How safe is it to import a module multiple times? [duplicate]

Answer 1

Yes, you can import module as many times as you want in one Python program, no matter what module it is. Every subsequent import after the first accesses the cached module instead of re-evaluating it.

Answer 2

Importing the os module under ten thousand different names doesn't seem to give any problems.

for i in range(10000):
    exec("import os as foo%i" % i)

for i in range(10000):
    exec("foo%i.getcwd()" % i)

With the imports in different classes:

for i in range(10000):
    exec("""class FooClass%i:
    import os as foo%i
    print foo%i.getcwd()""" % (i,i,i))

Both run without problems. Not a guarantee of course, but at least it appears you don't run into immediate practical problems.