version: $Revision$
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Last-Modified: $Date$
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Author: Christian Heimes <christian@python.org>
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Status: Withdrawn
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Type: Standards Track
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Content-Type: text/x-rst
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Created: 02-Jan-2008
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Python-Version: 2.6, 3.0
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Post-History: 02-Dec-2012
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Withdrawal Notice
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=================
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This PEP is withdrawn by its author, because it has been superseded by the
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new importlib.
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Abstract
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========
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This PEP proposes enhancements for the import machinery to add
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post import hooks. It is intended primarily to support the wider
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use of abstract base classes that is expected in Python 3.0.
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The PEP originally started as a combined PEP for lazy imports and
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post import hooks. After some discussion on the python-dev mailing
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list the PEP was parted in two separate PEPs. [1]_
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Rationale
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=========
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Python has no API to hook into the import machinery and execute code
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*after* a module is successfully loaded. The import hooks of PEP 302 are
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about finding modules and loading modules but they were not designed to
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as post import hooks.
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Use cases
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=========
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A use case for a post import hook is mentioned in Nick Coghlan's initial
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posting [2]_. about callbacks on module import. It was found during the
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development of Python 3.0 and its ABCs. We wanted to register classes
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like decimal.Decimal with an ABC but the module should not be imported
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on every interpreter startup. Nick came up with this example::
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@imp.when_imported('decimal')
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def register(decimal):
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Inexact.register(decimal.Decimal)
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The function ``register`` is registered as callback for the module named
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'decimal'. When decimal is imported the function is called with the
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module object as argument.
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While this particular example isn't necessary in practice, (as
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decimal.Decimal will inherit from the appropriate abstract Number base
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class in 2.6 and 3.0), it still illustrates the principle.
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Existing implementations
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========================
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PJE's peak.util.imports [3]_ implements post load hooks. My
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implementation shares a lot with his and it's partly based on his ideas.
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Post import hook implementation
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===============================
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Post import hooks are called after a module has been loaded. The hooks
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are callable which take one argument, the module instance. They are
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registered by the dotted name of the module, e.g. 'os' or 'os.path'.
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The callable are stored in the dict ``sys.post_import_hooks`` which
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is a mapping from names (as string) to a list of callables or None.
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States
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------
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No hook was registered
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''''''''''''''''''''''
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sys.post_import_hooks contains no entry for the module
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A hook is registered and the module is not loaded yet
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'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
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The import hook registry contains an entry
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sys.post_import_hooks["name"] = [hook1]
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A module is successfully loaded
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'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
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The import machinery checks if sys.post_import_hooks contains post import
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hooks for the newly loaded module. If hooks are found then the hooks are
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called in the order they were registered with the module instance as first
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argument. The processing of the hooks is stopped when a method raises an
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exception. At the end the entry for the module name set to None, even
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when an error has occured.
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Additionally the new ``__notified__`` slot of the module object is set
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to ``True`` in order to prevent infinity recursions when the notification
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method is called inside a hook. For object which don't subclass from
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``PyModule`` a new attribute is added instead.
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A module can't be loaded
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''''''''''''''''''''''''
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The import hooks are neither called nor removed from the registry. It
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may be possible to load the module later.
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A hook is registered but the module is already loaded
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'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
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The hook is fired immediately.
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Invariants
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----------
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The import hook system guarentees certain invariants. XXX
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Sample Python implementation
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----------------------------
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A Python implemenation may look like::
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def notify(name):
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try:
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module = sys.modules[name]
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except KeyError:
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raise ImportError("Module %s has not been imported" % (name,))
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if module.__notified__:
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return
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try:
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module.__notified__ = True
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if '.' in name:
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notify(name[:name.rfind('.')])
