In the Python REPL, how to get latest code from all file?

Question

I have the following toy code in two files:

File b.py:

def test_b():
    print "b"

File a.py: from b import test_b

def test_a():
    print "a"
    test_b()

Then I run the python REPL:

>>> execfile("a.py")
>>> test_a()
a
b

Then I modify b.py into: def test_b(): print "bb"

And run in the REPL:

>>> execfile("b.py")
>>> test_a()
a
bb

For now it is all fine. Now I modify a.py into:

from b import test_b

def test_a():
    print "aa"
    test_b()

Now I run into the REPL:

>>> execfile("a.py")
>>> test_a()
aa
b

Which is not fine anymore since the REPL got the older version of b.py. Python seems to be doing some caching when loading the files, and my question is: is there a way to force it not to do that? I couldn't find a proper option for the function excefile.

Is this answer helpful to your question? http://stackoverflow.com/a/2918951/758446 — BlackVegetable, Oct 30 '15 at 15:20
@BlackVegetable looks like it, thanks. I am about to test it now. — S4M, Oct 30 '15 at 15:28

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 30 '15 at 15:29

According to: https://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/modules.html you can use reload(a) (it must have been imported once before). See the description, it might not be the best solution.

The citation:

Note

For efficiency reasons, each module is only imported once per interpreter session. Therefore, if you change your modules, you must restart the interpreter – or, if it’s just one module you want to test interactively, use reload(), e.g. reload(modulename).

and the description of the function: https://docs.python.org/2/library/functions.html#reload to use with moderation since:

If a module imports objects from another module using from ... import ..., calling reload() for the other module does not redefine the objects imported from it — one way around this is to re-execute the from statement, another is to use import and qualified names (module.name) instead.

The simplest solution is restarting your interpreter.

In the Python REPL, how to get latest code from all file?

1 Answers1