Python Module vs Package vs Library

What is Module in Python?

A module is a collection of functions, classes, variables, constants, etc., that can be used by multiple programs. It’s often used as an alternative to creating a separate program just to hold these elements. Instead, a module can be included within another program. This makes it easy to reuse code across different projects.

A module is essentially any python file with the extension file .py that contains Python code.

For example, let’s define a Python executable function to greet our visitors to a certain event:

def greeting_message(event_name):
    print("Welcome guest to our " + event_name+ ". Before proceeding, let's take a pause and watch the beginning of the show.")

This code is saved in a file called “welcome.py” because we want this function to be part of the “welcome” module.

We need to import the module using the import statement before we can use the code in our application. We can call the function defined in the module by using the module.function() syntax.

import welcome

welcome.greeting_message (“Python Module Tutorial”)

Output:

Welcome guest to our Python Module Tutorial. Before proceeding, let's take a pause and watch the beginning of the show.

It’s possible to import only a specific function from a module, rather than the entire module. To do this, you can use the following syntax:

from welcome import greeting_message

If you’ve used Python before, it’s likely that you’ve used modules. For instance, you might have used:

• random module – is a module that can be used to make pseudo-random number generators for different distributions.
• datetime module – You can change the date and time with the datetime module.
• html module – enables you to view HTML pages.
• re module – Python allows you to recognize and work with regular expressions.

In order for you to test your Python code provided in this lesson, you must test the code on your code editor like PyCharm. But if you wish to run this code online, we also have an Online Compiler in Python or interpreter for you to test your Python code for free.

What is a Package in Python?

The package is a directory containing collections of modules, including an __init__.py file that tells the interpreter to treat it as a package. The package is simply a namespace that can also contain sub-packages and modules.

For example, we can put modules related to our data science project in the following package:

The dot notation lets us import only certain modules from this package. For example, we can use one of the following code snippets to import the download module from the excel sub-package above:

import export.excel.download
or
from export.excel import download

Next, we could choose to import only the file_download() function from our download.py module. Either of these options will work:

import export.excel.download.load_dataset()
or
from export.excel.download import file_download()

You probably already use a lot of the built-in and open-source Python packages. For instance:

• NumPy is the most important scientific computing package for Python.
• Pandas is a Python package for quickly and easily working with data in tables, time series, matrices, and other formats.
• pytest has many different modules that can be used to test new code, from simple unit tests to complex functional tests.

As your application gets bigger and uses more modules, Python packages become an important part of optimizing the structure of your code.

Creating a Package

We have included an __init__.py file inside a directory to tell Python that this directory is a package. You need to include this file whenever you want to create a package. Depending on your preferences, you can either write code inside of it or leave it blank.

To make a package in Python, follow the steps below.

• Make a directory and put an __init__.py file in it to tell Python that the directory is a package.
• Include any additional files or sub-packages that you desire.
• Next, use the valid import statements to get to them.

What is Library in Python?

A library is a collection of code, usually related modules and packages. This term is often used conversely with the “Python package”. But many people think that a package is a collection of modules and that a library is a collection of packages.

Developers create Python libraries to share code with others. This way, they don’t have to write code from scratch every time they need a specific function.

Today, there are a lot of useful libraries to choose from. I’ll give just a few examples:

• Scikit-learn is a Python high-level library that is free to use and has powerful tools for data analysis and data mining. It is available under the BSD license and is built on Numpy, SciPy, and Matplotlib, which are machine learning libraries.
• Requests belong to a broad collection of libraries aimed to simplify HTTP requests in Python.
• PyTorch is a deep-learning library that allows for the implementation of advanced neural networks and cutting-edge research ideas.
• pygame provides game creators with many useful features and tools that make game development easy.

Python Standard Library

The Python Standard Library is a collection of Python’s core syntax, tokens, and semantics. It comes bundled with the Python distribution.

Python is a language that is written in C and handles core functionality like I/O and other modules.

The core of the standard library is made up of more than 200 core modules. This library is already part of Python.

Difference Between Python’s Module, Package, and Library

A module is a file that has Python code in it that is used to run code that is specific to the user.

A package also changes the way the user-interpreted code works so that it can be used easily at run time.

A Python library is a collection of modules and code snippets that can be used in your programs and projects.

Their differences are a module is a collection of functions, variables, etc., while a package is a collection of modules, and a library is a collection of packages.

Summary

This tutorial has discussed what are modules, packages, and libraries as well as their differences. I have high hopes that you will acquire new knowledge from reading this article.

And Finally, if you missed our previous lessons check out our list of Python Tutorial Topics anytime. By the way, if you’re interested in machine learning you can check our Best Machine Learning Projects with Source Code.

In the next post, “File Handling Functions in Python“, consists of the basic functions regarding inputs and outputs used in Python Programming.

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