use absolute imports, even intra-package

[JonnyJD]

Starting with Python 3, imports are always absolute by default.
This means a package is searched in the library path
and in the current directory of the active script.

Intra-package imports can bo done in two ways:
from packagename import module (absolute)
from . import module (relative)

With absolute imports you have to use the actual name of the package and
change the import when the name of the package changes.
The relative import is "name-agnostic".

However, there are also downsides with the relative approach:

Relative imports break outside of the package context.
python -m pkg/module breaks with:
ValueError: Attempted relative import in non-package
in Python 2 and 3.
Making a quick syntax-check impossible and breaking
epydoc with:
Bad dotted name

Therefore we use absolute imports unless there is a specific
reason to use relative imports.

Please note that you can still use a library in the same folder (locally)
without installing it to a library path.

[mineo]

If you use python{2,} -m pkg.module everything works as expected.

[JonnyJD]

Well not "everything". You can use pkg.module for easy syntax checking, but epydoc still doesn't work.

There might or might not be a fix for epydoc. I will see what I can do in my maintenance fork epydoc-m. The official version is not maintained anymore.

Apart from that, is there a strong reason to use relative imports?

[JonnyJD]

A patch for epydoc exists, it just wasn't included in the abandoned official version: JonnyJD/epydoc-m#6

So now "everything" works as expected for me ;-)