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for callback in post_import_hooks[name]:
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callback(module)
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finally:
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post_import_hooks[name] = None
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XXX
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C API
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-----
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New C API functions
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'''''''''''''''''''
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``PyObject* PyImport_GetPostImportHooks(void)``
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Returns the dict sys.post_import_hooks or NULL
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``PyObject* PyImport_NotifyLoadedByModule(PyObject *module)``
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Notify the post import system that a module was requested. Returns the
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a borrowed reference to the same module object or NULL if an error has
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occured. The function calls only the hooks for the module itself an not
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its parents. The function must be called with the import lock acquired.
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``PyObject* PyImport_NotifyLoadedByName(const char *name)``
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``PyImport_NotifyLoadedByName("a.b.c")`` calls
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``PyImport_NotifyLoadedByModule()`` for ``a``, ``a.b`` and ``a.b.c``
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in that particular order. The modules are retrieved from
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``sys.modules``. If a module can't be retrieved, an exception is raised
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otherwise the a borrowed reference to ``modname`` is returned.
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The hook calls always start with the prime parent module.
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The caller of PyImport_NotifyLoadedByName() must hold the import lock!
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``PyObject* PyImport_RegisterPostImportHook(PyObject *callable, PyObject *mod_name)``
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Register a new hook ``callable`` for the module ``mod_name``
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``int PyModule_GetNotified(PyObject *module)``
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Returns the status of the ``__notified__`` slot / attribute.
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``int PyModule_SetNotified(PyObject *module, int status)``
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Set the status of the ``__notified__`` slot / attribute.
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The ``PyImport_NotifyLoadedByModule()`` method is called inside
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``import_submodule()``. The import system makes sure that the import lock
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is acquired and the hooks for the parent modules are already called.
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Python API
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----------
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The import hook registry and two new API methods are exposed through the
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``sys`` and ``imp`` module.
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``sys.post_import_hooks``
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The dict contains the post import hooks::
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{"name" : [hook1, hook2], ...}
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``imp.register_post_import_hook(hook: "callable", name: str)``
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Register a new hook *hook* for the module *name*
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``imp.notify_module_loaded(module: "module instance") -> module``
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Notify the system that a module has been loaded. The method is provided
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for compatibility with existing lazy / deferred import extensions.
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``module.__notified__``
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A slot of a module instance. XXX
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The when_imported function decorator is also in the imp module,
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which is equivalent to::
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def when_imported(name):
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def register(hook):
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register_post_import_hook(hook, name)
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return register
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imp.when_imported(name) -> decorator function
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for @when_imported(name) def hook(module): pass
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Open issues
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===========
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The when_imported decorator hasn't been written.
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The code contains several XXX comments. They are mostly about error
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handling in edge cases.
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Backwards Compatibility
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=======================
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The new features and API don't conflict with old import system of Python
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and don't cause any backward compatibility issues for most software.
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However systems like PEAK and Zope which implement their own lazy import
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magic need to follow some rules.
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The post import hooks carefully designed to cooperate with existing
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deferred and lazy import systems. It's the suggestion of the PEP author
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to replace own on-load-hooks with the new hook API. The alternative
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lazy or deferred imports will still work but the implementations must
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call the ``imp.notify_module_loaded`` function.
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Reference Implementation
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========================
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A reference implementation is already written and is available in the
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*py3k-importhook* branch. [4]_ It still requires some cleanups,
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documentation updates and additional unit tests.
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Acknowledgments
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===============
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Nick Coghlan, for proof reading and the initial discussion
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Phillip J. Eby, for his implementation in PEAK and help with my own implementation
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Copyright
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=========
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This document has been placed in the public domain.
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References
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==========
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.. [1] PEP: Lazy module imports and post import hook
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http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.comp.python.devel/90949
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.. [2] Interest in PEP for callbacks on module import
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http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.comp.python.python-3000.devel/11126
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.. [3] peak.utils.imports
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http://svn.eby-sarna.com/Importing/peak/util/imports.py?view=markup
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.. [4] py3k-importhook branch
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http://svn.python.org/view/python/branches/py3k-importhook/
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..
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Local Variables:
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mode: indented-text
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indent-tabs-mode: nil
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sentence-end-double-space: t
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fill-column: 70
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coding: utf-8
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End:
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