Import

Import refers to the act of bringing something from one place into another. In economics and international trade, imports are goods or services purchased from foreign producers and brought into a country. They complement domestic production and influence prices, employment, and the balance of trade. Governments regulate imports through tariffs, quotas, licensing, and standards to raise revenue, protect domestic industries, or address safety and environmental concerns. Trade policy often seeks a balance between openness and national interests, sometimes promoting import-substitution strategies or liberalization measures.

In computing, import is a statement or mechanism that brings external code or data into a program. It is central to modular programming and helps manage dependencies. Different languages implement import in different ways: Python uses import to load modules (with optional aliases); Java uses import to reference classes within packages; JavaScript (modern modules) uses import to bring in symbols from other files. Dependency management tools such as pip, npm, Maven, and Cargo help fetch and resolve imports and their versions, ensuring reproducible builds. Semantics vary by language: some load at runtime, others at compile time; some allow relative or absolute paths; some support re-exporting or lazy loading.

Beyond code, the term also appears in data processing and databases: importing data means loading external datasets into applications, spreadsheets, or data warehouses, often via standardized formats like CSV or JSON.