C Api

The Python/C API
Release 2.7.11
Guido van Rossum

and the Python development team
March 11, 2016
Python Software Foundation

Email: docs@python.org
CONTENTS
1 Introduction 3
1.1 Include Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Objects, Types and Reference Counts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4 Embedding Python . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.5 Debugging Builds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 The Very High Level Layer 11
3 Reference Counting 15
4 Exception Handling 17
4.1 Unicode Exception Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.2 Recursion Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.3 Standard Exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.4 String Exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5 Utilities 25
5.1 Operating System Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.2 System Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.3 Process Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.4 Importing Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.5 Data marshalling support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.6 Parsing arguments and building values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.7 String conversion and formatting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5.8 Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.9 Codec registry and support functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6 Abstract Objects Layer 41

6.1 Object Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.2 Number Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
6.3 Sequence Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
6.4 Mapping Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6.5 Iterator Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
6.6 Old Buffer Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7 Concrete Objects Layer 53

7.1 Fundamental Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
7.2 Numeric Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
7.3 Sequence Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
7.4 Mapping Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
7.5 Other Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
8 Initialization, Finalization, and Threads 105

8.1 Initializing and finalizing the interpreter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
8.2 Process-wide parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
i
8.3 Thread State and the Global Interpreter Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
8.4 Sub-interpreter support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
8.5 Asynchronous Notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
8.6 Profiling and Tracing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
8.7 Advanced Debugger Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
9 Memory Management 117

9.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
9.2 Memory Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
9.3 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
10 Object Implementation Support 121

10.1 Allocating Objects on the Heap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
10.2 Common Object Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
10.3 Type Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
10.4 Number Object Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
10.5 Mapping Object Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
10.6 Sequence Object Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
10.7 Buffer Object Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
10.8 Supporting Cyclic Garbage Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
A Glossary 145
B About these documents 153

B.1 Contributors to the Python Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
C History and License 155

C.1 History of the software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
C.2 Terms and conditions for accessing or otherwise using Python . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
C.3 Licenses and Acknowledgements for Incorporated Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
D Copyright 171
Index 173
ii
The Python/C API, Release 2.7.11
This manual documents the API used by C and C++ programmers who want to write extension modules or embed
Python. It is a companion to extending-index, which describes the general principles of extension writing but does
not document the API functions in detail.
CONTENTS 1
2 CONTENTS
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
The Application Programmer’s Interface to Python gives C and C++ programmers access to the Python interpreter
at a variety of levels. The API is equally usable from C++, but for brevity it is generally referred to as the
Python/C API. There are two fundamentally different reasons for using the Python/C API. The first reason is to
write extension modules for specific purposes; these are C modules that extend the Python interpreter. This is
probably the most common use. The second reason is to use Python as a component in a larger application; this
technique is generally referred to as embedding Python in an application.
Writing an extension module is a relatively well-understood process, where a “cookbook” approach works well.
There are several tools that automate the process to some extent. While people have embedded Python in other
applications since its early existence, the process of embedding Python is less straightforward than writing an
extension.
Many API functions are useful independent of whether you’re embedding or extending Python; moreover, most
applications that embed Python will need to provide a custom extension as well, so it’s probably a good idea to
become familiar with writing an extension before attempting to embed Python in a real application.
1.1 Include Files
All function, type and macro definitions needed to use the Python/C API are included in your code by the following
line:
#include "Python.h"
This implies inclusion of the following standard headers: <stdio.h>, <string.h>, <errno.h>,
<limits.h>, <assert.h> and <stdlib.h> (if available).
Note: Since Python may define some pre-processor definitions which affect the standard headers on some sys-
tems, you must include Python.h before any standard headers are included.
All user visible names defined by Python.h (except those defined by the included standard headers) have one of
the prefixes Py or _Py. Names beginning with _Py are for internal use by the Python implementation and should
not be used by extension writers. Structure member names do not have a reserved prefix.
Important: user code should never define names that begin with Py or _Py. This confuses the reader, and jeop-
ardizes the portability of the user code to future Python versions, which may define additional names beginning
with one of these prefixes.
The header files are typically installed with Python. On Unix, these are located in the directo-
ries prefix/include/pythonversion/ and exec_prefix/include/pythonversion/, where
prefix and exec_prefix are defined by the corresponding parameters to Python’s configure script and
version is sys.version[:3]. On Windows, the headers are installed in prefix/include, where prefix
is the installation directory specified to the installer.
To include the headers, place both directories (if different) on your compiler’s search path for includes. Do
not place the parent directories on the search path and then use #include <pythonX.Y/Python.h>; this
will break on multi-platform builds since the platform independent headers under prefix include the platform
specific headers from exec_prefix.
3
C++ users should note that though the API is defined entirely using C, the header files do properly declare the
entry points to be extern "C", so there is no need to do anything special to use the API from C++.
1.2 Objects, Types and Reference Counts
Most Python/C API functions have one or more arguments as well as a return value of type PyObject*. This
type is a pointer to an opaque data type representing an arbitrary Python object. Since all Python object types
are treated the same way by the Python language in most situations (e.g., assignments, scope rules, and argument
passing), it is only fitting that they should be represented by a single C type. Almost all Python objects live on
the heap: you never declare an automatic or static variable of type PyObject, only pointer variables of type
PyObject* can be declared. The sole exception are the type objects; since these must never be deallocated, they
are typically static PyTypeObject objects.
All Python objects (even Python integers) have a type and a reference count. An object’s type determines what
kind of object it is (e.g., an integer, a list, or a user-defined function; there are many more as explained in types).
For each of the well-known types there is a macro to check whether an object is of that type; for instance,
PyList_Check(a) is true if (and only if) the object pointed to by a is a Python list.
1.2.1 Reference Counts
The reference count is important because today’s computers have a finite (and often severely limited) memory size;
it counts how many different places there are that have a reference to an object. Such a place could be another
object, or a global (or static) C variable, or a local variable in some C function. When an object’s reference
count becomes zero, the object is deallocated. If it contains references to other objects, their reference count
is decremented. Those other objects may be deallocated in turn, if this decrement makes their reference count
become zero, and so on. (There’s an obvious problem with objects that reference each other here; for now, the
solution is “don’t do that.”)
Reference counts are always manipulated explicitly. The normal way is to use the macro Py_INCREF() to
increment an object’s reference count by one, and Py_DECREF() to decrement it by one. The Py_DECREF()
macro is considerably more complex than the incref one, since it must check whether the reference count becomes
zero and then cause the object’s deallocator to be called. The deallocator is a function pointer contained in
the object’s type structure. The type-specific deallocator takes care of decrementing the reference counts for
other objects contained in the object if this is a compound object type, such as a list, as well as performing any
additional finalization that’s needed. There’s no chance that the reference count can overflow; at least as many
bits are used to hold the reference count as there are distinct memory locations in virtual memory (assuming
sizeof(Py_ssize_t) >= sizeof(void*)). Thus, the reference count increment is a simple operation.
It is not necessary to increment an object’s reference count for every local variable that contains a pointer to an
object. In theory, the object’s reference count goes up by one when the variable is made to point to it and it goes
down by one when the variable goes out of scope. However, these two cancel each other out, so at the end the
reference count hasn’t changed. The only real reason to use the reference count is to prevent the object from being
deallocated as long as our variable is pointing to it. If we know that there is at least one other reference to the
object that lives at least as long as our variable, there is no need to increment the reference count temporarily.
An important situation where this arises is in objects that are passed as arguments to C functions in an extension
module that are called from Python; the call mechanism guarantees to hold a reference to every argument for the
duration of the call.
However, a common pitfall is to extract an object from a list and hold on to it for a while without incrementing
its reference count. Some other operation might conceivably remove the object from the list, decrementing its
reference count and possible deallocating it. The real danger is that innocent-looking operations may invoke
arbitrary Python code which could do this; there is a code path which allows control to flow back to the user from
a Py_DECREF(), so almost any operation is potentially dangerous.
A safe approach is to always use the generic operations (functions whose name begins with PyObject_,
PyNumber_, PySequence_ or PyMapping_). These operations always increment the reference count of
the object they return. This leaves the caller with the responsibility to call Py_DECREF() when they are done
with the result; this soon becomes second nature.
4 Chapter 1. Introduction
Reference Count Details
The reference count behavior of functions in the Python/C API is best explained in terms of ownership of ref-
erences. Ownership pertains to references, never to objects (objects are not owned: they are always shared).
“Owning a reference” means being responsible for calling Py_DECREF on it when the reference is no longer
needed. Ownership can also be transferred, meaning that the code that receives ownership of the reference then
becomes responsible for eventually decref’ing it by calling Py_DECREF() or Py_XDECREF() when it’s no
longer needed—or passing on this responsibility (usually to its caller). When a function passes ownership of a
reference on to its caller, the caller is said to receive a new reference. When no ownership is transferred, the caller
is said to borrow the reference. Nothing needs to be done for a borrowed reference.
Conversely, when a calling function passes in a reference to an object, there are two possibilities: the function
steals a reference to the object, or it does not. Stealing a reference means that when you pass a reference to a
function, that function assumes that it now owns that reference, and you are not responsible for it any longer.
Few functions steal references; the two notable exceptions are PyList_SetItem() and
PyTuple_SetItem(), which steal a reference to the item (but not to the tuple or list into which the
item is put!). These functions were designed to steal a reference because of a common idiom for populating a
tuple or list with newly created objects; for example, the code to create the tuple (1, 2, "three") could
look like this (forgetting about error handling for the moment; a better way to code this is shown below):
PyObject *t;
t = PyTuple_New(3);
PyTuple_SetItem(t, 0, PyInt_FromLong(1L));
PyTuple_SetItem(t, 1, PyInt_FromLong(2L));
PyTuple_SetItem(t, 2, PyString_FromString("three"));
Here, PyInt_FromLong() returns a new reference which is immediately stolen by PyTuple_SetItem().
When you want to keep using an object although the reference to it will be stolen, use Py_INCREF() to grab
another reference before calling the reference-stealing function.
Incidentally, PyTuple_SetItem() is the only way to set tuple items; PySequence_SetItem() and
PyObject_SetItem() refuse to do this since tuples are an immutable data type. You should only use
PyTuple_SetItem() for tuples that you are creating yourself.
Equivalent code for populating a list can be written using PyList_New() and PyList_SetItem().
However, in practice, you will rarely use these ways of creating and populating a tuple or list. There’s a generic
function, Py_BuildValue(), that can create most common objects from C values, directed by a format string.
For example, the above two blocks of code could be replaced by the following (which also takes care of the error
checking):
PyObject *tuple, *list;
tuple = Py_BuildValue("(iis)", 1, 2, "three");

list = Py_BuildValue("[iis]", 1, 2, "three");
It is much more common to use PyObject_SetItem() and friends with items whose references you are
only borrowing, like arguments that were passed in to the function you are writing. In that case, their behaviour
regarding reference counts is much saner, since you don’t have to increment a reference count so you can give
a reference away (“have it be stolen”). For example, this function sets all items of a list (actually, any mutable
sequence) to a given item:
int
set_all(PyObject *target, PyObject *item)
{
int i, n;
n = PyObject_Length(target);
if (n < 0)
return -1;
for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {
1.2. Objects, Types and Reference Counts 5

PyObject *index = PyInt_FromLong(i);

if (!index)
return -1;
if (PyObject_SetItem(target, index, item) < 0) {
Py_DECREF(index);
return -1;
}
Py_DECREF(index);
}
return 0;
}
The situation is slightly different for function return values. While passing a reference to most functions does not
change your ownership responsibilities for that reference, many functions that return a reference to an object give
you ownership of the reference. The reason is simple: in many cases, the returned object is created on the fly,
and the reference you get is the only reference to the object. Therefore, the generic functions that return object
references, like PyObject_GetItem() and PySequence_GetItem(), always return a new reference (the
caller becomes the owner of the reference).
It is important to realize that whether you own a reference returned by a function depends on which function you
call only — the plumage (the type of the object passed as an argument to the function) doesn’t enter into it! Thus,
if you extract an item from a list using PyList_GetItem(), you don’t own the reference — but if you obtain
the same item from the same list using PySequence_GetItem() (which happens to take exactly the same
arguments), you do own a reference to the returned object.
Here is an example of how you could write a function that computes the sum of the items in a list of integers; once
using PyList_GetItem(), and once using PySequence_GetItem().
long
sum_list(PyObject *list)
{
int i, n;
long total = 0;
PyObject *item;
n = PyList_Size(list);
if (n < 0)
return -1; /* Not a list */
for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {
item = PyList_GetItem(list, i); /* Can't fail */
if (!PyInt_Check(item)) continue; /* Skip non-integers */
total += PyInt_AsLong(item);
}
return total;
}
long
sum_sequence(PyObject *sequence)
{
int i, n;
long total = 0;
PyObject *item;
n = PySequence_Length(sequence);
if (n < 0)
return -1; /* Has no length */
for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {
item = PySequence_GetItem(sequence, i);
if (item == NULL)
return -1; /* Not a sequence, or other failure */
if (PyInt_Check(item))
total += PyInt_AsLong(item);
Py_DECREF(item); /* Discard reference ownership */

}
return total;
}
1.2.2 Types
There are few other data types that play a significant role in the Python/C API; most are simple C types such as
int, long, double and char*. A few structure types are used to describe static tables used to list the functions
exported by a module or the data attributes of a new object type, and another is used to describe the value of a
complex number. These will be discussed together with the functions that use them.
1.3 Exceptions
The Python programmer only needs to deal with exceptions if specific error handling is required; unhandled
exceptions are automatically propagated to the caller, then to the caller’s caller, and so on, until they reach the
top-level interpreter, where they are reported to the user accompanied by a stack traceback.
For C programmers, however, error checking always has to be explicit. All functions in the Python/C API can
raise exceptions, unless an explicit claim is made otherwise in a function’s documentation. In general, when
a function encounters an error, it sets an exception, discards any object references that it owns, and returns an
error indicator. If not documented otherwise, this indicator is either NULL or -1, depending on the function’s
return type. A few functions return a Boolean true/false result, with false indicating an error. Very few functions
return no explicit error indicator or have an ambiguous return value, and require explicit testing for errors with
PyErr_Occurred(). These exceptions are always explicitly documented.
Exception state is maintained in per-thread storage (this is equivalent to using global storage in an unthreaded
application). A thread can be in one of two states: an exception has occurred, or not. The function
PyErr_Occurred() can be used to check for this: it returns a borrowed reference to the exception type object
when an exception has occurred, and NULL otherwise. There are a number of functions to set the exception state:
PyErr_SetString() is the most common (though not the most general) function to set the exception state,
and PyErr_Clear() clears the exception state.
The full exception state consists of three objects (all of which can be NULL): the exception type, the corresponding
exception value, and the traceback. These have the same meanings as the Python objects sys.exc_type,
sys.exc_value, and sys.exc_traceback; however, they are not the same: the Python objects represent
the last exception being handled by a Python try ... except statement, while the C level exception state only
exists while an exception is being passed on between C functions until it reaches the Python bytecode interpreter’s
main loop, which takes care of transferring it to sys.exc_type and friends.
Note that starting with Python 1.5, the preferred, thread-safe way to access the exception state from Python code is
to call the function sys.exc_info(), which returns the per-thread exception state for Python code. Also, the
semantics of both ways to access the exception state have changed so that a function which catches an exception
will save and restore its thread’s exception state so as to preserve the exception state of its caller. This prevents
common bugs in exception handling code caused by an innocent-looking function overwriting the exception being
handled; it also reduces the often unwanted lifetime extension for objects that are referenced by the stack frames
in the traceback.
As a general principle, a function that calls another function to perform some task should check whether the
called function raised an exception, and if so, pass the exception state on to its caller. It should discard any
object references that it owns, and return an error indicator, but it should not set another exception — that would
overwrite the exception that was just raised, and lose important information about the exact cause of the error.
A simple example of detecting exceptions and passing them on is shown in the sum_sequence() example
above. It so happens that this example doesn’t need to clean up any owned references when it detects an error.
The following example function shows some error cleanup. First, to remind you why you like Python, we show
the equivalent Python code:
1.3. Exceptions 7
def incr_item(dict, key):

try:
item = dict[key]
except KeyError:
item = 0
dict[key] = item + 1
Here is the corresponding C code, in all its glory:
int
incr_item(PyObject *dict, PyObject *key)
{
/* Objects all initialized to NULL for Py_XDECREF */
PyObject *item = NULL, *const_one = NULL, *incremented_item = NULL;
int rv = -1; /* Return value initialized to -1 (failure) */
item = PyObject_GetItem(dict, key);

if (item == NULL) {
/* Handle KeyError only: */
if (!PyErr_ExceptionMatches(PyExc_KeyError))
goto error;
/* Clear the error and use zero: */

