Import a module.

    The 'package' argument is required when performing a relative import. It
    specifies the package to use as the anchor point from which to resolve the
    relative import to an absolute import.

def import_module(name, package=None):
    """Import a module.

    The 'package' argument is required when performing a relative import. It
    specifies the package to use as the anchor point from which to resolve the
    relative import to an absolute import.

    """
    if name.startswith('.'):
        if not package:
            raise TypeError("relative imports require the 'package' argument")
        level = 0
        for character in name:
            if character != '.':
                break
            level += 1
        name = _resolve_name(name[level:], package, level)
    __import__(name)
    return sys.modules[name]