Issue #26896: Disambiguate uses of "importer" with "finder".

Thanks to Oren Milman for the patch.

Doc/c-api/import.rst

@@ -207,13 +207,13 @@ Importing Modules
 
 .. c:function:: PyObject* PyImport_GetImporter(PyObject *path)
 
-   Return an importer object for a :data:`sys.path`/:attr:`pkg.__path__` item
+   Return a finder object for a :data:`sys.path`/:attr:`pkg.__path__` item
    *path*, possibly by fetching it from the :data:`sys.path_importer_cache`
    dict.  If it wasn't yet cached, traverse :data:`sys.path_hooks` until a hook
    is found that can handle the path item.  Return ``None`` if no hook could;
-   this tells our caller it should fall back to the built-in import mechanism.
+   this tells our caller that the :term:`path based finder` could not find a
-   Cache the result in :data:`sys.path_importer_cache`.  Return a new reference
+   finder for this path item. Cache the result in :data:`sys.path_importer_cache`.
-   to the importer object.
+   Return a new reference to the finder object.
 
 
 .. c:function:: void _PyImport_Init()

Doc/library/pkgutil.rst

@@ -46,10 +46,10 @@ support.
 
 .. class:: ImpImporter(dirname=None)
 
-   :pep:`302` Importer that wraps Python's "classic" import algorithm.
+   :pep:`302` Finder that wraps Python's "classic" import algorithm.
 
-   If *dirname* is a string, a :pep:`302` importer is created that searches that
+   If *dirname* is a string, a :pep:`302` finder is created that searches that
-   directory.  If *dirname* is ``None``, a :pep:`302` importer is created that
+   directory.  If *dirname* is ``None``, a :pep:`302` finder is created that
    searches the current :data:`sys.path`, plus any modules that are frozen or
    built-in.
 
@@ -88,9 +88,9 @@ support.
 
 .. function:: get_importer(path_item)
 
-   Retrieve a :pep:`302` importer for the given *path_item*.
+   Retrieve a :pep:`302` finder for the given *path_item*.
 
-   The returned importer is cached in :data:`sys.path_importer_cache` if it was
+   The returned finder is cached in :data:`sys.path_importer_cache` if it was
    newly created by a path hook.
 
    The cache (or part of it) can be cleared manually if a rescan of
@@ -121,16 +121,16 @@ support.
 
 .. function:: iter_importers(fullname='')
 
-   Yield :pep:`302` importers for the given module name.
+   Yield :pep:`302` finders for the given module name.
 
-   If fullname contains a '.', the importers will be for the package
+   If fullname contains a '.', the finders will be for the package
    containing fullname, otherwise they will be all registered top level
-   importers (i.e. those on both sys.meta_path and sys.path_hooks).
+   finders (i.e. those on both sys.meta_path and sys.path_hooks).
 
    If the named module is in a package, that package is imported as a side
    effect of invoking this function.
 
-   If no module name is specified, all top level importers are produced.
+   If no module name is specified, all top level finders are produced.
 
    .. versionchanged:: 3.3
       Updated to be based directly on :mod:`importlib` rather than relying

Lib/pkgutil.py

@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ def read_code(stream):
 
 
 def walk_packages(path=None, prefix='', onerror=None):
-    """Yields (module_loader, name, ispkg) for all modules recursively
+    """Yields (module_finder, name, ispkg) for all modules recursively
     on path, or, if path is None, all accessible modules.
 
     'path' should be either None or a list of paths to look for
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ def walk_packages(path=None, prefix='', onerror=None):
 
 
 def iter_modules(path=None, prefix=''):
-    """Yields (module_loader, name, ispkg) for all submodules on path,
+    """Yields (module_finder, name, ispkg) for all submodules on path,
     or, if path is None, all top-level modules on sys.path.
 
     'path' should be either None or a list of paths to look for
@@ -184,10 +184,10 @@ def _import_imp():
         imp = importlib.import_module('imp')
 
 class ImpImporter:
-    """PEP 302 Importer that wraps Python's "classic" import algorithm
+    """PEP 302 Finder that wraps Python's "classic" import algorithm
 
-    ImpImporter(dirname) produces a PEP 302 importer that searches that
+    ImpImporter(dirname) produces a PEP 302 finder that searches that
-    directory.  ImpImporter(None) produces a PEP 302 importer that searches
+    directory.  ImpImporter(None) produces a PEP 302 finder that searches
     the current sys.path, plus any modules that are frozen or built-in.
 