PyErr_Clear();
item = PyInt_FromLong(0L);
if (item == NULL)
goto error;
}
const_one = PyInt_FromLong(1L);
if (const_one == NULL)
goto error;
incremented_item = PyNumber_Add(item, const_one);

if (incremented_item == NULL)
goto error;
if (PyObject_SetItem(dict, key, incremented_item) < 0)

goto error;
rv = 0; /* Success */
/* Continue with cleanup code */
error:
/* Cleanup code, shared by success and failure path */
/* Use Py_XDECREF() to ignore NULL references */

Py_XDECREF(item);
Py_XDECREF(const_one);
Py_XDECREF(incremented_item);
return rv; /* -1 for error, 0 for success */

}
This example represents an endorsed use of the goto statement in C! It illustrates the use of
PyErr_ExceptionMatches() and PyErr_Clear() to handle specific exceptions, and the use of
Py_XDECREF() to dispose of owned references that may be NULL (note the ’X’ in the name; Py_DECREF()
would crash when confronted with a NULL reference). It is important that the variables used to hold owned refer-
ences are initialized to NULL for this to work; likewise, the proposed return value is initialized to -1 (failure) and
only set to success after the final call made is successful.
1.4 Embedding Python
The one important task that only embedders (as opposed to extension writers) of the Python interpreter have to
worry about is the initialization, and possibly the finalization, of the Python interpreter. Most functionality of the
interpreter can only be used after the interpreter has been initialized.
The basic initialization function is Py_Initialize(). This initializes the table of loaded modules, and creates
the fundamental modules __builtin__, __main__, sys, and exceptions. It also initializes the module
search path (sys.path).
Py_Initialize() does not set the “script argument list” (sys.argv). If this variable is needed by Python
code that will be executed later, it must be set explicitly with a call to PySys_SetArgvEx(argc, argv,
updatepath) after the call to Py_Initialize().
On most systems (in particular, on Unix and Windows, although the details are slightly different),
Py_Initialize() calculates the module search path based upon its best guess for the location of the standard
Python interpreter executable, assuming that the Python library is found in a fixed location relative to the Python
interpreter executable. In particular, it looks for a directory named lib/pythonX.Y relative to the parent direc-
tory where the executable named python is found on the shell command search path (the environment variable
PATH).
For instance, if the Python executable is found in /usr/local/bin/python, it will assume that the li-
braries are in /usr/local/lib/pythonX.Y. (In fact, this particular path is also the “fallback” location,
used when no executable file named python is found along PATH.) The user can override this behavior by
setting the environment variable PYTHONHOME, or insert additional directories in front of the standard path by
setting PYTHONPATH.
The embedding application can steer the search by calling Py_SetProgramName(file) before calling
Py_Initialize(). Note that PYTHONHOME still overrides this and PYTHONPATH is still inserted in front
of the standard path. An application that requires total control has to provide its own implementation of
Py_GetPath(), Py_GetPrefix(), Py_GetExecPrefix(), and Py_GetProgramFullPath() (all
defined in Modules/getpath.c).
Sometimes, it is desirable to “uninitialize” Python. For instance, the application may want to start over (make
another call to Py_Initialize()) or the application is simply done with its use of Python and wants to
free memory allocated by Python. This can be accomplished by calling Py_Finalize(). The function
Py_IsInitialized() returns true if Python is currently in the initialized state. More information about
these functions is given in a later chapter. Notice that Py_Finalize() does not free all memory allocated by
the Python interpreter, e.g. memory allocated by extension modules currently cannot be released.
1.5 Debugging Builds
Python can be built with several macros to enable extra checks of the interpreter and extension modules. These
checks tend to add a large amount of overhead to the runtime so they are not enabled by default.
A full list of the various types of debugging builds is in the file Misc/SpecialBuilds.txt in the Python
source distribution. Builds are available that support tracing of reference counts, debugging the memory allocator,
or low-level profiling of the main interpreter loop. Only the most frequently-used builds will be described in the
remainder of this section.
Compiling the interpreter with the Py_DEBUG macro defined produces what is generally meant by “a debug
build” of Python. Py_DEBUG is enabled in the Unix build by adding --with-pydebug to the ./configure
command. It is also implied by the presence of the not-Python-specific _DEBUG macro. When Py_DEBUG is
enabled in the Unix build, compiler optimization is disabled.
In addition to the reference count debugging described below, the following extra checks are performed:
• Extra checks are added to the object allocator.
• Extra checks are added to the parser and compiler.
• Downcasts from wide types to narrow types are checked for loss of information.
1.4. Embedding Python 9

• A number of assertions are added to the dictionary and set implementations. In addition, the set object
acquires a test_c_api() method.
• Sanity checks of the input arguments are added to frame creation.
• The storage for long ints is initialized with a known invalid pattern to catch reference to uninitialized digits.
• Low-level tracing and extra exception checking are added to the runtime virtual machine.
• Extra checks are added to the memory arena implementation.
• Extra debugging is added to the thread module.
There may be additional checks not mentioned here.
Defining Py_TRACE_REFS enables reference tracing. When defined, a circular doubly linked list of active
objects is maintained by adding two extra fields to every PyObject. Total allocations are tracked as well.
Upon exit, all existing references are printed. (In interactive mode this happens after every statement run by the
interpreter.) Implied by Py_DEBUG.
Please refer to Misc/SpecialBuilds.txt in the Python source distribution for more detailed information.
CHAPTER
TWO
THE VERY HIGH LEVEL LAYER
The functions in this chapter will let you execute Python source code given in a file or a buffer, but they will not
let you interact in a more detailed way with the interpreter.
Several of these functions accept a start symbol from the grammar as a parameter. The available start symbols are
Py_eval_input, Py_file_input, and Py_single_input. These are described following the functions
which accept them as parameters.
Note also that several of these functions take FILE* parameters. One particular issue which needs to be handled
carefully is that the FILE structure for different C libraries can be different and incompatible. Under Windows (at
least), it is possible for dynamically linked extensions to actually use different libraries, so care should be taken
that FILE* parameters are only passed to these functions if it is certain that they were created by the same library
that the Python runtime is using.
int Py_Main(int argc, char **argv)
The main program for the standard interpreter. This is made available for programs which embed Python.
The argc and argv parameters should be prepared exactly as those which are passed to a C program’s
main() function. It is important to note that the argument list may be modified (but the contents of the
strings pointed to by the argument list are not). The return value will be 0 if the interpreter exits normally
(ie, without an exception), 1 if the interpreter exits due to an exception, or 2 if the parameter list does not
represent a valid Python command line.
Note that if an otherwise unhandled SystemExit is raised, this function will not return 1, but exit the
process, as long as Py_InspectFlag is not set.
int PyRun_AnyFile(FILE *fp, const char *filename)
This is a simplified interface to PyRun_AnyFileExFlags() below, leaving closeit set to 0 and flags set
to NULL.
int PyRun_AnyFileFlags(FILE *fp, const char *filename, PyCompilerFlags *flags)
This is a simplified interface to PyRun_AnyFileExFlags() below, leaving the closeit argument set to
0.
int PyRun_AnyFileEx(FILE *fp, const char *filename, int closeit)
This is a simplified interface to PyRun_AnyFileExFlags() below, leaving the flags argument set to
NULL.
int PyRun_AnyFileExFlags(FILE *fp, const char *filename, int closeit, PyCompilerFlags *flags)
If fp refers to a file associated with an interactive device (console or terminal input or Unix
pseudo-terminal), return the value of PyRun_InteractiveLoop(), otherwise return the result of
PyRun_SimpleFile(). If filename is NULL, this function uses "???" as the filename.
int PyRun_SimpleString(const char *command)
This is a simplified interface to PyRun_SimpleStringFlags() below, leaving the PyCompilerFlags*
argument set to NULL.
int PyRun_SimpleStringFlags(const char *command, PyCompilerFlags *flags)
Executes the Python source code from command in the __main__ module according to the flags argument.
If __main__ does not already exist, it is created. Returns 0 on success or -1 if an exception was raised.
If there was an error, there is no way to get the exception information. For the meaning of flags, see below.
11
Note that if an otherwise unhandled SystemExit is raised, this function will not return -1, but exit the
process, as long as Py_InspectFlag is not set.
int PyRun_SimpleFile(FILE *fp, const char *filename)
This is a simplified interface to PyRun_SimpleFileExFlags() below, leaving closeit set to 0 and
flags set to NULL.
int PyRun_SimpleFileFlags(FILE *fp, const char *filename, PyCompilerFlags *flags)
This is a simplified interface to PyRun_SimpleFileExFlags() below, leaving closeit set to 0.
int PyRun_SimpleFileEx(FILE *fp, const char *filename, int closeit)
This is a simplified interface to PyRun_SimpleFileExFlags() below, leaving flags set to NULL.
int PyRun_SimpleFileExFlags(FILE *fp, const char *filename, int closeit, PyCompiler-
Flags *flags)
Similar to PyRun_SimpleStringFlags(), but the Python source code is read from fp instead of an
in-memory string. filename should be the name of the file. If closeit is true, the file is closed before
PyRun_SimpleFileExFlags returns.
int PyRun_InteractiveOne(FILE *fp, const char *filename)
This is a simplified interface to PyRun_InteractiveOneFlags() below, leaving flags set to NULL.
int PyRun_InteractiveOneFlags(FILE *fp, const char *filename, PyCompilerFlags *flags)
Read and execute a single statement from a file associated with an interactive device according to the
flags argument. The user will be prompted using sys.ps1 and sys.ps2. Returns 0 when the input
was executed successfully, -1 if there was an exception, or an error code from the errcode.h include
file distributed as part of Python if there was a parse error. (Note that errcode.h is not included by
Python.h, so must be included specifically if needed.)
int PyRun_InteractiveLoop(FILE *fp, const char *filename)
This is a simplified interface to PyRun_InteractiveLoopFlags() below, leaving flags set to NULL.
int PyRun_InteractiveLoopFlags(FILE *fp, const char *filename, PyCompilerFlags *flags)
Read and execute statements from a file associated with an interactive device until EOF is reached. The user
will be prompted using sys.ps1 and sys.ps2. Returns 0 at EOF.
struct _node* PyParser_SimpleParseString(const char *str, int start)
This is a simplified interface to PyParser_SimpleParseStringFlagsFilename() below, leav-
ing filename set to NULL and flags set to 0.
struct _node* PyParser_SimpleParseStringFlags(const char *str, int start, int flags)
This is a simplified interface to PyParser_SimpleParseStringFlagsFilename() below, leav-
ing filename set to NULL.
struct _node* PyParser_SimpleParseStringFlagsFilename(const char *str, const char *file-
name, int start, int flags)
Parse Python source code from str using the start token start according to the flags argument. The result can
be used to create a code object which can be evaluated efficiently. This is useful if a code fragment must be
evaluated many times.
struct _node* PyParser_SimpleParseFile(FILE *fp, const char *filename, int start)
This is a simplified interface to PyParser_SimpleParseFileFlags() below, leaving flags set to 0.
struct _node* PyParser_SimpleParseFileFlags(FILE *fp, const char *filename, int start,
int flags)
Similar to PyParser_SimpleParseStringFlagsFilename(), but the Python source code is read
from fp instead of an in-memory string.
PyObject* PyRun_String(const char *str, int start, PyObject *globals, PyObject *locals)
Return value: New reference. This is a simplified interface to PyRun_StringFlags() below, leaving
flags set to NULL.
PyObject* PyRun_StringFlags(const char *str, int start, PyObject *globals, PyObject *locals, Py-
CompilerFlags *flags)
Return value: New reference. Execute Python source code from str in the context specified by the dictio-
12 Chapter 2. The Very High Level Layer

