Import from custom _utils

[kiemlicz]

Description of Issue/Question

Is it possible to import custom utilities via python imports?
The doc https://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/utils/index.html suggests so but I couldn't get it working.

Setup

Follow Foo class example from:
https://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/utils/index.html

Steps to Reproduce Issue

In any custom execution module, e.g.,: _modules/customModule.py it is not possible to write:
import mymodule (given I've named the Foo class file mymodule.py)
It always fails with No module named 'mymodule'
Of course __utils__['mymodule.foo']() syntax works, the question is about import

Could you please clarify if the doc is wrong?

Versions Report

Salt Version:
           Salt: 2019.2.0

Dependency Versions:
           cffi: 1.12.2
       cherrypy: unknown
       dateutil: 2.8.0
      docker-py: 1.10.6
          gitdb: 2.0.0
      gitpython: 2.1.1
          ioflo: Not Installed
         Jinja2: 2.10
        libgit2: 0.27.4
        libnacl: Not Installed
       M2Crypto: Not Installed
           Mako: Not Installed
   msgpack-pure: Not Installed
 msgpack-python: 0.4.8
   mysql-python: Not Installed
      pycparser: 2.19
       pycrypto: 2.6.1
   pycryptodome: Not Installed
         pygit2: 0.27.4
         Python: 3.5.3 (default, Sep 27 2018, 17:25:39)
   python-gnupg: Not Installed
         PyYAML: 3.13
          PyZMQ: 16.0.2
           RAET: Not Installed
          smmap: 2.0.1
        timelib: Not Installed
        Tornado: 4.4.3
            ZMQ: 4.2.1

System Versions:
           dist: debian 9.8
         locale: ANSI_X3.4-1968
        machine: x86_64
        release: 4.9.0-7-amd64
         system: Linux
        version: debian 9.8

[Ch3LL]

i thought you had to use __utils__ because thats how we pack it in when we load minion_mods, but maybe someone on the @saltstack/team-core can correct me? Looks like that doc example makes it seem like you can import utils, but i thought we always wanted to use __utils__?

[UtahDave]

@Ch3LL There are a lot of place where we're importing from Salt utils.

[boucha@flaco salt (develop u=)]$ grep -rn 'import salt.utils' * | wc -l
2711

I'm running into this problem when I'm trying to use an execution module from develop in 2019.2. The execution module needs a utils module. I put the execution module in _modules and the utils module in _utils and run saltutil.sync_all. Everything syncs fine, but it's not possible to import the utils function.

Should we go through and replace all 2711 instances where we're importing directly from salt.utils and use __utils__?

[UtahDave]

looks like @max-arnold has a fix in #53167

[waynew]

@kiemlicz does the fix in #53167 work for you?

[kiemlicz]

I think yes!
I'm waiting for merge then

[stale]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you for your contributions.

If this issue is closed prematurely, please leave a comment and we will gladly reopen the issue.

[kiemlicz]

not yet stale

[stale]

Thank you for updating this issue. It is no longer marked as stale.

[stale]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you for your contributions.

If this issue is closed prematurely, please leave a comment and we will gladly reopen the issue.