The Power of Documentation: How to Document Modules and Packages in Python

Improve your Python projects’ maintainability and readability with clear documentation

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

Have you ever come across someone else’s Python project and found it difficult to understand what each module or package does? Or maybe you have inherited a legacy system at work and are struggling to make sense of the spaghetti-like structure of the source code.

These situations can be frustrating and time-consuming. However, there is a solution — proper documentation! By documenting your modules and packages, you can improve your project’s maintainability, reusability, and accessibility.

This article will guide you through best practices for documenting modules and packages in Python.

What are modules and packages?

Modules and packages are essential building blocks in any non-trivial Python application. A module is simply a file containing Python definitions and statements. It has a .py extension and may include functions, classes, variables, and other executable code.

On the other hand, a package is a way to organize related modules together into a single directory hierarchy, making them easier to import and use in larger…