naries globals and locals with the compiler flags specified by flags. The parameter start specifies the start
token that should be used to parse the source code.
Returns the result of executing the code as a Python object, or NULL if an exception was raised.
PyObject* PyRun_File(FILE *fp, const char *filename, int start, PyObject *globals, PyObject *locals)
Return value: New reference. This is a simplified interface to PyRun_FileExFlags() below, leaving
closeit set to 0 and flags set to NULL.
PyObject* PyRun_FileEx(FILE *fp, const char *filename, int start, PyObject *globals, PyObject *lo-
cals, int closeit)
flags set to NULL.
PyObject* PyRun_FileFlags(FILE *fp, const char *filename, int start, PyObject *globals, PyOb-
ject *locals, PyCompilerFlags *flags)
closeit set to 0.
PyObject* PyRun_FileExFlags(FILE *fp, const char *filename, int start, PyObject *globals, PyOb-
ject *locals, int closeit, PyCompilerFlags *flags)
Return value: New reference. Similar to PyRun_StringFlags(), but the Python source code is read
from fp instead of an in-memory string. filename should be the name of the file. If closeit is true, the file is
closed before PyRun_FileExFlags() returns.
PyObject* Py_CompileString(const char *str, const char *filename, int start)
Return value: New reference. This is a simplified interface to Py_CompileStringFlags() below,
leaving flags set to NULL.
PyObject* Py_CompileStringFlags(const char *str, const char *filename, int start, PyCompiler-
Flags *flags)
Return value: New reference. Parse and compile the Python source code in str, returning the resulting code
object. The start token is given by start; this can be used to constrain the code which can be compiled
and should be Py_eval_input, Py_file_input, or Py_single_input. The filename specified
by filename is used to construct the code object and may appear in tracebacks or SyntaxError exception
messages. This returns NULL if the code cannot be parsed or compiled.
PyObject* PyEval_EvalCode(PyCodeObject *co, PyObject *globals, PyObject *locals)
Return value: New reference. This is a simplified interface to PyEval_EvalCodeEx(), with just the
code object, and the dictionaries of global and local variables. The other arguments are set to NULL.
PyObject* PyEval_EvalCodeEx(PyCodeObject *co, PyObject *globals, PyObject *locals, PyOb-
ject **args, int argcount, PyObject **kws, int kwcount, PyOb-
ject **defs, int defcount, PyObject *closure)
Evaluate a precompiled code object, given a particular environment for its evaluation. This environment
consists of dictionaries of global and local variables, arrays of arguments, keywords and defaults, and a
closure tuple of cells.
PyObject* PyEval_EvalFrame(PyFrameObject *f )
Evaluate an execution frame. This is a simplified interface to PyEval_EvalFrameEx, for backward compat-
ibility.
PyObject* PyEval_EvalFrameEx(PyFrameObject *f, int throwflag)
This is the main, unvarnished function of Python interpretation. It is literally 2000 lines long. The code ob-
ject associated with the execution frame f is executed, interpreting bytecode and executing calls as needed.
The additional throwflag parameter can mostly be ignored - if true, then it causes an exception to immedi-
ately be thrown; this is used for the throw() methods of generator objects.
int PyEval_MergeCompilerFlags(PyCompilerFlags *cf )
This function changes the flags of the current evaluation frame, and returns true on success, false on failure.
int Py_eval_input
The start symbol from the Python grammar for isolated expressions; for use with
Py_CompileString().
13
int Py_file_input
The start symbol from the Python grammar for sequences of statements as read from a file or other source;
for use with Py_CompileString(). This is the symbol to use when compiling arbitrarily long Python
source code.
int Py_single_input
The start symbol from the Python grammar for a single statement; for use with Py_CompileString().
This is the symbol used for the interactive interpreter loop.
struct PyCompilerFlags
This is the structure used to hold compiler flags. In cases where code is only being compiled, it is passed as
int flags, and in cases where code is being executed, it is passed as PyCompilerFlags *flags.
In this case, from __future__ import can modify flags.
Whenever PyCompilerFlags *flags is NULL, cf_flags is treated as equal to 0, and any modifi-
cation due to from __future__ import is discarded.
struct PyCompilerFlags {
int cf_flags;
}
int CO_FUTURE_DIVISION
This bit can be set in flags to cause division operator / to be interpreted as “true division” according to PEP
238.
14 Chapter 2. The Very High Level Layer

CHAPTER
THREE
REFERENCE COUNTING
The macros in this section are used for managing reference counts of Python objects.
void Py_INCREF(PyObject *o)
Increment the reference count for object o. The object must not be NULL; if you aren’t sure that it isn’t
NULL, use Py_XINCREF().
void Py_XINCREF(PyObject *o)
Increment the reference count for object o. The object may be NULL, in which case the macro has no effect.
void Py_DECREF(PyObject *o)
Decrement the reference count for object o. The object must not be NULL; if you aren’t sure that it isn’t
NULL, use Py_XDECREF(). If the reference count reaches zero, the object’s type’s deallocation function
(which must not be NULL) is invoked.
Warning: The deallocation function can cause arbitrary Python code to be invoked (e.g. when a class
instance with a __del__() method is deallocated). While exceptions in such code are not propagated,
the executed code has free access to all Python global variables. This means that any object that is
reachable from a global variable should be in a consistent state before Py_DECREF() is invoked. For
example, code to delete an object from a list should copy a reference to the deleted object in a temporary
variable, update the list data structure, and then call Py_DECREF() for the temporary variable.
void Py_XDECREF(PyObject *o)

Decrement the reference count for object o. The object may be NULL, in which case the macro has no
effect; otherwise the effect is the same as for Py_DECREF(), and the same warning applies.
void Py_CLEAR(PyObject *o)
Decrement the reference count for object o. The object may be NULL, in which case the macro has no effect;
otherwise the effect is the same as for Py_DECREF(), except that the argument is also set to NULL. The
warning for Py_DECREF() does not apply with respect to the object passed because the macro carefully
uses a temporary variable and sets the argument to NULL before decrementing its reference count.
It is a good idea to use this macro whenever decrementing the value of a variable that might be traversed
during garbage collection.
New in version 2.4.
The following functions are for runtime dynamic embedding of Python: Py_IncRef(PyObject *o),
Py_DecRef(PyObject *o). They are simply exported function versions of Py_XINCREF() and
Py_XDECREF(), respectively.
The following functions or macros are only for use within the interpreter core: _Py_Dealloc(),
_Py_ForgetReference(), _Py_NewReference(), as well as the global variable _Py_RefTotal.
15
16 Chapter 3. Reference Counting

CHAPTER
FOUR
EXCEPTION HANDLING
The functions described in this chapter will let you handle and raise Python exceptions. It is important to under-
stand some of the basics of Python exception handling. It works somewhat like the Unix errno variable: there is
a global indicator (per thread) of the last error that occurred. Most functions don’t clear this on success, but will
set it to indicate the cause of the error on failure. Most functions also return an error indicator, usually NULL if
they are supposed to return a pointer, or -1 if they return an integer (exception: the PyArg_*() functions return
1 for success and 0 for failure).
When a function must fail because some function it called failed, it generally doesn’t set the error indicator; the
function it called already set it. It is responsible for either handling the error and clearing the exception or returning
after cleaning up any resources it holds (such as object references or memory allocations); it should not continue
normally if it is not prepared to handle the error. If returning due to an error, it is important to indicate to the caller
that an error has been set. If the error is not handled or carefully propagated, additional calls into the Python/C
API may not behave as intended and may fail in mysterious ways.
The error indicator consists of three Python objects corresponding to the Python variables sys.exc_type,
sys.exc_value and sys.exc_traceback. API functions exist to interact with the error indicator in vari-
ous ways. There is a separate error indicator for each thread.
void PyErr_PrintEx(int set_sys_last_vars)
Print a standard traceback to sys.stderr and clear the error indicator. Call this function only when the
error indicator is set. (Otherwise it will cause a fatal error!)
If set_sys_last_vars is nonzero, the variables sys.last_type, sys.last_value and
sys.last_traceback will be set to the type, value and traceback of the printed exception, re-
spectively.
void PyErr_Print()
Alias for PyErr_PrintEx(1).
PyObject* PyErr_Occurred()
Return value: Borrowed reference. Test whether the error indicator is set. If set, return the exception type
(the first argument to the last call to one of the PyErr_Set*() functions or to PyErr_Restore()). If
not set, return NULL. You do not own a reference to the return value, so you do not need to Py_DECREF()
it.
Note: Do not compare the return value to a specific exception; use PyErr_ExceptionMatches()
instead, shown below. (The comparison could easily fail since the exception may be an instance instead of
a class, in the case of a class exception, or it may be a subclass of the expected exception.)
int PyErr_ExceptionMatches(PyObject *exc)

Equivalent to PyErr_GivenExceptionMatches(PyErr_Occurred(), exc). This should only
be called when an exception is actually set; a memory access violation will occur if no exception has been
raised.
int PyErr_GivenExceptionMatches(PyObject *given, PyObject *exc)
Return true if the given exception matches the exception in exc. If exc is a class object, this also returns
true when given is an instance of a subclass. If exc is a tuple, all exceptions in the tuple (and recursively in
subtuples) are searched for a match.
17
void PyErr_NormalizeException(PyObject**exc, PyObject**val, PyObject**tb)

Under certain circumstances, the values returned by PyErr_Fetch() below can be “unnormalized”,
meaning that *exc is a class object but *val is not an instance of the same class. This function can be
used to instantiate the class in that case. If the values are already normalized, nothing happens. The delayed
normalization is implemented to improve performance.
void PyErr_Clear()
Clear the error indicator. If the error indicator is not set, there is no effect.
void PyErr_Fetch(PyObject **ptype, PyObject **pvalue, PyObject **ptraceback)
Retrieve the error indicator into three variables whose addresses are passed. If the error indicator is not set,
set all three variables to NULL. If it is set, it will be cleared and you own a reference to each object retrieved.
The value and traceback object may be NULL even when the type object is not.
Note: This function is normally only used by code that needs to handle exceptions or by code that needs
to save and restore the error indicator temporarily.
void PyErr_Restore(PyObject *type, PyObject *value, PyObject *traceback)

Set the error indicator from the three objects. If the error indicator is already set, it is cleared first. If the
objects are NULL, the error indicator is cleared. Do not pass a NULL type and non-NULL value or traceback.
The exception type should be a class. Do not pass an invalid exception type or value. (Violating these rules
will cause subtle problems later.) This call takes away a reference to each object: you must own a reference
to each object before the call and after the call you no longer own these references. (If you don’t understand
this, don’t use this function. I warned you.)
Note: This function is normally only used by code that needs to save and restore the error indicator
temporarily; use PyErr_Fetch() to save the current exception state.
void PyErr_SetString(PyObject *type, const char *message)

This is the most common way to set the error indicator. The first argument specifies the exception type;
it is normally one of the standard exceptions, e.g. PyExc_RuntimeError. You need not increment its
reference count. The second argument is an error message; it is converted to a string object.
void PyErr_SetObject(PyObject *type, PyObject *value)
This function is similar to PyErr_SetString() but lets you specify an arbitrary Python object for the
“value” of the exception.
PyObject* PyErr_Format(PyObject *exception, const char *format, ...)
Return value: Always NULL. This function sets the error indicator and returns NULL. exception should be
a Python exception class. The format and subsequent parameters help format the error message; they have
the same meaning and values as in PyString_FromFormat().
void PyErr_SetNone(PyObject *type)
This is a shorthand for PyErr_SetObject(type, Py_None).
int PyErr_BadArgument()
This is a shorthand for PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, message), where message indi-
cates that a built-in operation was invoked with an illegal argument. It is mostly for internal use.
PyObject* PyErr_NoMemory()
Return value: Always NULL. This is a shorthand for PyErr_SetNone(PyExc_MemoryError); it
returns NULL so an object allocation function can write return PyErr_NoMemory(); when it runs
out of memory.
PyObject* PyErr_SetFromErrno(PyObject *type)
Return value: Always NULL. This is a convenience function to raise an exception when a C library function
has returned an error and set the C variable errno. It constructs a tuple object whose first item is the integer
errno value and whose second item is the corresponding error message (gotten from strerror()), and
then calls PyErr_SetObject(type, object). On Unix, when the errno value is EINTR, indi-
cating an interrupted system call, this calls PyErr_CheckSignals(), and if that set the error indicator,
leaves it set to that. The function always returns NULL, so a wrapper function around a system call can
write return PyErr_SetFromErrno(type); when the system call returns an error.
18 Chapter 4. Exception Handling

PyObject* PyErr_SetFromErrnoWithFilenameObject(PyObject *type, PyObject *filenameOb-

ject)
Similar to PyErr_SetFromErrno(), with the additional behavior that if filenameObject is not NULL,
it is passed to the constructor of type as a third parameter. In the case of exceptions such as IOError and
OSError, this is used to define the filename attribute of the exception instance.
PyObject* PyErr_SetFromErrnoWithFilename(PyObject *type, const char *filename)
Return value: Always NULL. Similar to PyErr_SetFromErrnoWithFilenameObject(), but the
filename is given as a C string.
PyObject* PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr(int ierr)
Return value: Always NULL. This is a convenience function to raise WindowsError. If called
with ierr of 0, the error code returned by a call to GetLastError() is used instead. It calls
the Win32 function FormatMessage() to retrieve the Windows description of error code given by
ierr or GetLastError(), then it constructs a tuple object whose first item is the ierr value and
whose second item is the corresponding error message (gotten from FormatMessage()), and then
calls PyErr_SetObject(PyExc_WindowsError, object). This function always returns NULL.
Availability: Windows.
PyObject* PyErr_SetExcFromWindowsErr(PyObject *type, int ierr)
Return value: Always NULL. Similar to PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr(), with an additional parameter
specifying the exception type to be raised. Availability: Windows.
New in version 2.3.
PyObject* PyErr_SetFromWindowsErrWithFilenameObject(int ierr, PyObject *filenameOb-
ject)
Similar to PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr(), with the additional behavior that if filenameObject is not
NULL, it is passed to the constructor of WindowsError as a third parameter. Availability: Windows.
PyObject* PyErr_SetFromWindowsErrWithFilename(int ierr, const char *filename)
Return value: Always NULL. Similar to PyErr_SetFromWindowsErrWithFilenameObject(),
but the filename is given as a C string. Availability: Windows.
PyObject* PyErr_SetExcFromWindowsErrWithFilenameObject(PyObject *type, int ierr, Py-
Object *filename)
Similar to PyErr_SetFromWindowsErrWithFilenameObject(), with an additional parameter
specifying the exception type to be raised. Availability: Windows.
New in version 2.3.
PyObject* PyErr_SetExcFromWindowsErrWithFilename(PyObject *type, int ierr, const
char *filename)
Return value: Always NULL. Similar to PyErr_SetFromWindowsErrWithFilename(), with an
additional parameter specifying the exception type to be raised. Availability: Windows.
New in version 2.3.
void PyErr_BadInternalCall()
This is a shorthand for PyErr_SetString(PyExc_SystemError, message), where message in-
dicates that an internal operation (e.g. a Python/C API function) was invoked with an illegal argument. It is
mostly for internal use.
int PyErr_WarnEx(PyObject *category, char *message, int stacklevel)
Issue a warning message. The category argument is a warning category (see below) or NULL; the message
argument is a message string. stacklevel is a positive number giving a number of stack frames; the warning
will be issued from the currently executing line of code in that stack frame. A stacklevel of 1 is the function
calling PyErr_WarnEx(), 2 is the function above that, and so forth.
This function normally prints a warning message to sys.stderr; however, it is also possible that the user
has specified that warnings are to be turned into errors, and in that case this will raise an exception. It
is also possible that the function raises an exception because of a problem with the warning machinery
(the implementation imports the warnings module to do the heavy lifting). The return value is 0 if no
exception is raised, or -1 if an exception is raised. (It is not possible to determine whether a warning
message is actually printed, nor what the reason is for the exception; this is intentional.) If an exception is
19
raised, the caller should do its normal exception handling (for example, Py_DECREF() owned references
and return an error value).
Warning categories must be subclasses of Warning; the default warning category is RuntimeWarning.
The standard Python warning categories are available as global variables whose names are PyExc_
followed by the Python exception name. These have the type PyObject*; they are all class ob-
jects. Their names are PyExc_Warning, PyExc_UserWarning, PyExc_UnicodeWarning,
PyExc_DeprecationWarning, PyExc_SyntaxWarning, PyExc_RuntimeWarning, and
PyExc_FutureWarning. PyExc_Warning is a subclass of PyExc_Exception; the other warn-
ing categories are subclasses of PyExc_Warning.
For information about warning control, see the documentation for the warnings module and the -W option
in the command line documentation. There is no C API for warning control.
int PyErr_Warn(PyObject *category, char *message)
Issue a warning message. The category argument is a warning category (see below) or NULL; the mes-
sage argument is a message string. The warning will appear to be issued from the function calling
PyErr_Warn(), equivalent to calling PyErr_WarnEx() with a stacklevel of 1.
Deprecated; use PyErr_WarnEx() instead.
int PyErr_WarnExplicit(PyObject *category, const char *message, const char *filename, int lineno,
const char *module, PyObject *registry)
Issue a warning message with explicit control over all warning attributes. This is a straightforward wrap-
per around the Python function warnings.warn_explicit(), see there for more information. The
module and registry arguments may be set to NULL to get the default effect described there.
int PyErr_WarnPy3k(char *message, int stacklevel)
Issue a DeprecationWarning with the given message and stacklevel if the Py_Py3kWarningFlag
flag is enabled.
New in version 2.6.
int PyErr_CheckSignals()
This function interacts with Python’s signal handling. It checks whether a signal has been sent to the
processes and if so, invokes the corresponding signal handler. If the signal module is supported, this
can invoke a signal handler written in Python. In all cases, the default effect for SIGINT is to raise the
KeyboardInterrupt exception. If an exception is raised the error indicator is set and the function
returns -1; otherwise the function returns 0. The error indicator may or may not be cleared if it was
previously set.
void PyErr_SetInterrupt()
This function simulates the effect of a SIGINT signal arriving — the next time
PyErr_CheckSignals() is called, KeyboardInterrupt will be raised. It may be called
without holding the interpreter lock.
int PySignal_SetWakeupFd(int fd)
This utility function specifies a file descriptor to which a ’\0’ byte will be written whenever a signal is
received. It returns the previous such file descriptor. The value -1 disables the feature; this is the initial
state. This is equivalent to signal.set_wakeup_fd() in Python, but without any error checking. fd
should be a valid file descriptor. The function should only be called from the main thread.
New in version 2.6.
PyObject* PyErr_NewException(char *name, PyObject *base, PyObject *dict)
Return value: New reference. This utility function creates and returns a new exception class. The name
argument must be the name of the new exception, a C string of the form module.classname. The base
and dict arguments are normally NULL. This creates a class object derived from Exception (accessible
in C as PyExc_Exception).
The __module__ attribute of the new class is set to the first part (up to the last dot) of the name argument,
and the class name is set to the last part (after the last dot). The base argument can be used to specify
alternate base classes; it can either be only one class or a tuple of classes. The dict argument can be used to
specify a dictionary of class variables and methods.

