🔒 Best practices of .env using

[silver sequoia]

Hello ! I'm discovering the use of environment variables through an .env file (!= of a venv) with Python and I'd like to have a critique for two distinct situations for its use.

➡️ Context: I have a project with the following file structure:

├── annots1
│   └── annot.csv
├── annots2
│   └── annot.csv
├── folder2
│   ├── deep
│   │   └── deeper
│   │       └── deepest
│   │           └── deep_script.py
│   ├── question1.py
│   └── question2.py
└── utils
    └── upper_script.py

➡️ I've installed the python-dotenv module, which allows me to load an .env into the project (it looks for an .env file in the folders above it).

➡️ Here are the contents of my .env file:
PROJECT_PATH=/TEST
ANNOT2_PATH=/TEST/annots2/annot.csv
UPPER_SCRIPT_PATH=/TEST/utils/upper_script.py
UPPER_SCRIPT_NAME=upper_script

🌟 First situation: Loading a file as a resource:

import os
from pathlib import Path
from dotenv import load_dotenv
import pandas as pd

def get_annots(file_path_name:str):
    return pd.read_csv(file_path_name)

def main():
    annot_file_path_name = Path(os.getenv('PROJECT_PATH')) / "annots1" / "annot.csv"
    get_annots(annot_file_path_name)

    annot2_file_path_name = Path(os.getenv('ANNOT2_PATH'))
    get_annots(annot2_file_path_name)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    load_dotenv()
    main()

The advantage is that if I use this same code from another python file, for example the deep_script.py file, it still works!

🌟 Second situation:
I want to use a function from a utility python file in a folder parallel to my launch script. I don't think there's an easy way to retrieve this function. The same problem exists with a python file higher in the file hierarchy. It seems to me that I should be able to use sys.path(...).

In the question2.py script I have the following code: (not enough chars...)

[toxic radish]

@silver sequoia

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[silver sequoia]

import os
from pathlib import Path
import importlib.util
import sys
from dotenv import load_dotenv

def upper_script_load():
    module_path = Path(os.getenv('UPPER_SCRIPT_PATH'))
    module_name = os.getenv('UPPER_SCRIPT_PATH')

    path = Path(module_path)
    spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(module_name, path)
    if spec is None:
        raise ImportError(f"Error while loading {module_path=}")
    module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
    sys.modules[module_name] = module
    spec.loader.exec_module(module)
    return module

def main():
    upper_script = upper_script_load()
    upper_script.hi()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    load_dotenv()

    main()

[uncut hollow]

fyi it's a good idea to code block your ascii file trees

[uncut hollow]

for the first situation, i'd probably opt for a yaml, json or python constants file as opposed to an env file. you commonly see them used for storing important credentials, but there isn't really anything notable about an env file and you could very easily just have a python file that you import called credentials.py or important.py or consts.py

for the second, do relative imports not work for you?

i dont think you need importlib trickery to achieve that

from ..utils import upper_script```

[silver sequoia]

I suppose that your yaml/json/python file is at the root of your projet. So if I a have a deep script that need some const from those files, how should do with imports ?

[silver sequoia]

Wait what, this is working ???

[uncut hollow]

relative imports

each dot goes up a directory, starting with zero

[uncut hollow]

note what i used

[silver sequoia]

oh yes

sorrry

[uncut hollow]

well if you have a consts.py file, it's as simple as from consts import WHATEVER

[silver sequoia]

it's more something like

from ...consts import WHATEVER

no ?

[uncut hollow]

nope

well that could work

thats the relative version

the absolute version would be from consts import WHATEVER

[silver sequoia]

It depends on the depth where I execute my script that need consts.py, doesn't it?

[uncut hollow]

nop

not the absolute version, no

[toxic radish]

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