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Cake day: July 1st, 2023

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  • If it is the first thing, just put the db setup code you’re using in one file, call it “database.py

    database.py

    # the code you commonly use, ending with
    database = ...
    

    From a second file in the same directory, write: main_program.py

    from database import database
    # The first "database" here is the module name.
    # The second "database" is a variable you set inside that module.
    # You can also write this as follows:
    # import database
    # ... and use `database.database` to refer to the same thing
    # but that involves "stuttering" throughout your code.
    
    # use `database` as you would before - it refers to the "database" object that was found in the "database.py" module
    

    then run it with python main_program.py

    The main thing to realise here is that there are two names involved. One’s the module, the other is the variable (or function name) you set inside that module that you want to get access to.


  • There’s not much here to go on. Are you asking how to write a module that you can import?

    Are these the same set of DB files every time? Are the columns and other configurations the same? Are you writing new python code every month?

    Are you using some ETL process to spit out a bunch of files that you’d like to have imported and available easily? Are the formats the same but the filenames differ?

    I think it’s the first thing you’re after. There are a bunch of tutorials knocking around about this, eg, https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-write-modules-in-python-3

    You might also be asking: if I write a module, how do I make it available for all my new python projects to use? You could just copy your whatever-my-module-is-called.py file around to your new projects (this might be simplest) but if you’re also expecting to be updating it and would like all of your projects to use the updated code, there are alternatives. One is to add the directory containing it to your PYTHONPATH. Another is to install it (in edit mode) in your python environment.

    [I get the impression you’re a data person rather than a programmer - perhaps you have a colleague who’s more of the latter you can tap up for this? It doesn’t have to be difficult, but there’s typically a little bit of ceremony involved in setting up a shared module however you choose to do it.]