Trace Python imports

My Python library just changed it’s main module name from foo.bar to foobar. For backward compat, foo.bar still exists, but importing it raises a few warnings. Now, it seems some example program still imports from the old module, but not directly.

I’d like to find the erroneous import statement. Is there any tool that allows me to trace imports and find the culprit without wading through all of the code?

Answers:

Thank you for visiting the Q&A section on Magenaut. Please note that all the answers may not help you solve the issue immediately. So please treat them as advisements. If you found the post helpful (or not), leave a comment & I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Method 1

Start the python interpreter with -v:

$ python -v -m /usr/lib/python2.6/timeit.py
# installing zipimport hook
import zipimport # builtin
# installed zipimport hook
# /usr/lib/python2.6/site.pyc matches /usr/lib/python2.6/site.py
import site # precompiled from /usr/lib/python2.6/site.pyc
# /usr/lib/python2.6/os.pyc matches /usr/lib/python2.6/os.py
import os # precompiled from /usr/lib/python2.6/os.pyc
import errno # builtin
import posix # builtin
# /usr/lib/python2.6/posixpath.pyc matches /usr/lib/python2.6/posixpath.py
import posixpath # precompiled from /usr/lib/python2.6/posixpath.pyc
# /usr/lib/python2.6/stat.pyc matches /usr/lib/python2.6/stat.py
import stat # precompiled from /usr/lib/python2.6/stat.pyc
# /usr/lib/python2.6/genericpath.pyc matches /usr/lib/python2.6/genericpath.py
import genericpath # precompiled from /usr/lib/python2.6/genericpath.pyc
# /usr/lib/python2.6/warnings.pyc matches /usr/lib/python2.6/warnings.py
import warnings # precompiled from /usr/lib/python2.6/warnings.pyc
# /usr/lib/python2.6/linecache.pyc matches /usr/lib/python2.6/linecache.py
import linecache # precompiled from /usr/lib/python2.6/linecache.pyc
# /usr/lib/python2.6/types.pyc matches /usr/lib/python2.6/types.py
import types # precompiled from /usr/lib/python2.6/types.pyc
# /usr/lib/python2.6/UserDict.pyc matches /usr/lib/python2.6/UserDict.py
...

Then just grep for your old module.

Method 2

edit foo.bar module, add following code:

import pdb
pdb.set_trace()

when foo.bar be imported, program will stop at pdb.set_trace() in pdb mode, where you can debug your code. For example, you can use “w” command to print the full calling stack.

All methods was sourced from stackoverflow.com or stackexchange.com, is licensed under cc by-sa 2.5, cc by-sa 3.0 and cc by-sa 4.0