PyObject* PyErr_NewExceptionWithDoc(char *name, char *doc, PyObject *base, PyObject *dict)

Return value: New reference. Same as PyErr_NewException(), except that the new exception class
can easily be given a docstring: If doc is non-NULL, it will be used as the docstring for the exception class.
New in version 2.7.
void PyErr_WriteUnraisable(PyObject *obj)
This utility function prints a warning message to sys.stderr when an exception has been set but it is
impossible for the interpreter to actually raise the exception. It is used, for example, when an exception
occurs in an __del__() method.
The function is called with a single argument obj that identifies the context in which the unraisable exception
occurred. If possible, the repr of obj will be printed in the warning message.
4.1 Unicode Exception Objects
The following functions are used to create and modify Unicode exceptions from C.
PyObject* PyUnicodeDecodeError_Create(const char *encoding, const char *object,
Py_ssize_t length, Py_ssize_t start, Py_ssize_t end,
const char *reason)
Create a UnicodeDecodeError object with the attributes encoding, object, length, start, end and rea-
son.
PyObject* PyUnicodeEncodeError_Create(const char *encoding, const Py_UNICODE *object,
Py_ssize_t length, Py_ssize_t start, Py_ssize_t end,
const char *reason)
Create a UnicodeEncodeError object with the attributes encoding, object, length, start, end and rea-
son.
PyObject* PyUnicodeTranslateError_Create(const Py_UNICODE *object, Py_ssize_t length,
Py_ssize_t start, Py_ssize_t end, const char *rea-
son)
Create a UnicodeTranslateError object with the attributes object, length, start, end and reason.
PyObject* PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetEncoding(PyObject *exc)
PyObject* PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetEncoding(PyObject *exc)
Return the encoding attribute of the given exception object.
PyObject* PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetObject(PyObject *exc)
PyObject* PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetObject(PyObject *exc)
PyObject* PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetObject(PyObject *exc)
Return the object attribute of the given exception object.
int PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *start)
int PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *start)
int PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *start)
Get the start attribute of the given exception object and place it into *start. start must not be NULL. Return
0 on success, -1 on failure.
int PyUnicodeDecodeError_SetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t start)
int PyUnicodeEncodeError_SetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t start)
int PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t start)
Set the start attribute of the given exception object to start. Return 0 on success, -1 on failure.
int PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *end)
int PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *end)
int PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *end)
Get the end attribute of the given exception object and place it into *end. end must not be NULL. Return 0
on success, -1 on failure.
int PyUnicodeDecodeError_SetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t end)
int PyUnicodeEncodeError_SetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t end)
4.1. Unicode Exception Objects 21

int PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t end)

Set the end attribute of the given exception object to end. Return 0 on success, -1 on failure.
PyObject* PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetReason(PyObject *exc)
PyObject* PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetReason(PyObject *exc)
PyObject* PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetReason(PyObject *exc)
Return the reason attribute of the given exception object.
int PyUnicodeDecodeError_SetReason(PyObject *exc, const char *reason)
int PyUnicodeEncodeError_SetReason(PyObject *exc, const char *reason)
int PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetReason(PyObject *exc, const char *reason)
Set the reason attribute of the given exception object to reason. Return 0 on success, -1 on failure.
4.2 Recursion Control
These two functions provide a way to perform safe recursive calls at the C level, both in the core and in extension
modules. They are needed if the recursive code does not necessarily invoke Python code (which tracks its recursion
depth automatically).
int Py_EnterRecursiveCall(const char *where)
Marks a point where a recursive C-level call is about to be performed.
If USE_STACKCHECK is defined, this function checks if the OS stack overflowed using
PyOS_CheckStack(). In this is the case, it sets a MemoryError and returns a nonzero value.
The function then checks if the recursion limit is reached. If this is the case, a RuntimeError is set and
a nonzero value is returned. Otherwise, zero is returned.
where should be a string such as " in instance check" to be concatenated to the RuntimeError
message caused by the recursion depth limit.
void Py_LeaveRecursiveCall()
Ends a Py_EnterRecursiveCall(). Must be called once for each successful invocation of
Py_EnterRecursiveCall().
4.3 Standard Exceptions
All standard Python exceptions are available as global variables whose names are PyExc_ followed by the Python
exception name. These have the type PyObject*; they are all class objects. For completeness, here are all the
variables:

C Name Python Name Notes

PyExc_BaseException BaseException (1), (4)
PyExc_Exception Exception (1)
PyExc_StandardError StandardError (1)
PyExc_ArithmeticError ArithmeticError (1)
PyExc_LookupError LookupError (1)
PyExc_AssertionError AssertionError
PyExc_AttributeError AttributeError
PyExc_EOFError EOFError
PyExc_EnvironmentError EnvironmentError (1)
PyExc_FloatingPointError FloatingPointError
PyExc_IOError IOError
PyExc_ImportError ImportError
PyExc_IndexError IndexError
PyExc_KeyError KeyError
PyExc_KeyboardInterrupt KeyboardInterrupt
PyExc_MemoryError MemoryError
PyExc_NameError NameError
PyExc_NotImplementedError NotImplementedError
PyExc_OSError OSError
PyExc_OverflowError OverflowError
PyExc_ReferenceError ReferenceError (2)
PyExc_RuntimeError RuntimeError
PyExc_SyntaxError SyntaxError
PyExc_SystemError SystemError
PyExc_SystemExit SystemExit
PyExc_TypeError TypeError
PyExc_ValueError ValueError
PyExc_WindowsError WindowsError (3)
PyExc_ZeroDivisionError ZeroDivisionError
Notes:
1. This is a base class for other standard exceptions.
2. This is the same as weakref.ReferenceError.
3. Only defined on Windows; protect code that uses this by testing that the preprocessor macro MS_WINDOWS
is defined.
4. New in version 2.5.
4.4 String Exceptions
Changed in version 2.6: All exceptions to be raised or caught must be derived from BaseException. Trying
to raise a string exception now raises TypeError.
4.4. String Exceptions 23


CHAPTER
FIVE
UTILITIES
The functions in this chapter perform various utility tasks, ranging from helping C code be more portable across
platforms, using Python modules from C, and parsing function arguments and constructing Python values from C
values.
5.1 Operating System Utilities
int Py_FdIsInteractive(FILE *fp, const char *filename)

Return true (nonzero) if the standard I/O file fp with name filename is deemed interactive. This is the case
for files for which isatty(fileno(fp)) is true. If the global flag Py_InteractiveFlag is true,
this function also returns true if the filename pointer is NULL or if the name is equal to one of the strings
’<stdin>’ or ’???’.
void PyOS_AfterFork()
Function to update some internal state after a process fork; this should be called in the new process if the
Python interpreter will continue to be used. If a new executable is loaded into the new process, this function
does not need to be called.
int PyOS_CheckStack()
Return true when the interpreter runs out of stack space. This is a reliable check, but is only available
when USE_STACKCHECK is defined (currently on Windows using the Microsoft Visual C++ compiler).
USE_STACKCHECK will be defined automatically; you should never change the definition in your own
code.
PyOS_sighandler_t PyOS_getsig(int i)
Return the current signal handler for signal i. This is a thin wrapper around either sigaction() or
signal(). Do not call those functions directly! PyOS_sighandler_t is a typedef alias for void
(*)(int).
PyOS_sighandler_t PyOS_setsig(int i, PyOS_sighandler_t h)
Set the signal handler for signal i to be h; return the old signal handler. This is a thin wrapper around either
sigaction() or signal(). Do not call those functions directly! PyOS_sighandler_t is a typedef
alias for void (*)(int).
5.2 System Functions
These are utility functions that make functionality from the sys module accessible to C code. They all work with
the current interpreter thread’s sys module’s dict, which is contained in the internal thread state structure.
PyObject *PySys_GetObject(char *name)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the object name from the sys module or NULL if it does not
exist, without setting an exception.
FILE *PySys_GetFile(char *name, FILE *def )
Return the FILE* associated with the object name in the sys module, or def if name is not in the module
or is not associated with a FILE*.
25
int PySys_SetObject(char *name, PyObject *v)

Set name in the sys module to v unless v is NULL, in which case name is deleted from the sys module.
Returns 0 on success, -1 on error.
void PySys_ResetWarnOptions()
Reset sys.warnoptions to an empty list.
void PySys_AddWarnOption(char *s)
Append s to sys.warnoptions.
void PySys_SetPath(char *path)
Set sys.path to a list object of paths found in path which should be a list of paths separated with the
platform’s search path delimiter (: on Unix, ; on Windows).
void PySys_WriteStdout(const char *format, ...)
Write the output string described by format to sys.stdout. No exceptions are raised, even if truncation
occurs (see below).
format should limit the total size of the formatted output string to 1000 bytes or less – after 1000 bytes,
the output string is truncated. In particular, this means that no unrestricted “%s” formats should occur;
these should be limited using “%.<N>s” where <N> is a decimal number calculated so that <N> plus the
maximum size of other formatted text does not exceed 1000 bytes. Also watch out for “%f”, which can
print hundreds of digits for very large numbers.
If a problem occurs, or sys.stdout is unset, the formatted message is written to the real (C level) stdout.
void PySys_WriteStderr(const char *format, ...)
As above, but write to sys.stderr or stderr instead.
5.3 Process Control
void Py_FatalError(const char *message)

Print a fatal error message and kill the process. No cleanup is performed. This function should only be
invoked when a condition is detected that would make it dangerous to continue using the Python interpreter;
e.g., when the object administration appears to be corrupted. On Unix, the standard C library function
abort() is called which will attempt to produce a core file.
void Py_Exit(int status)
Exit the current process. This calls Py_Finalize() and then calls the standard C library function
exit(status).
int Py_AtExit(void (*func)())
Register a cleanup function to be called by Py_Finalize(). The cleanup function will be called with no
arguments and should return no value. At most 32 cleanup functions can be registered. When the registration
is successful, Py_AtExit() returns 0; on failure, it returns -1. The cleanup function registered last is
called first. Each cleanup function will be called at most once. Since Python’s internal finalization will have
completed before the cleanup function, no Python APIs should be called by func.
5.4 Importing Modules
PyObject* PyImport_ImportModule(const char *name)

Return value: New reference. This is a simplified interface to PyImport_ImportModuleEx() below,
leaving the globals and locals arguments set to NULL and level set to 0. When the name argument contains
a dot (when it specifies a submodule of a package), the fromlist argument is set to the list [’*’] so that
the return value is the named module rather than the top-level package containing it as would otherwise be
the case. (Unfortunately, this has an additional side effect when name in fact specifies a subpackage instead
of a submodule: the submodules specified in the package’s __all__ variable are loaded.) Return a new
reference to the imported module, or NULL with an exception set on failure. Before Python 2.4, the module
26 Chapter 5. Utilities
may still be created in the failure case — examine sys.modules to find out. Starting with Python 2.4, a
failing import of a module no longer leaves the module in sys.modules.
Changed in version 2.4: Failing imports remove incomplete module objects.
Changed in version 2.6: Always uses absolute imports.
PyObject* PyImport_ImportModuleNoBlock(const char *name)
This version of PyImport_ImportModule() does not block. It’s intended to be used in C functions
that import other modules to execute a function. The import may block if another thread holds the import
lock. The function PyImport_ImportModuleNoBlock() never blocks. It first tries to fetch the
module from sys.modules and falls back to PyImport_ImportModule() unless the lock is held, in
which case the function will raise an ImportError.
New in version 2.6.
PyObject* PyImport_ImportModuleEx(char *name, PyObject *globals, PyObject *locals, PyOb-
ject *fromlist)
Return value: New reference. Import a module. This is best described by referring to the built-in Python
function __import__(), as the standard __import__() function calls this function directly.
The return value is a new reference to the imported module or top-level package, or NULL with an exception
set on failure (before Python 2.4, the module may still be created in this case). Like for __import__(),
the return value when a submodule of a package was requested is normally the top-level package, unless a
non-empty fromlist was given.
Changed in version 2.4: Failing imports remove incomplete module objects.
Changed in version 2.6: The function is an alias for PyImport_ImportModuleLevel() with -1 as
level, meaning relative import.
PyObject* PyImport_ImportModuleLevel(char *name, PyObject *globals, PyObject *locals, Py-
Object *fromlist, int level)
Return value: New reference. Import a module. This is best described by referring to the built-in Python
function __import__(), as the standard __import__() function calls this function directly.
The return value is a new reference to the imported module or top-level package, or NULL with an exception
set on failure. Like for __import__(), the return value when a submodule of a package was requested
is normally the top-level package, unless a non-empty fromlist was given.
New in version 2.5.
PyObject* PyImport_Import(PyObject *name)
Return value: New reference. This is a higher-level interface that calls the current “import hook function”.
It invokes the __import__() function from the __builtins__ of the current globals. This means that
the import is done using whatever import hooks are installed in the current environment, e.g. by rexec or
ihooks.
Changed in version 2.6: Always uses absolute imports.
PyObject* PyImport_ReloadModule(PyObject *m)
Return value: New reference. Reload a module. This is best described by referring to the built-in Python
function reload(), as the standard reload() function calls this function directly. Return a new ref-
erence to the reloaded module, or NULL with an exception set on failure (the module still exists in this
case).
PyObject* PyImport_AddModule(const char *name)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the module object corresponding to a module name. The name
argument may be of the form package.module. First check the modules dictionary if there’s one there,
and if not, create a new one and insert it in the modules dictionary. Return NULL with an exception set on
failure.
Note: This function does not load or import the module; if the module wasn’t already loaded, you will get
an empty module object. Use PyImport_ImportModule() or one of its variants to import a module.
Package structures implied by a dotted name for name are not created if not already present.
5.4. Importing Modules 27

