What is the difference between importing the module foo and importing the element bar from the module foo?

Importing the foo module loads the entire module into the current namespace. To access elements of the module (functions, classes, etc.), you need to use foo.element.

Importing the bar element from the foo module (from foo import bar) loads only the specified element bar into the current namespace. Then, access to bar is direct, without the foo. prefix.

Feature	Module import (import foo)	Element import (from foo import bar)
Namespace	Module available as object foo	Specified element available directly as bar
Import volume	Entire module is imported	Only the specified element is imported
Access to elements	Through the prefix foo.	Directly by the element's name
Possible conflicts	Less likely to have name conflicts within the module	Higher probability of name conflicts when importing multiple elements with the same name from different modules

Example:

# import foo
# Access to function baz from module foo
# foo.baz()

# from foo import baz
# Access to function baz from module foo
# baz()

The choice between the options depends on how frequently module elements will be used and the risk of name conflicts. For frequently used elements and in small quantities, from ... import ... is preferable. For rare usage or when there is a risk of name conflicts, import ... is better.