module-reloader 0.1.0

A module reloader for Python

Module Reloader

module_reloader is a Python package that provides functionality to track and reload modules dynamically. It helps you manage module reloading in a controlled manner, making it useful for development environments where you need to reload modules frequently.

Why module_reloader?

This package was created to facilitate REPL-driven development in Python, similar to the workflow experienced in languages like Clojure. In such a workflow, developers often modify their code and want to see the changes reflected immediately without restarting their entire application. module_reloader aims to provide an efficient and easy way to reload modules dynamically, enabling a more interactive and productive development experience.

Features

• Track loaded modules and their load times.
• Reload specific modules by name or by file path.
• Identify and reload stale modules (modules that have been modified since they were last loaded).

Installation

You can install the package directly from the source directory:

pip install .

Or install it in editable mode (useful for development):

pip install -e .

Usage

Application startup

When your program starts up, import module_reloader before importing any other application-level modules. module_reloader will then keep track of these loaded modules automatically.

import module_reloader

Reloading a single module

When you're working within a single module and wants to reload it, you can simply send the full path of the module you're trying to reload:

module_reloader.reload_module_by_path("full/path/to/module/here")

It should be fairly straightforward to configure your favorite editor to send that string along with the path of the module/file you're working with directly to the REPL.

Reloading multiple modules

If you're working with multiple modules all at once, you can also simply choose to do:

module_reloader.reload_stale_modules()

module_reloader will then look through all modules it has been tracking and reload any module that has been changed since it was last loaded.

Caveat

Avoid from ... import ...

Creating references to functions and variables using from ... import ... can be problematic because these references will not be updated when the module is reloaded.

Instead, it is recommended to use import ... as ... to alias the module name and access its contents through the module object. This ensures that you always access the updated functions and variables.

Class instances

Module reloading will have no effect on classes that have already been instantiated. If you need to update instances of a class after reloading the module, you will need to recreate those instances.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open issues or submit pull requests.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.