PyObject* PyImport_ExecCodeModule(char *name, PyObject *co)

Return value: New reference. Given a module name (possibly of the form package.module) and a
code object read from a Python bytecode file or obtained from the built-in function compile(), load the
module. Return a new reference to the module object, or NULL with an exception set if an error occurred.
Before Python 2.4, the module could still be created in error cases. Starting with Python 2.4, name is
removed from sys.modules in error cases, and even if name was already in sys.modules on entry
to PyImport_ExecCodeModule(). Leaving incompletely initialized modules in sys.modules is
dangerous, as imports of such modules have no way to know that the module object is an unknown (and
probably damaged with respect to the module author’s intents) state.
The module’s __file__ attribute will be set to the code object’s co_filename.
This function will reload the module if it was already imported. See PyImport_ReloadModule() for
the intended way to reload a module.
If name points to a dotted name of the form package.module, any package structures not already created
will still not be created.
Changed in version 2.4: name is removed from sys.modules in error cases.
PyObject* PyImport_ExecCodeModuleEx(char *name, PyObject *co, char *pathname)
Return value: New reference. Like PyImport_ExecCodeModule(), but the __file__ attribute of
the module object is set to pathname if it is non-NULL.
long PyImport_GetMagicNumber()
Return the magic number for Python bytecode files (a.k.a. .pyc and .pyo files). The magic number
should be present in the first four bytes of the bytecode file, in little-endian byte order.
PyObject* PyImport_GetModuleDict()
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the dictionary used for the module administration (a.k.a.
sys.modules). Note that this is a per-interpreter variable.
PyObject* PyImport_GetImporter(PyObject *path)
Return an importer object for a sys.path/pkg.__path__ item path, possibly by fetching it from the
sys.path_importer_cache dict. If it wasn’t yet cached, traverse sys.path_hooks until a hook
is found that can handle the path item. Return None if no hook could; this tells our caller it should fall
back to the built-in import mechanism. Cache the result in sys.path_importer_cache. Return a
new reference to the importer object.
New in version 2.6.
void _PyImport_Init()
Initialize the import mechanism. For internal use only.
void PyImport_Cleanup()
Empty the module table. For internal use only.
void _PyImport_Fini()
Finalize the import mechanism. For internal use only.
PyObject* _PyImport_FindExtension(char *, char *)
For internal use only.
PyObject* _PyImport_FixupExtension(char *, char *)
For internal use only.
int PyImport_ImportFrozenModule(char *name)
Load a frozen module named name. Return 1 for success, 0 if the module is not found, and -1 with
an exception set if the initialization failed. To access the imported module on a successful load, use
PyImport_ImportModule(). (Note the misnomer — this function would reload the module if it
was already imported.)
struct _frozen
This is the structure type definition for frozen module descriptors, as generated by the freeze utility (see
Tools/freeze/ in the Python source distribution). Its definition, found in Include/import.h, is:
struct _frozen {
char *name;
unsigned char *code;
int size;
};
struct _frozen* PyImport_FrozenModules

This pointer is initialized to point to an array of struct _frozen records, terminated by one whose
members are all NULL or zero. When a frozen module is imported, it is searched in this table. Third-party
code could play tricks with this to provide a dynamically created collection of frozen modules.
int PyImport_AppendInittab(const char *name, void (*initfunc)(void))
Add a single module to the existing table of built-in modules. This is a convenience wrapper around
PyImport_ExtendInittab(), returning -1 if the table could not be extended. The new module
can be imported by the name name, and uses the function initfunc as the initialization function called on the
first attempted import. This should be called before Py_Initialize().
struct _inittab
Structure describing a single entry in the list of built-in modules. Each of these structures gives the name
and initialization function for a module built into the interpreter. Programs which embed Python may use
an array of these structures in conjunction with PyImport_ExtendInittab() to provide additional
built-in modules. The structure is defined in Include/import.h as:
struct _inittab {
char *name;
void (*initfunc)(void);
};
int PyImport_ExtendInittab(struct _inittab *newtab)

Add a collection of modules to the table of built-in modules. The newtab array must end with a sentinel entry
which contains NULL for the name field; failure to provide the sentinel value can result in a memory fault.
Returns 0 on success or -1 if insufficient memory could be allocated to extend the internal table. In the event
of failure, no modules are added to the internal table. This should be called before Py_Initialize().
5.5 Data marshalling support
These routines allow C code to work with serialized objects using the same data format as the marshal module.
There are functions to write data into the serialization format, and additional functions that can be used to read the
data back. Files used to store marshalled data must be opened in binary mode.
Numeric values are stored with the least significant byte first.
The module supports two versions of the data format: version 0 is the historical version, version 1 (new in Python
2.4) shares interned strings in the file, and upon unmarshalling. Version 2 (new in Python 2.5) uses a binary format
for floating point numbers. Py_MARSHAL_VERSION indicates the current file format (currently 2).
void PyMarshal_WriteLongToFile(long value, FILE *file, int version)
Marshal a long integer, value, to file. This will only write the least-significant 32 bits of value; regardless
of the size of the native long type.
Changed in version 2.4: version indicates the file format.
void PyMarshal_WriteObjectToFile(PyObject *value, FILE *file, int version)
Marshal a Python object, value, to file.
PyObject* PyMarshal_WriteObjectToString(PyObject *value, int version)
Return value: New reference. Return a string object containing the marshalled representation of value.
5.5. Data marshalling support 29

The following functions allow marshalled values to be read back in.

XXX What about error detection? It appears that reading past the end of the file will always result in a negative
numeric value (where that’s relevant), but it’s not clear that negative values won’t be handled properly when there’s
no error. What’s the right way to tell? Should only non-negative values be written using these routines?
long PyMarshal_ReadLongFromFile(FILE *file)
Return a C long from the data stream in a FILE* opened for reading. Only a 32-bit value can be read in
using this function, regardless of the native size of long.
int PyMarshal_ReadShortFromFile(FILE *file)
Return a C short from the data stream in a FILE* opened for reading. Only a 16-bit value can be read in
using this function, regardless of the native size of short.
PyObject* PyMarshal_ReadObjectFromFile(FILE *file)
Return value: New reference. Return a Python object from the data stream in a FILE* opened for reading.
On error, sets the appropriate exception (EOFError or TypeError) and returns NULL.
PyObject* PyMarshal_ReadLastObjectFromFile(FILE *file)
Return value: New reference. Return a Python object from the data stream in a FILE* opened for reading.
Unlike PyMarshal_ReadObjectFromFile(), this function assumes that no further objects will be
read from the file, allowing it to aggressively load file data into memory so that the de-serialization can
operate from data in memory rather than reading a byte at a time from the file. Only use these variant if you
are certain that you won’t be reading anything else from the file. On error, sets the appropriate exception
(EOFError or TypeError) and returns NULL.
PyObject* PyMarshal_ReadObjectFromString(char *string, Py_ssize_t len)
Return value: New reference. Return a Python object from the data stream in a character buffer containing
len bytes pointed to by string. On error, sets the appropriate exception (EOFError or TypeError) and
returns NULL.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for len. This might require changes in your code
for properly supporting 64-bit systems.
5.6 Parsing arguments and building values
These functions are useful when creating your own extensions functions and methods. Additional information and
examples are available in extending-index.
The first three of these functions described, PyArg_ParseTuple(),
PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords(), and PyArg_Parse(), all use format strings which are used
to tell the function about the expected arguments. The format strings use the same syntax for each of these
functions.
A format string consists of zero or more “format units.” A format unit describes one Python object; it is usually
a single character or a parenthesized sequence of format units. With a few exceptions, a format unit that is not
a parenthesized sequence normally corresponds to a single address argument to these functions. In the following
description, the quoted form is the format unit; the entry in (round) parentheses is the Python object type that
matches the format unit; and the entry in [square] brackets is the type of the C variable(s) whose address should
be passed.
These formats allow accessing an object as a contiguous chunk of memory. You don’t have to provide raw storage
for the returned unicode or bytes area. Also, you won’t have to release any memory yourself, except with the es,
es#, et and et# formats.
s (string or Unicode) [const char *] Convert a Python string or Unicode object to a C pointer to a character
string. You must not provide storage for the string itself; a pointer to an existing string is stored into the
character pointer variable whose address you pass. The C string is NUL-terminated. The Python string
must not contain embedded NUL bytes; if it does, a TypeError exception is raised. Unicode objects are
converted to C strings using the default encoding. If this conversion fails, a UnicodeError is raised.
s# (string, Unicode or any read buffer compatible object) [const char *, int (or Py_ssize_t, see below)]
This variant on s stores into two C variables, the first one a pointer to a character string, the second one
its length. In this case the Python string may contain embedded null bytes. Unicode objects pass back
a pointer to the default encoded string version of the object if such a conversion is possible. All other
read-buffer compatible objects pass back a reference to the raw internal data representation.
Starting with Python 2.5 the type of the length argument can be controlled by defining the macro
PY_SSIZE_T_CLEAN before including Python.h. If the macro is defined, length is a Py_ssize_t
rather than an int.
s* (string, Unicode, or any buffer compatible object) [Py_buffer] Similar to s#, this code fills a Py_buffer
structure provided by the caller. The buffer gets locked, so that the caller can subsequently use
the buffer even inside a Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS block; the caller is responsible for calling
PyBuffer_Release with the structure after it has processed the data.
New in version 2.6.
z (string, Unicode or None) [const char *] Like s, but the Python object may also be None, in which case the
C pointer is set to NULL.
z# (string, Unicode, None or any read buffer compatible object) [const char *, int] This is to s# as z is to
s.
z* (string, Unicode, None or any buffer compatible object) [Py_buffer] This is to s* as z is to s.
New in version 2.6.
u (Unicode) [Py_UNICODE *] Convert a Python Unicode object to a C pointer to a NUL-terminated buffer of
16-bit Unicode (UTF-16) data. As with s, there is no need to provide storage for the Unicode data buffer;
a pointer to the existing Unicode data is stored into the Py_UNICODE pointer variable whose address you
pass.
u# (Unicode) [Py_UNICODE *, int] This variant on u stores into two C variables, the first one a pointer to
a Unicode data buffer, the second one its length. Non-Unicode objects are handled by interpreting their
read-buffer pointer as pointer to a Py_UNICODE array.
es (string, Unicode or character buffer compatible object) [const char *encoding, char **buffer] This
variant on s is used for encoding Unicode and objects convertible to Unicode into a character buffer. It
only works for encoded data without embedded NUL bytes.
This format requires two arguments. The first is only used as input, and must be a const char* which
points to the name of an encoding as a NUL-terminated string, or NULL, in which case the default encoding
is used. An exception is raised if the named encoding is not known to Python. The second argument must
be a char**; the value of the pointer it references will be set to a buffer with the contents of the argument
text. The text will be encoded in the encoding specified by the first argument.
PyArg_ParseTuple() will allocate a buffer of the needed size, copy the encoded data into this
buffer and adjust *buffer to reference the newly allocated storage. The caller is responsible for calling
PyMem_Free() to free the allocated buffer after use.
et (string, Unicode or character buffer compatible object) [const char *encoding, char **buffer] Same as
es except that 8-bit string objects are passed through without recoding them. Instead, the implementa-
tion assumes that the string object uses the encoding passed in as parameter.
es# (string, Unicode or character buffer compatible object) [const char *encoding, char **buffer, int *buffer_length]
This variant on s# is used for encoding Unicode and objects convertible to Unicode into a character buffer.
Unlike the es format, this variant allows input data which contains NUL characters.
It requires three arguments. The first is only used as input, and must be a const char* which points
to the name of an encoding as a NUL-terminated string, or NULL, in which case the default encoding is
used. An exception is raised if the named encoding is not known to Python. The second argument must be
a char**; the value of the pointer it references will be set to a buffer with the contents of the argument
text. The text will be encoded in the encoding specified by the first argument. The third argument must be
a pointer to an integer; the referenced integer will be set to the number of bytes in the output buffer.
There are two modes of operation:
5.6. Parsing arguments and building values 31

