Python check if function exists without running it

Question

In python how do you check if a function exists without actually running the function (i.e. using try)? I would be testing if it exists in a module.

Answer 1

You can use dir to check if a name is in a module:

>>> import os
>>> "walk" in dir(os)
True
>>>

In the sample code above, we test for the os.walk function.