     Note that ImpImporter does not currently support being used by placement
@@ -395,9 +395,9 @@ except ImportError:
 
 
 def get_importer(path_item):
-    """Retrieve a PEP 302 importer for the given path item
+    """Retrieve a PEP 302 finder for the given path item
 
-    The returned importer is cached in sys.path_importer_cache
+    The returned finder is cached in sys.path_importer_cache
     if it was newly created by a path hook.
 
     The cache (or part of it) can be cleared manually if a
@@ -419,16 +419,16 @@ def get_importer(path_item):
 
 
 def iter_importers(fullname=""):
-    """Yield PEP 302 importers for the given module name
+    """Yield PEP 302 finders for the given module name
 
-    If fullname contains a '.', the importers will be for the package
+    If fullname contains a '.', the finders will be for the package
     containing fullname, otherwise they will be all registered top level
-    importers (i.e. those on both sys.meta_path and sys.path_hooks).
+    finders (i.e. those on both sys.meta_path and sys.path_hooks).
 
     If the named module is in a package, that package is imported as a side
     effect of invoking this function.
 
-    If no module name is specified, all top level importers are produced.
+    If no module name is specified, all top level finders are produced.
     """
     if fullname.startswith('.'):
         msg = "Relative module name {!r} not supported".format(fullname)

Lib/runpy.py

@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ def _run_module_code(code, init_globals=None,
     # may be cleared when the temporary module goes away
     return mod_globals.copy()
 
-# Helper to get the loader, code and filename for a module
+# Helper to get the full name, spec and code for a module
 def _get_module_details(mod_name, error=ImportError):
     if mod_name.startswith("."):
         raise error("Relative module names not supported")
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ def run_path(path_name, init_globals=None, run_name=None):
         return _run_module_code(code, init_globals, run_name,
                                 pkg_name=pkg_name, script_name=fname)
     else:
-        # Importer is defined for path, so add it to
+        # Finder is defined for path, so add it to
         # the start of sys.path
         sys.path.insert(0, path_name)
         try:

Lib/test/test_importlib/import_/test_meta_path.py

@@ -76,7 +76,6 @@ class CallSignature:
                 self.__import__(mod_name)
                 assert len(log) == 1
                 args = log[0][0]
-                kwargs = log[0][1]
                 # Assuming all arguments are positional.
                 self.assertEqual(args[0], mod_name)
                 self.assertIsNone(args[1])

Lib/test/test_importlib/util.py

@@ -266,7 +266,6 @@ class mock_spec(_ImporterMock):
             module = self.modules[fullname]
         except KeyError:
             return None
-        is_package = hasattr(module, '__path__')
         spec = util.spec_from_file_location(
                 fullname, module.__file__, loader=self,
                 submodule_search_locations=getattr(module, '__path__', None))

Lib/test/test_pkgutil.py

@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ class PkgutilPEP302Tests(unittest.TestCase):
         del sys.meta_path[0]
 
     def test_getdata_pep302(self):
-        # Use a dummy importer/loader
+        # Use a dummy finder/loader
         self.assertEqual(pkgutil.get_data('foo', 'dummy'), "Hello, world!")
         del sys.modules['foo']
 

Misc/ACKS

@@ -998,6 +998,7 @@ Damien Miller
 Jason V. Miller
 Jay T. Miller
 Katie Miller
+Oren Milman
 Roman Milner
 Julien Miotte
 Andrii V. Mishkovskyi

Python/import.c

@@ -950,12 +950,13 @@ is_builtin(PyObject *name)
 }
 
 
-/* Return an importer object for a sys.path/pkg.__path__ item 'p',
+/* Return a finder object for a sys.path/pkg.__path__ item 'p',
    possibly by fetching it from the path_importer_cache dict. If it
    wasn't yet cached, traverse path_hooks until a hook is found
    that can handle the path item. Return None if no hook could;
-   this tells our caller it should fall back to the builtin
+   this tells our caller that the path based finder could not find
-   import mechanism. Cache the result in path_importer_cache.
+   a finder for this path item. Cache the result in
+   path_importer_cache.
    Returns a borrowed reference. */
 
 static PyObject *