If *buffer points a NULL pointer, the function will allocate a buffer of the needed size, copy the encoded
data into this buffer and set *buffer to reference the newly allocated storage. The caller is responsible for
calling PyMem_Free() to free the allocated buffer after usage.
If *buffer points to a non-NULL pointer (an already allocated buffer), PyArg_ParseTuple() will use
this location as the buffer and interpret the initial value of *buffer_length as the buffer size. It will then copy
the encoded data into the buffer and NUL-terminate it. If the buffer is not large enough, a TypeError will
be set. Note: starting from Python 3.6 a ValueError will be set.
In both cases, *buffer_length is set to the length of the encoded data without the trailing NUL byte.
et# (string, Unicode or character buffer compatible object) [const char *encoding, char **buffer, int *buffer_length]
Same as es# except that string objects are passed through without recoding them. Instead, the implemen-
tation assumes that the string object uses the encoding passed in as parameter.
b (integer) [unsigned char] Convert a nonnegative Python integer to an unsigned tiny int, stored in a C
unsigned char.
B (integer) [unsigned char] Convert a Python integer to a tiny int without overflow checking, stored in a C
unsigned char.
New in version 2.3.
h (integer) [short int] Convert a Python integer to a C short int.
H (integer) [unsigned short int] Convert a Python integer to a C unsigned short int, without overflow
checking.
New in version 2.3.
i (integer) [int] Convert a Python integer to a plain C int.
I (integer) [unsigned int] Convert a Python integer to a C unsigned int, without overflow checking.
New in version 2.3.
l (integer) [long int] Convert a Python integer to a C long int.
k (integer) [unsigned long] Convert a Python integer or long integer to a C unsigned long without overflow
checking.
New in version 2.3.
L (integer) [PY_LONG_LONG] Convert a Python integer to a C long long. This format is only available
on platforms that support long long (or _int64 on Windows).
K (integer) [unsigned PY_LONG_LONG] Convert a Python integer or long integer to a C unsigned long
long without overflow checking. This format is only available on platforms that support unsigned
long long (or unsigned _int64 on Windows).
New in version 2.3.
n (integer) [Py_ssize_t] Convert a Python integer or long integer to a C Py_ssize_t.
New in version 2.5.
c (string of length 1) [char] Convert a Python character, represented as a string of length 1, to a C char.
f (float) [float] Convert a Python floating point number to a C float.
d (float) [double] Convert a Python floating point number to a C double.
D (complex) [Py_complex] Convert a Python complex number to a C Py_complex structure.
O (object) [PyObject *] Store a Python object (without any conversion) in a C object pointer. The C program
thus receives the actual object that was passed. The object’s reference count is not increased. The pointer
stored is not NULL.
O! (object) [typeobject, PyObject *] Store a Python object in a C object pointer. This is similar to O, but takes
two C arguments: the first is the address of a Python type object, the second is the address of the C variable
(of type PyObject*) into which the object pointer is stored. If the Python object does not have the required
type, TypeError is raised.
O& (object) [converter, anything] Convert a Python object to a C variable through a converter function. This
takes two arguments: the first is a function, the second is the address of a C variable (of arbitrary type),
converted to void *. The converter function in turn is called as follows:
status = converter(object, address);
where object is the Python object to be converted and address is the void* argument that was passed to
the PyArg_Parse*() function. The returned status should be 1 for a successful conversion and 0 if the
conversion has failed. When the conversion fails, the converter function should raise an exception and leave
the content of address unmodified.
S (string) [PyStringObject *] Like O but requires that the Python object is a string object. Raises TypeError
if the object is not a string object. The C variable may also be declared as PyObject*.
U (Unicode string) [PyUnicodeObject *] Like O but requires that the Python object is a Unicode object. Raises
TypeError if the object is not a Unicode object. The C variable may also be declared as PyObject*.
t# (read-only character buffer) [char *, int] Like s#, but accepts any object which implements the read-only
buffer interface. The char* variable is set to point to the first byte of the buffer, and the int is set to the
length of the buffer. Only single-segment buffer objects are accepted; TypeError is raised for all others.
w (read-write character buffer) [char *] Similar to s, but accepts any object which implements the read-write
buffer interface. The caller must determine the length of the buffer by other means, or use w# instead. Only
single-segment buffer objects are accepted; TypeError is raised for all others.
w# (read-write character buffer) [char *, Py_ssize_t] Like s#, but accepts any object which implements the
read-write buffer interface. The char * variable is set to point to the first byte of the buffer, and
the Py_ssize_t is set to the length of the buffer. Only single-segment buffer objects are accepted;
TypeError is raised for all others.
w* (read-write byte-oriented buffer) [Py_buffer] This is to w what s* is to s.
New in version 2.6.
(items) (tuple) [matching-items] The object must be a Python sequence whose length is the number of format
units in items. The C arguments must correspond to the individual format units in items. Format units for
sequences may be nested.
Note: Prior to Python version 1.5.2, this format specifier only accepted a tuple containing the individual
parameters, not an arbitrary sequence. Code which previously caused TypeError to be raised here may
now proceed without an exception. This is not expected to be a problem for existing code.
It is possible to pass Python long integers where integers are requested; however no proper range checking is done
— the most significant bits are silently truncated when the receiving field is too small to receive the value (actually,
the semantics are inherited from downcasts in C — your mileage may vary).
A few other characters have a meaning in a format string. These may not occur inside nested parentheses. They
are:
| Indicates that the remaining arguments in the Python argument list are optional. The C variables corresponding
to optional arguments should be initialized to their default value — when an optional argument is not
specified, PyArg_ParseTuple() does not touch the contents of the corresponding C variable(s).
: The list of format units ends here; the string after the colon is used as the function name in error messages (the
“associated value” of the exception that PyArg_ParseTuple() raises).
; The list of format units ends here; the string after the semicolon is used as the error message instead of the
default error message. : and ; mutually exclude each other.
Note that any Python object references which are provided to the caller are borrowed references; do not decrement
their reference count!

Additional arguments passed to these functions must be addresses of variables whose type is determined by the
format string; these are used to store values from the input tuple. There are a few cases, as described in the list of
format units above, where these parameters are used as input values; they should match what is specified for the
corresponding format unit in that case.
For the conversion to succeed, the arg object must match the format and the format must be exhausted. On success,
the PyArg_Parse*() functions return true, otherwise they return false and raise an appropriate exception.
When the PyArg_Parse*() functions fail due to conversion failure in one of the format units, the variables at
the addresses corresponding to that and the following format units are left untouched.
int PyArg_ParseTuple(PyObject *args, const char *format, ...)
Parse the parameters of a function that takes only positional parameters into local variables. Returns true on
success; on failure, it returns false and raises the appropriate exception.
int PyArg_VaParse(PyObject *args, const char *format, va_list vargs)
Identical to PyArg_ParseTuple(), except that it accepts a va_list rather than a variable number of
arguments.
int PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords(PyObject *args, PyObject *kw, const char *format, char *key-
words[], ...)
Parse the parameters of a function that takes both positional and keyword parameters into local variables.
Returns true on success; on failure, it returns false and raises the appropriate exception.
int PyArg_VaParseTupleAndKeywords(PyObject *args, PyObject *kw, const char *format,
char *keywords[], va_list vargs)
Identical to PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords(), except that it accepts a va_list rather than a variable
number of arguments.
int PyArg_Parse(PyObject *args, const char *format, ...)
Function used to deconstruct the argument lists of “old-style” functions — these are functions which use
the METH_OLDARGS parameter parsing method. This is not recommended for use in parameter parsing in
new code, and most code in the standard interpreter has been modified to no longer use this for that purpose.
It does remain a convenient way to decompose other tuples, however, and may continue to be used for that
purpose.
int PyArg_UnpackTuple(PyObject *args, const char *name, Py_ssize_t min, Py_ssize_t max, ...)
A simpler form of parameter retrieval which does not use a format string to specify the types of the argu-
ments. Functions which use this method to retrieve their parameters should be declared as METH_VARARGS
in function or method tables. The tuple containing the actual parameters should be passed as args; it must
actually be a tuple. The length of the tuple must be at least min and no more than max; min and max may
be equal. Additional arguments must be passed to the function, each of which should be a pointer to a
PyObject* variable; these will be filled in with the values from args; they will contain borrowed refer-
ences. The variables which correspond to optional parameters not given by args will not be filled in; these
should be initialized by the caller. This function returns true on success and false if args is not a tuple or
contains the wrong number of elements; an exception will be set if there was a failure.
This is an example of the use of this function, taken from the sources for the _weakref helper module for
weak references:
static PyObject *
weakref_ref(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
{
PyObject *object;
PyObject *callback = NULL;
PyObject *result = NULL;
if (PyArg_UnpackTuple(args, "ref", 1, 2, &object, &callback)) {

result = PyWeakref_NewRef(object, callback);
}
return result;
}
The call to PyArg_UnpackTuple() in this example is entirely equivalent to this call to

PyArg_ParseTuple():
PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "O|O:ref", &object, &callback)
New in version 2.2.

Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for min and max. This might require changes in
your code for properly supporting 64-bit systems.
PyObject* Py_BuildValue(const char *format, ...)
Return value: New reference. Create a new value based on a format string similar to those accepted by the
PyArg_Parse*() family of functions and a sequence of values. Returns the value or NULL in the case
of an error; an exception will be raised if NULL is returned.
Py_BuildValue() does not always build a tuple. It builds a tuple only if its format string contains two
or more format units. If the format string is empty, it returns None; if it contains exactly one format unit,
it returns whatever object is described by that format unit. To force it to return a tuple of size 0 or one,
parenthesize the format string.
When memory buffers are passed as parameters to supply data to build objects, as for the s and s# for-
mats, the required data is copied. Buffers provided by the caller are never referenced by the objects cre-
ated by Py_BuildValue(). In other words, if your code invokes malloc() and passes the allocated
memory to Py_BuildValue(), your code is responsible for calling free() for that memory once
Py_BuildValue() returns.
In the following description, the quoted form is the format unit; the entry in (round) parentheses is the
Python object type that the format unit will return; and the entry in [square] brackets is the type of the C
value(s) to be passed.
The characters space, tab, colon and comma are ignored in format strings (but not within format units such
as s#). This can be used to make long format strings a tad more readable.
s (string) [char *] Convert a null-terminated C string to a Python object. If the C string pointer is NULL,
None is used.
s# (string) [char *, int] Convert a C string and its length to a Python object. If the C string pointer is
NULL, the length is ignored and None is returned.
z (string or None) [char *] Same as s.
z# (string or None) [char *, int] Same as s#.
u (Unicode string) [Py_UNICODE *] Convert a null-terminated buffer of Unicode (UCS-2 or UCS-4)
data to a Python Unicode object. If the Unicode buffer pointer is NULL, None is returned.
u# (Unicode string) [Py_UNICODE *, int] Convert a Unicode (UCS-2 or UCS-4) data buffer and its
length to a Python Unicode object. If the Unicode buffer pointer is NULL, the length is ignored
and None is returned.
i (integer) [int] Convert a plain C int to a Python integer object.
b (integer) [char] Convert a plain C char to a Python integer object.
h (integer) [short int] Convert a plain C short int to a Python integer object.
l (integer) [long int] Convert a C long int to a Python integer object.
B (integer) [unsigned char] Convert a C unsigned char to a Python integer object.
H (integer) [unsigned short int] Convert a C unsigned short int to a Python integer object.
I (integer/long) [unsigned int] Convert a C unsigned int to a Python integer object or a Python long
integer object, if it is larger than sys.maxint.
k (integer/long) [unsigned long] Convert a C unsigned long to a Python integer object or a Python
long integer object, if it is larger than sys.maxint.

L (long) [PY_LONG_LONG] Convert a C long long to a Python long integer object. Only available
on platforms that support long long.
K (long) [unsigned PY_LONG_LONG] Convert a C unsigned long long to a Python long integer
object. Only available on platforms that support unsigned long long.
n (int) [Py_ssize_t] Convert a C Py_ssize_t to a Python integer or long integer.
New in version 2.5.
c (string of length 1) [char] Convert a C int representing a character to a Python string of length 1.
d (float) [double] Convert a C double to a Python floating point number.
f (float) [float] Same as d.
D (complex) [Py_complex *] Convert a C Py_complex structure to a Python complex number.
O (object) [PyObject *] Pass a Python object untouched (except for its reference count, which is incre-
mented by one). If the object passed in is a NULL pointer, it is assumed that this was caused because
the call producing the argument found an error and set an exception. Therefore, Py_BuildValue()
will return NULL but won’t raise an exception. If no exception has been raised yet, SystemError
is set.
S (object) [PyObject *] Same as O.
N (object) [PyObject *] Same as O, except it doesn’t increment the reference count on the object. Useful
when the object is created by a call to an object constructor in the argument list.
O& (object) [converter, anything] Convert anything to a Python object through a converter function. The
function is called with anything (which should be compatible with void *) as its argument and
should return a “new” Python object, or NULL if an error occurred.
(items) (tuple) [matching-items] Convert a sequence of C values to a Python tuple with the same num-
ber of items.
[items] (list) [matching-items] Convert a sequence of C values to a Python list with the same number
of items.
{items} (dictionary) [matching-items] Convert a sequence of C values to a Python dictionary. Each
pair of consecutive C values adds one item to the dictionary, serving as key and value, respectively.
If there is an error in the format string, the SystemError exception is set and NULL returned.
PyObject* Py_VaBuildValue(const char *format, va_list vargs)
Identical to Py_BuildValue(), except that it accepts a va_list rather than a variable number of argu-
ments.
5.7 String conversion and formatting
Functions for number conversion and formatted string output.

int PyOS_snprintf(char *str, size_t size, const char *format, ...)
Output not more than size bytes to str according to the format string format and the extra arguments. See
the Unix man page snprintf(2).
int PyOS_vsnprintf(char *str, size_t size, const char *format, va_list va)
Output not more than size bytes to str according to the format string format and the variable argument list
va. Unix man page vsnprintf(2).
PyOS_snprintf() and PyOS_vsnprintf() wrap the Standard C library functions snprintf() and
vsnprintf(). Their purpose is to guarantee consistent behavior in corner cases, which the Standard C functions
do not.
The wrappers ensure that str*[*size-1] is always ’\0’ upon return. They never write more than size bytes
(including the trailing ’\0’ into str. Both functions require that str != NULL, size > 0 and format !=
NULL.
If the platform doesn’t have vsnprintf() and the buffer size needed to avoid truncation exceeds size by more
than 512 bytes, Python aborts with a Py_FatalError.
The return value (rv) for these functions should be interpreted as follows:
• When 0 <= rv < size, the output conversion was successful and rv characters were written to str
(excluding the trailing ’\0’ byte at str*[*rv]).
• When rv >= size, the output conversion was truncated and a buffer with rv + 1 bytes would have
been needed to succeed. str*[*size-1] is ’\0’ in this case.
• When rv < 0, “something bad happened.” str*[*size-1] is ’\0’ in this case too, but the rest of str is
undefined. The exact cause of the error depends on the underlying platform.
The following functions provide locale-independent string to number conversions.
double PyOS_string_to_double(const char *s, char **endptr, PyObject *overflow_exception)
Convert a string s to a double, raising a Python exception on failure. The set of accepted strings corre-
sponds to the set of strings accepted by Python’s float() constructor, except that s must not have leading
or trailing whitespace. The conversion is independent of the current locale.
If endptr is NULL, convert the whole string. Raise ValueError and return -1.0 if the string is not a valid
representation of a floating-point number.
If endptr is not NULL, convert as much of the string as possible and set *endptr to point to the first
unconverted character. If no initial segment of the string is the valid representation of a floating-point
number, set *endptr to point to the beginning of the string, raise ValueError, and return -1.0.
If s represents a value that is too large to store in a float (for example, "1e500" is such a string on
many platforms) then if overflow_exception is NULL return Py_HUGE_VAL (with an appropriate
sign) and don’t set any exception. Otherwise, overflow_exception must point to a Python exception
object; raise that exception and return -1.0. In both cases, set *endptr to point to the first character after
the converted value.
If any other error occurs during the conversion (for example an out-of-memory error), set the appropriate
Python exception and return -1.0.
New in version 2.7.
double PyOS_ascii_strtod(const char *nptr, char **endptr)
Convert a string to a double. This function behaves like the Standard C function strtod() does in the
C locale. It does this without changing the current locale, since that would not be thread-safe.
PyOS_ascii_strtod() should typically be used for reading configuration files or other non-user input
that should be locale independent.
See the Unix man page strtod(2) for details.
New in version 2.4.
Deprecated since version 2.7: Use PyOS_string_to_double() instead.
char* PyOS_ascii_formatd(char *buffer, size_t buf_len, const char *format, double d)
Convert a double to a string using the ’.’ as the decimal separator. format is a printf()-style format
string specifying the number format. Allowed conversion characters are ’e’, ’E’, ’f’, ’F’, ’g’ and
’G’.
The return value is a pointer to buffer with the converted string or NULL if the conversion failed.
New in version 2.4.
Deprecated since version 2.7: This function is removed in Python 2.7 and 3.1. Use
PyOS_double_to_string() instead.
5.7. String conversion and formatting 37

