What is the meaning of the underscore _ in the python odoo import statement?

Question

Hi All,
For the most part, when creating models or inheriting them, the import statement reads as follows:
from odoo import api, fields, model But occasionally, I see the following in the code:
from odoo import api, fields, models, _ and also:
from odoo.tools.translate import _ Could someone explain what is the significance of the underscore _ in the odoo import statements above? Is this used as a catchall of some kind?
Just wondering...trying to understand it, that's all!
kind rgds,
ME

Yenthe Van Ginneken (Mainframe Monkey) · Accepted Answer

Hi musicearth,
This is a built in tool from Odoo and it makes it possible to translate text in multiple language.
Imagine that you want to show a warning to an user when something is wrong. Then you would do something like this:
raise ValidationError('At least one language must be active.')
This will work fine but what if you have one user in your system that is English and one that is Dutch? Well, both would get it in English in this case. When you use the "_" import from Odoo you'll be able to

Waleed Ali Mohsen · Answer

Hello,

from odoo.tools.translate import _  This imports the function/class/module  _  from odoo.tools.translate
into the current namespace.
You can check the below link:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2908444/what-does-from-module-import-do-in-python

Regards,
Waleed

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