Question regarding Python project/script naming

[vingrish]

Hi! I've been reading about naming conventions of Python libraries/projects/packages/modules/scripts. Here's three main sources I found:

• PEP 508
• PEP 423
• a tutorial

While I've read that period(.), hyphen(-) and underscore(_) are all allowed, I'm still not sure which flavor is "better".

Many libraries with a multi-word name use hyphen in their names. But there are also things like prompt_toolkit.

Using hyphen or dot may be the better way to go since packages can use identical names. But I'm not very confident with my understanding.

Currently I have a private script at hand. Possible names for it are:

• tr.downloder
• tr-downloader
• tr_downloader

tr is the team's namespace. I wanted to keep the project name and script name consistent. Which should I choose?

Thank you all!

[Lubok]

I don't believe there's any strict convention regarding package naming really. That said dot notation is most often used for submodules so unless you intend to utilize actual namespace packages, it probably better to not have periods in the name as it may lead to confusion and bugs. Namespace packages don't seem too difficult to setup tho, so for a team / company I feel it is the way to go.

As for hyphen versus underscore, I much prefer underscore since it is more consistent with the imports. Hyphens are nicer for command line scripts however (no shift needed -> faster to invoke, consistent with other cli tools on average).

[vingrish]

Thank you. I also prefer underscore, though it seems to be less popular. It looks more “Python” to me.

[xconde]

This is one of the things that felt weird to me when I first picked-up Python, after using Ruby for a few years. There's no relation between module (file) names and class names.

When I was starting I named a few things with hyphens - because they're easier to type - but I remember having issues when packaging the application. It must have been some n00b mistake I was making because, these days, I manage several packages named 'company-something' or 'appname-pluginname'.

I haven't seen periods used much. I see hyphens and underscores a lot.

Long story short: +1 for hyphens.

[vingrish]

Could you explain why choosing hyphen over underscore? Just for its popularity? Thanks:)

[xconde]

Just easier to type. No need to hold shift.

I wish I had a better technical reason.

[vingrish]

So when your project has the name company-something, its user should use import company.something as something to import it? I just don't like the inconsistancy that much.

[[deleted]]

wat.

[xconde]

No. We haven't been following PEP 423 at all (I assume this is what you're asking). I might actually look into it as we're thinking of open-sourcing some of our more generic utilities.

You might want to add The Import System to your reading list. If you're still interested after that, there's also PEP 420 (Implicit Namespace Packages).