char* PyOS_double_to_string(double val, char format_code, int precision, int flags, int *ptype)
Convert a double val to a string using supplied format_code, precision, and flags.
format_code must be one of ’e’, ’E’, ’f’, ’F’, ’g’, ’G’ or ’r’. For ’r’, the supplied precision
must be 0 and is ignored. The ’r’ format code specifies the standard repr() format.
flags can be zero or more of the values Py_DTSF_SIGN, Py_DTSF_ADD_DOT_0, or Py_DTSF_ALT, or-ed
together:
•Py_DTSF_SIGN means to always precede the returned string with a sign character, even if val is
non-negative.
•Py_DTSF_ADD_DOT_0 means to ensure that the returned string will not look like an integer.
•Py_DTSF_ALT means to apply “alternate” formatting rules. See the documentation for the
PyOS_snprintf() ’#’ specifier for details.
If ptype is non-NULL, then the value it points to will be set to one of Py_DTST_FINITE,
Py_DTST_INFINITE, or Py_DTST_NAN, signifying that val is a finite number, an infinite number, or not a
number, respectively.
The return value is a pointer to buffer with the converted string or NULL if the conversion failed. The caller
is responsible for freeing the returned string by calling PyMem_Free().
New in version 2.7.
double PyOS_ascii_atof(const char *nptr)
Convert a string to a double in a locale-independent way.
See the Unix man page atof(2) for details.
New in version 2.4.
Deprecated since version 3.1: Use PyOS_string_to_double() instead.
char* PyOS_stricmp(char *s1, char *s2)
Case insensitive comparison of strings. The function works almost identically to strcmp() except that it
ignores the case.
New in version 2.6.
char* PyOS_strnicmp(char *s1, char *s2, Py_ssize_t size)
Case insensitive comparison of strings. The function works almost identically to strncmp() except that
it ignores the case.
New in version 2.6.
5.8 Reflection
PyObject* PyEval_GetBuiltins()
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return a dictionary of the builtins in the current execution frame, or the
interpreter of the thread state if no frame is currently executing.
PyObject* PyEval_GetLocals()
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return a dictionary of the local variables in the current execution frame,
or NULL if no frame is currently executing.
PyObject* PyEval_GetGlobals()
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return a dictionary of the global variables in the current execution
frame, or NULL if no frame is currently executing.
PyFrameObject* PyEval_GetFrame()
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the current thread state’s frame, which is NULL if no frame is
currently executing.
int PyFrame_GetLineNumber(PyFrameObject *frame)

Return the line number that frame is currently executing.
int PyEval_GetRestricted()
If there is a current frame and it is executing in restricted mode, return true, otherwise false.
const char* PyEval_GetFuncName(PyObject *func)
Return the name of func if it is a function, class or instance object, else the name of funcs type.
const char* PyEval_GetFuncDesc(PyObject *func)
Return a description string, depending on the type of func. Return values include “()” for func-
tions and methods, ” constructor”, ” instance”, and ” object”. Concatenated with the result of
PyEval_GetFuncName(), the result will be a description of func.
5.9 Codec registry and support functions
int PyCodec_Register(PyObject *search_function)

Register a new codec search function.
As side effect, this tries to load the encodings package, if not yet done, to make sure that it is always first
in the list of search functions.
int PyCodec_KnownEncoding(const char *encoding)
Return 1 or 0 depending on whether there is a registered codec for the given encoding.
PyObject* PyCodec_Encode(PyObject *object, const char *encoding, const char *errors)
Generic codec based encoding API.
object is passed through the encoder function found for the given encoding using the error handling method
defined by errors. errors may be NULL to use the default method defined for the codec. Raises a
LookupError if no encoder can be found.
PyObject* PyCodec_Decode(PyObject *object, const char *encoding, const char *errors)
Generic codec based decoding API.
object is passed through the decoder function found for the given encoding using the error handling method
defined by errors. errors may be NULL to use the default method defined for the codec. Raises a
LookupError if no encoder can be found.
5.9.1 Codec lookup API
In the following functions, the encoding string is looked up converted to all lower-case characters, which makes
encodings looked up through this mechanism effectively case-insensitive. If no codec is found, a KeyError is
set and NULL returned.
PyObject* PyCodec_Encoder(const char *encoding)
Get an encoder function for the given encoding.
PyObject* PyCodec_Decoder(const char *encoding)
Get a decoder function for the given encoding.
PyObject* PyCodec_IncrementalEncoder(const char *encoding, const char *errors)
Get an IncrementalEncoder object for the given encoding.
PyObject* PyCodec_IncrementalDecoder(const char *encoding, const char *errors)
Get an IncrementalDecoder object for the given encoding.
PyObject* PyCodec_StreamReader(const char *encoding, PyObject *stream, const char *errors)
Get a StreamReader factory function for the given encoding.
PyObject* PyCodec_StreamWriter(const char *encoding, PyObject *stream, const char *errors)
Get a StreamWriter factory function for the given encoding.
5.9. Codec registry and support functions 39

5.9.2 Registry API for Unicode encoding error handlers
int PyCodec_RegisterError(const char *name, PyObject *error)

Register the error handling callback function error under the given name. This callback function will be
called by a codec when it encounters unencodable characters/undecodable bytes and name is specified as
the error parameter in the call to the encode/decode function.
The callback gets a single argument, an instance of UnicodeEncodeError, UnicodeDecodeError
or UnicodeTranslateError that holds information about the problematic sequence of characters or
bytes and their offset in the original string (see Unicode Exception Objects for functions to extract this
information). The callback must either raise the given exception, or return a two-item tuple containing the
replacement for the problematic sequence, and an integer giving the offset in the original string at which
encoding/decoding should be resumed.
Return 0 on success, -1 on error.
PyObject* PyCodec_LookupError(const char *name)
Lookup the error handling callback function registered under name. As a special case NULL can be passed,
in which case the error handling callback for “strict” will be returned.
PyObject* PyCodec_StrictErrors(PyObject *exc)
Raise exc as an exception.
PyObject* PyCodec_IgnoreErrors(PyObject *exc)
Ignore the unicode error, skipping the faulty input.
PyObject* PyCodec_ReplaceErrors(PyObject *exc)
Replace the unicode encode error with ? or U+FFFD.
PyObject* PyCodec_XMLCharRefReplaceErrors(PyObject *exc)
Replace the unicode encode error with XML character references.
PyObject* PyCodec_BackslashReplaceErrors(PyObject *exc)
Replace the unicode encode error with backslash escapes (\x, \u and \U).
CHAPTER
SIX
ABSTRACT OBJECTS LAYER
The functions in this chapter interact with Python objects regardless of their type, or with wide classes of object
types (e.g. all numerical types, or all sequence types). When used on object types for which they do not apply,
they will raise a Python exception.
It is not possible to use these functions on objects that are not properly initialized, such as a list object that has
been created by PyList_New(), but whose items have not been set to some non-NULL value yet.
6.1 Object Protocol
int PyObject_Print(PyObject *o, FILE *fp, int flags)

Print an object o, on file fp. Returns -1 on error. The flags argument is used to enable certain printing
options. The only option currently supported is Py_PRINT_RAW; if given, the str() of the object is
written instead of the repr().
int PyObject_HasAttr(PyObject *o, PyObject *attr_name)
Returns 1 if o has the attribute attr_name, and 0 otherwise. This is equivalent to the Python expression
hasattr(o, attr_name). This function always succeeds.
int PyObject_HasAttrString(PyObject *o, const char *attr_name)
Returns 1 if o has the attribute attr_name, and 0 otherwise. This is equivalent to the Python expression
hasattr(o, attr_name). This function always succeeds.
PyObject* PyObject_GetAttr(PyObject *o, PyObject *attr_name)
Return value: New reference. Retrieve an attribute named attr_name from object o. Returns the attribute
value on success, or NULL on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python expression o.attr_name.
PyObject* PyObject_GetAttrString(PyObject *o, const char *attr_name)
Return value: New reference. Retrieve an attribute named attr_name from object o. Returns the attribute
value on success, or NULL on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python expression o.attr_name.
PyObject* PyObject_GenericGetAttr(PyObject *o, PyObject *name)
Generic attribute getter function that is meant to be put into a type object’s tp_getattro slot. It looks for
a descriptor in the dictionary of classes in the object’s MRO as well as an attribute in the object’s __dict__
(if present). As outlined in descriptors, data descriptors take preference over instance attributes, while non-
data descriptors don’t. Otherwise, an AttributeError is raised.
int PyObject_SetAttr(PyObject *o, PyObject *attr_name, PyObject *v)
Set the value of the attribute named attr_name, for object o, to the value v. Returns -1 on failure. This is
the equivalent of the Python statement o.attr_name = v.
int PyObject_SetAttrString(PyObject *o, const char *attr_name, PyObject *v)
Set the value of the attribute named attr_name, for object o, to the value v. Returns -1 on failure. This is
the equivalent of the Python statement o.attr_name = v.
int PyObject_GenericSetAttr(PyObject *o, PyObject *name, PyObject *value)
Generic attribute setter function that is meant to be put into a type object’s tp_setattro slot. It looks
for a data descriptor in the dictionary of classes in the object’s MRO, and if found it takes preference over
41
setting the attribute in the instance dictionary. Otherwise, the attribute is set in the object’s __dict__ (if
present). Otherwise, an AttributeError is raised and -1 is returned.
int PyObject_DelAttr(PyObject *o, PyObject *attr_name)
Delete attribute named attr_name, for object o. Returns -1 on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python
statement del o.attr_name.
int PyObject_DelAttrString(PyObject *o, const char *attr_name)
Delete attribute named attr_name, for object o. Returns -1 on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python
statement del o.attr_name.
PyObject* PyObject_RichCompare(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2, int opid)
Return value: New reference. Compare the values of o1 and o2 using the operation specified by opid, which
must be one of Py_LT, Py_LE, Py_EQ, Py_NE, Py_GT, or Py_GE, corresponding to <, <=, ==, !=, >,
or >= respectively. This is the equivalent of the Python expression o1 op o2, where op is the operator
corresponding to opid. Returns the value of the comparison on success, or NULL on failure.
int PyObject_RichCompareBool(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2, int opid)
Compare the values of o1 and o2 using the operation specified by opid, which must be one of Py_LT,
Py_LE, Py_EQ, Py_NE, Py_GT, or Py_GE, corresponding to <, <=, ==, !=, >, or >= respectively.
Returns -1 on error, 0 if the result is false, 1 otherwise. This is the equivalent of the Python expression o1
op o2, where op is the operator corresponding to opid.
Note: If o1 and o2 are the same object, PyObject_RichCompareBool() will always return 1 for Py_EQ
and 0 for Py_NE.
int PyObject_Cmp(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2, int *result)

Compare the values of o1 and o2 using a routine provided by o1, if one exists, otherwise with a routine
provided by o2. The result of the comparison is returned in result. Returns -1 on failure. This is the
equivalent of the Python statement result = cmp(o1, o2).
int PyObject_Compare(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Compare the values of o1 and o2 using a routine provided by o1, if one exists, otherwise with a routine
provided by o2. Returns the result of the comparison on success. On error, the value returned is undefined;
use PyErr_Occurred() to detect an error. This is equivalent to the Python expression cmp(o1, o2).
PyObject* PyObject_Repr(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. Compute a string representation of object o. Returns the string representation
on success, NULL on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python expression repr(o). Called by the
repr() built-in function and by reverse quotes.
PyObject* PyObject_Str(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. Compute a string representation of object o. Returns the string representation
on success, NULL on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python expression str(o). Called by the str()
built-in function and by the print statement.
PyObject* PyObject_Bytes(PyObject *o)
Compute a bytes representation of object o. In 2.x, this is just a alias for PyObject_Str().
PyObject* PyObject_Unicode(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. Compute a Unicode string representation of object o. Returns the Uni-
code string representation on success, NULL on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python expression
unicode(o). Called by the unicode() built-in function.
int PyObject_IsInstance(PyObject *inst, PyObject *cls)
Returns 1 if inst is an instance of the class cls or a subclass of cls, or 0 if not. On error, returns -1 and
sets an exception. If cls is a type object rather than a class object, PyObject_IsInstance() returns
1 if inst is of type cls. If cls is a tuple, the check will be done against every entry in cls. The result will
be 1 when at least one of the checks returns 1, otherwise it will be 0. If inst is not a class instance and cls
is neither a type object, nor a class object, nor a tuple, inst must have a __class__ attribute — the class
relationship of the value of that attribute with cls will be used to determine the result of this function.
New in version 2.1.
42 Chapter 6. Abstract Objects Layer

