An abstract base class for a :term:`loader`.
See :pep:`302` for the exact definition for a loader.
- For loaders that wish to support resource reading, they should
- implement a ``get_resource_reader(fullname)`` method as specified
- by :class:`importlib.abc.ResourceReader`.
+ Loaders that wish to support resource reading should implement a
+ ``get_resource_reader(fullname)`` method as specified by
+ :class:`importlib.abc.ResourceReader`.
.. versionchanged:: 3.7
Introduced the optional ``get_resource_reader()`` method.
to keep in mind that this is just a metaphor. Resources and packages **do
not** have to exist as physical files and directories on the file system.
-Loaders can support resources by implementing the :class:`ResourceReader`
-abstract base class.
+.. note::
+
+ This module provides functionality similar to `pkg_resources
+ <https://setuptools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/pkg_resources.html>`_ `Basic
+ Resource Access
+ <http://setuptools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/pkg_resources.html#basic-resource-access>`_
+ without the performance overhead of that package. This makes reading
+ resources included in packages easier, with more stable and consistent
+ semantics.
+
+ The standalone backport of this module provides more information
+ on `using importlib.resources
+ <http://importlib-resources.readthedocs.io/en/latest/using.html>`_ and
+ `migrating from pkg_resources to importlib.resources
+ <http://importlib-resources.readthedocs.io/en/latest/migration.html>`_.
+
+Loaders that wish to support resource reading should implement a
+``get_resource_reader(fullname)`` method as specified by
+:class:`importlib.abc.ResourceReader`.
The following types are defined.