The point of the name==main logic is that it checks if that is the file that was invoked (like running python filename.py). If you just put a main() in the global scope it will be called either when the file is invoked or loaded (which can cause unintended consequences).

[–] littlewonder@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Dumb person question: if it's good practice to do this so things don't go sideways, shouldn't it be a built-in feature/utility/function/whatever?

[–] jacksilver@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

It is "built-in" as the name is part of python. However, Python runs top to bottom, rather than having a special entrypoint. So name is just a utility you can use in your design.

While it can be a good practice to define a main entrypoint, that's more of a design decision and not hard rule. Many applications would not benefit from it because there is only one way to actually call the application to begin with.

Edit: Also not a dumb question. All programming languages have unique elements to them due to how they were envisioned and or developed over time (Pythons 30 years old)

[–] littlewonder@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

I really appreciate the explanation!