projects / OpenSPARC-T2-DV / blame
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| 52 | ||
| 53 | <H1><A NAME="SECTION001300000000000000000"></A> | |
| 54 | <A NAME="python-terms"></A> | |
| 55 | <BR> | |
| 56 | 1.3 General Python terminology | |
| 57 | </H1> | |
| 58 | ||
| 59 | <P> | |
| 60 | If you're reading this document, you probably have a good idea of what | |
| 61 | modules, extensions, and so forth are. Nevertheless, just to be sure | |
| 62 | that everyone is operating from a common starting point, we offer the | |
| 63 | following glossary of common Python terms: | |
| 64 | <DL> | |
| 65 | <DT><STRONG>module</STRONG></DT> | |
| 66 | <DD>the basic unit of code reusability in Python: a block of | |
| 67 | code imported by some other code. Three types of modules concern us | |
| 68 | here: pure Python modules, extension modules, and packages. | |
| 69 | ||
| 70 | <P> | |
| 71 | </DD> | |
| 72 | <DT><STRONG>pure Python module</STRONG></DT> | |
| 73 | <DD>a module written in Python and contained in a | |
| 74 | single <span class="file">.py</span> file (and possibly associated <span class="file">.pyc</span> and/or | |
| 75 | <span class="file">.pyo</span> files). Sometimes referred to as a ``pure module.'' | |
| 76 | ||
| 77 | <P> | |
| 78 | </DD> | |
| 79 | <DT><STRONG>extension module</STRONG></DT> | |
| 80 | <DD>a module written in the low-level language of | |
| 81 | the Python implementation: C/C++ for Python, Java for Jython. | |
| 82 | Typically contained in a single dynamically loadable pre-compiled | |
| 83 | file, e.g. a shared object (<span class="file">.so</span>) file for Python extensions on | |
| 84 | <span class="Unix">Unix</span>, a DLL (given the <span class="file">.pyd</span> extension) for Python extensions | |
| 85 | on Windows, or a Java class file for Jython extensions. (Note that | |
| 86 | currently, the Distutils only handles C/C++ extensions for Python.) | |
| 87 | ||
| 88 | <P> | |
| 89 | </DD> | |
| 90 | <DT><STRONG>package</STRONG></DT> | |
| 91 | <DD>a module that contains other modules; typically contained | |
| 92 | in a directory in the filesystem and distinguished from other | |
| 93 | directories by the presence of a file <span class="file">__init__.py</span>. | |
| 94 | ||
| 95 | <P> | |
| 96 | </DD> | |
| 97 | <DT><STRONG>root package</STRONG></DT> | |
| 98 | <DD>the root of the hierarchy of packages. (This isn't | |
| 99 | really a package, since it doesn't have an <span class="file">__init__.py</span> | |
| 100 | file. But we have to call it something.) The vast majority of the | |
| 101 | standard library is in the root package, as are many small, standalone | |
| 102 | third-party modules that don't belong to a larger module collection. | |
| 103 | Unlike regular packages, modules in the root package can be found in | |
| 104 | many directories: in fact, every directory listed in <code>sys.path</code> | |
| 105 | contributes modules to the root package. | |
| 106 | </DD> | |
| 107 | </DL> | |
| 108 | ||
| 109 | <P> | |
| 110 | ||
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| 112 | <div class='online-navigation'> | |
| 113 | <p></p><hr /> | |
| 114 | <table align="center" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"> | |
| 115 | <tr> | |
| 116 | <td class='online-navigation'><a rel="prev" title="1.2 A Simple Example" | |
| 117 | href="simple-example.html"><img src='../icons/previous.png' | |
| 118 | border='0' height='32' alt='Previous Page' width='32' /></A></td> | |
| 119 | <td class='online-navigation'><a rel="parent" title="1. An Introduction to" | |
| 120 | href="intro.html"><img src='../icons/up.png' | |
| 121 | border='0' height='32' alt='Up One Level' width='32' /></A></td> | |
| 122 | <td class='online-navigation'><a rel="next" title="1.4 Distutils-specific terminology" | |
| 123 | href="distutils-term.html"><img src='../icons/next.png' | |
| 124 | border='0' height='32' alt='Next Page' width='32' /></A></td> | |
| 125 | <td align="center" width="100%">Distributing Python Modules</td> | |
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| 127 | border='0' height='32' alt='' width='32' /></td> | |
| 128 | <td class='online-navigation'><a href="modindex.html" title="Module Index"><img src='../icons/modules.png' | |
| 129 | border='0' height='32' alt='Module Index' width='32' /></a></td> | |
| 130 | <td class='online-navigation'><a rel="index" title="Index" | |
| 131 | href="genindex.html"><img src='../icons/index.png' | |
| 132 | border='0' height='32' alt='Index' width='32' /></A></td> | |
| 133 | </tr></table> | |
| 134 | <div class='online-navigation'> | |
| 135 | <b class="navlabel">Previous:</b> | |
| 136 | <a class="sectref" rel="prev" href="simple-example.html">1.2 A Simple Example</A> | |
| 137 | <b class="navlabel">Up:</b> | |
| 138 | <a class="sectref" rel="parent" href="intro.html">1. An Introduction to</A> | |
| 139 | <b class="navlabel">Next:</b> | |
| 140 | <a class="sectref" rel="next" href="distutils-term.html">1.4 Distutils-specific terminology</A> | |
| 141 | </div> | |
| 142 | </div> | |
| 143 | <hr /> | |
| 144 | <span class="release-info">Release 2.4.2, documentation updated on 28 September 2005.</span> | |
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