Redefining name 'os' from outer scope (line 3)
114 str: Path to the extracted desktop file
115
116 """
117 import os118 import shutil
119 import subprocess
120 import tempfile
Description
The local variable name hides the variable defined in the outer scope, making it inaccessible and might confuse.
Bad practice
filename = 'myfile.txt'
def read_file(filename): # This shadows the global `filename`
with open(filename) as file:
return file.readlines()
Preferred:
FILENAME = 'myfile.txt' # renamed global to UPPER_CASE as convention
def read_file(filename):
with open(filename) as file:
return file.readlines()
Bad practice
Another usual suspect of this is when you use the same parameter name inside a function as the global variable you are using. For example:
def run_app(app):
# This `app` shadows the global app...
app.run()
if __name__ == '__main__':
app = MyApp() # This is a global variable!
run_app(app)
Preferred:
To avoid this re-defining of a global, consider not defining app as a global, but inside a main() function instead:
def run_app(app):
# There is no longer a global `app` variable.
app.run()
def main():
app = MyApp()
run_app(app)
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()