Changed in version 2.2: Support for a tuple as the second argument added.
Subclass determination is done in a fairly straightforward way, but includes a wrinkle that implementors of exten-
sions to the class system may want to be aware of. If A and B are class objects, B is a subclass of A if it inherits from
A either directly or indirectly. If either is not a class object, a more general mechanism is used to determine the
class relationship of the two objects. When testing if B is a subclass of A, if A is B, PyObject_IsSubclass()
returns true. If A and B are different objects, B‘s __bases__ attribute is searched in a depth-first fashion for A
— the presence of the __bases__ attribute is considered sufficient for this determination.
int PyObject_IsSubclass(PyObject *derived, PyObject *cls)
Returns 1 if the class derived is identical to or derived from the class cls, otherwise returns 0. In case of
an error, returns -1. If cls is a tuple, the check will be done against every entry in cls. The result will be
1 when at least one of the checks returns 1, otherwise it will be 0. If either derived or cls is not an actual
class object (or tuple), this function uses the generic algorithm described above.
New in version 2.1.
Changed in version 2.3: Older versions of Python did not support a tuple as the second argument.
int PyCallable_Check(PyObject *o)
Determine if the object o is callable. Return 1 if the object is callable and 0 otherwise. This function always
succeeds.
PyObject* PyObject_Call(PyObject *callable_object, PyObject *args, PyObject *kw)
Return value: New reference. Call a callable Python object callable_object, with arguments given by
the tuple args, and named arguments given by the dictionary kw. If no named arguments are needed,
kw may be NULL. args must not be NULL, use an empty tuple if no arguments are needed. Returns
the result of the call on success, or NULL on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python expression
apply(callable_object, args, kw) or callable_object(*args, **kw).
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyObject_CallObject(PyObject *callable_object, PyObject *args)
Return value: New reference. Call a callable Python object callable_object, with arguments given by the
tuple args. If no arguments are needed, then args may be NULL. Returns the result of the call on success, or
NULL on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python expression apply(callable_object, args)
or callable_object(*args).
PyObject* PyObject_CallFunction(PyObject *callable, char *format, ...)
Return value: New reference. Call a callable Python object callable, with a variable number of C arguments.
The C arguments are described using a Py_BuildValue() style format string. The format may be NULL,
indicating that no arguments are provided. Returns the result of the call on success, or NULL on failure.
This is the equivalent of the Python expression apply(callable, args) or callable(*args).
Note that if you only pass PyObject * args, PyObject_CallFunctionObjArgs() is a faster al-
ternative.
PyObject* PyObject_CallMethod(PyObject *o, char *method, char *format, ...)
Return value: New reference. Call the method named method of object o with a variable number of C
arguments. The C arguments are described by a Py_BuildValue() format string that should produce a
tuple. The format may be NULL, indicating that no arguments are provided. Returns the result of the call
on success, or NULL on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python expression o.method(args). Note
that if you only pass PyObject * args, PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs() is a faster alternative.
PyObject* PyObject_CallFunctionObjArgs(PyObject *callable, ..., NULL)
Return value: New reference. Call a callable Python object callable, with a variable number of PyObject*
arguments. The arguments are provided as a variable number of parameters followed by NULL. Returns the
result of the call on success, or NULL on failure.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs(PyObject *o, PyObject *name, ..., NULL)
Return value: New reference. Calls a method of the object o, where the name of the method is given as a
Python string object in name. It is called with a variable number of PyObject* arguments. The arguments
are provided as a variable number of parameters followed by NULL. Returns the result of the call on success,
or NULL on failure.
6.1. Object Protocol 43

New in version 2.2.

long PyObject_Hash(PyObject *o)
Compute and return the hash value of an object o. On failure, return -1. This is the equivalent of the
Python expression hash(o).
long PyObject_HashNotImplemented(PyObject *o)
Set a TypeError indicating that type(o) is not hashable and return -1. This function receives special
treatment when stored in a tp_hash slot, allowing a type to explicitly indicate to the interpreter that it is
not hashable.
New in version 2.6.
int PyObject_IsTrue(PyObject *o)
Returns 1 if the object o is considered to be true, and 0 otherwise. This is equivalent to the Python expression
not not o. On failure, return -1.
int PyObject_Not(PyObject *o)
Returns 0 if the object o is considered to be true, and 1 otherwise. This is equivalent to the Python expression
not o. On failure, return -1.
PyObject* PyObject_Type(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. When o is non-NULL, returns a type object corresponding to the object
type of object o. On failure, raises SystemError and returns NULL. This is equivalent to the Python
expression type(o). This function increments the reference count of the return value. There’s really no
reason to use this function instead of the common expression o->ob_type, which returns a pointer of
type PyTypeObject*, except when the incremented reference count is needed.
int PyObject_TypeCheck(PyObject *o, PyTypeObject *type)
Return true if the object o is of type type or a subtype of type. Both parameters must be non-NULL.
New in version 2.2.
Py_ssize_t PyObject_Length(PyObject *o)
Py_ssize_t PyObject_Size(PyObject *o)
Return the length of object o. If the object o provides either the sequence and mapping protocols, the
sequence length is returned. On error, -1 is returned. This is the equivalent to the Python expression
len(o).
Changed in version 2.5: These functions returned an int type. This might require changes in your code for
properly supporting 64-bit systems.
PyObject* PyObject_GetItem(PyObject *o, PyObject *key)
Return value: New reference. Return element of o corresponding to the object key or NULL on failure. This
is the equivalent of the Python expression o[key].
int PyObject_SetItem(PyObject *o, PyObject *key, PyObject *v)
Map the object key to the value v. Returns -1 on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python statement
o[key] = v.
int PyObject_DelItem(PyObject *o, PyObject *key)
Delete the mapping for key from o. Returns -1 on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python statement
del o[key].
int PyObject_AsFileDescriptor(PyObject *o)
Derives a file descriptor from a Python object. If the object is an integer or long integer, its value is returned.
If not, the object’s fileno() method is called if it exists; the method must return an integer or long integer,
which is returned as the file descriptor value. Returns -1 on failure.
PyObject* PyObject_Dir(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. This is equivalent to the Python expression dir(o), returning a (possibly
empty) list of strings appropriate for the object argument, or NULL if there was an error. If the argument is
NULL, this is like the Python dir(), returning the names of the current locals; in this case, if no execution
frame is active then NULL is returned but PyErr_Occurred() will return false.

PyObject* PyObject_GetIter(PyObject *o)

Return value: New reference. This is equivalent to the Python expression iter(o). It returns a new
iterator for the object argument, or the object itself if the object is already an iterator. Raises TypeError
and returns NULL if the object cannot be iterated.
6.2 Number Protocol
int PyNumber_Check(PyObject *o)

Returns 1 if the object o provides numeric protocols, and false otherwise. This function always succeeds.
PyObject* PyNumber_Add(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the result of adding o1 and o2, or NULL on failure. This is the
equivalent of the Python expression o1 + o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_Subtract(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the result of subtracting o2 from o1, or NULL on failure. This is the
equivalent of the Python expression o1 - o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_Multiply(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the result of multiplying o1 and o2, or NULL on failure. This is the
equivalent of the Python expression o1 * o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_Divide(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the result of dividing o1 by o2, or NULL on failure. This is the
equivalent of the Python expression o1 / o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_FloorDivide(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Return the floor of o1 divided by o2, or NULL on failure. This is equivalent
to the “classic” division of integers.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyNumber_TrueDivide(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Return a reasonable approximation for the mathematical value of o1 divided
by o2, or NULL on failure. The return value is “approximate” because binary floating point numbers are
approximate; it is not possible to represent all real numbers in base two. This function can return a floating
point value when passed two integers.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyNumber_Remainder(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the remainder of dividing o1 by o2, or NULL on failure. This is the
equivalent of the Python expression o1 % o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_Divmod(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. See the built-in function divmod(). Returns NULL on failure. This is the
equivalent of the Python expression divmod(o1, o2).
PyObject* PyNumber_Power(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2, PyObject *o3)
Return value: New reference. See the built-in function pow(). Returns NULL on failure. This is the
equivalent of the Python expression pow(o1, o2, o3), where o3 is optional. If o3 is to be ignored,
pass Py_None in its place (passing NULL for o3 would cause an illegal memory access).
PyObject* PyNumber_Negative(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. Returns the negation of o on success, or NULL on failure. This is the
equivalent of the Python expression -o.
PyObject* PyNumber_Positive(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. Returns o on success, or NULL on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python
expression +o.
6.2. Number Protocol 45

PyObject* PyNumber_Absolute(PyObject *o)

Return value: New reference. Returns the absolute value of o, or NULL on failure. This is the equivalent
of the Python expression abs(o).
PyObject* PyNumber_Invert(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. Returns the bitwise negation of o on success, or NULL on failure. This is the
equivalent of the Python expression ~o.
PyObject* PyNumber_Lshift(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the result of left shifting o1 by o2 on success, or NULL on failure.
This is the equivalent of the Python expression o1 << o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_Rshift(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the result of right shifting o1 by o2 on success, or NULL on failure.
This is the equivalent of the Python expression o1 >> o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_And(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the “bitwise and” of o1 and o2 on success and NULL on failure. This
is the equivalent of the Python expression o1 & o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_Xor(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the “bitwise exclusive or” of o1 by o2 on success, or NULL on failure.
This is the equivalent of the Python expression o1 ^ o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_Or(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the “bitwise or” of o1 and o2 on success, or NULL on failure. This is
the equivalent of the Python expression o1 | o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlaceAdd(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the result of adding o1 and o2, or NULL on failure. The operation is
done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python statement o1 += o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlaceSubtract(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the result of subtracting o2 from o1, or NULL on failure. The
operation is done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python statement o1 -= o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlaceMultiply(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the result of multiplying o1 and o2, or NULL on failure. The operation
is done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python statement o1 *= o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlaceDivide(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the result of dividing o1 by o2, or NULL on failure. The operation is
done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python statement o1 /= o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlaceFloorDivide(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the mathematical floor of dividing o1 by o2, or NULL on failure. The
operation is done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python statement o1 //= o2.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlaceTrueDivide(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Return a reasonable approximation for the mathematical value of o1 divided
by o2, or NULL on failure. The return value is “approximate” because binary floating point numbers are
approximate; it is not possible to represent all real numbers in base two. This function can return a floating
point value when passed two integers. The operation is done in-place when o1 supports it.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlaceRemainder(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the remainder of dividing o1 by o2, or NULL on failure. The operation
is done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python statement o1 %= o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlacePower(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2, PyObject *o3)
Return value: New reference. See the built-in function pow(). Returns NULL on failure. The operation is
done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python statement o1 **= o2 when o3 is

Py_None, or an in-place variant of pow(o1, o2, o3) otherwise. If o3 is to be ignored, pass Py_None
in its place (passing NULL for o3 would cause an illegal memory access).
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlaceLshift(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the result of left shifting o1 by o2 on success, or NULL on failure.
The operation is done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python statement o1 <<=
o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlaceRshift(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the result of right shifting o1 by o2 on success, or NULL on failure.
The operation is done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python statement o1 >>=
o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlaceAnd(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the “bitwise and” of o1 and o2 on success and NULL on failure. The
operation is done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python statement o1 &= o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlaceXor(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the “bitwise exclusive or” of o1 by o2 on success, or NULL on failure.
The operation is done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python statement o1 ^=
o2.
PyObject* PyNumber_InPlaceOr(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Returns the “bitwise or” of o1 and o2 on success, or NULL on failure. The
operation is done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python statement o1 |= o2.
int PyNumber_Coerce(PyObject **p1, PyObject **p2)
This function takes the addresses of two variables of type PyObject*. If the objects pointed to by *p1
and *p2 have the same type, increment their reference count and return 0 (success). If the objects can be
converted to a common numeric type, replace *p1 and *p2 by their converted value (with ‘new’ reference
counts), and return 0. If no conversion is possible, or if some other error occurs, return -1 (failure) and
don’t increment the reference counts. The call PyNumber_Coerce(&o1, &o2) is equivalent to the
Python statement o1, o2 = coerce(o1, o2).
int PyNumber_CoerceEx(PyObject **p1, PyObject **p2)
This function is similar to PyNumber_Coerce(), except that it returns 1 when the conversion is not
possible and when no error is raised. Reference counts are still not increased in this case.
PyObject* PyNumber_Int(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. Returns the o converted to an integer object on success, or NULL on failure.
If the argument is outside the integer range a long object will be returned instead. This is the equivalent of
the Python expression int(o).
PyObject* PyNumber_Long(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. Returns the o converted to a long integer object on success, or NULL on
failure. This is the equivalent of the Python expression long(o).
PyObject* PyNumber_Float(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. Returns the o converted to a float object on success, or NULL on failure.
This is the equivalent of the Python expression float(o).
PyObject* PyNumber_Index(PyObject *o)
Returns the o converted to a Python int or long on success or NULL with a TypeError exception raised
on failure.
New in version 2.5.
PyObject* PyNumber_ToBase(PyObject *n, int base)
Returns the integer n converted to base as a string with a base marker of ’0b’, ’0o’, or ’0x’ if applicable.
When base is not 2, 8, 10, or 16, the format is ’x#num’ where x is the base. If n is not an int object, it is
converted with PyNumber_Index() first.
New in version 2.6.
Py_ssize_t PyNumber_AsSsize_t(PyObject *o, PyObject *exc)
Returns o converted to a Py_ssize_t value if o can be interpreted as an integer. If o can be converted to a
6.2. Number Protocol 47

Python int or long but the attempt to convert to a Py_ssize_t value would raise an OverflowError, then
the exc argument is the type of exception that will be raised (usually IndexError or OverflowError).
If exc is NULL, then the exception is cleared and the value is clipped to PY_SSIZE_T_MIN for a negative
integer or PY_SSIZE_T_MAX for a positive integer.
New in version 2.5.
int PyIndex_Check(PyObject *o)
Returns True if o is an index integer (has the nb_index slot of the tp_as_number structure filled in).
New in version 2.5.
6.3 Sequence Protocol
int PySequence_Check(PyObject *o)

Return 1 if the object provides sequence protocol, and 0 otherwise. This function always succeeds.
Py_ssize_t PySequence_Size(PyObject *o)
Py_ssize_t PySequence_Length(PyObject *o)
Returns the number of objects in sequence o on success, and -1 on failure. For objects that do not provide
sequence protocol, this is equivalent to the Python expression len(o).
PyObject* PySequence_Concat(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Return the concatenation of o1 and o2 on success, and NULL on failure. This
is the equivalent of the Python expression o1 + o2.
PyObject* PySequence_Repeat(PyObject *o, Py_ssize_t count)
Return value: New reference. Return the result of repeating sequence object o count times, or NULL on
failure. This is the equivalent of the Python expression o * count.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for count. This might require changes in your code
PyObject* PySequence_InPlaceConcat(PyObject *o1, PyObject *o2)
Return value: New reference. Return the concatenation of o1 and o2 on success, and NULL on failure. The
operation is done in-place when o1 supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python expression o1 += o2.
PyObject* PySequence_InPlaceRepeat(PyObject *o, Py_ssize_t count)
Return value: New reference. Return the result of repeating sequence object o count times, or NULL on
failure. The operation is done in-place when o supports it. This is the equivalent of the Python expression
o *= count.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for count. This might require changes in your code
PyObject* PySequence_GetItem(PyObject *o, Py_ssize_t i)
Return value: New reference. Return the ith element of o, or NULL on failure. This is the equivalent of the
Python expression o[i].
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for i. This might require changes in your code for
PyObject* PySequence_GetSlice(PyObject *o, Py_ssize_t i1, Py_ssize_t i2)
Return value: New reference. Return the slice of sequence object o between i1 and i2, or NULL on failure.
This is the equivalent of the Python expression o[i1:i2].
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for i1 and i2. This might require changes in your
code for properly supporting 64-bit systems.

int PySequence_SetItem(PyObject *o, Py_ssize_t i, PyObject *v)

Assign object v to the ith element of o. Returns -1 on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python statement
o[i] = v. This function does not steal a reference to v.
int PySequence_DelItem(PyObject *o, Py_ssize_t i)
Delete the ith element of object o. Returns -1 on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python statement
del o[i].
int PySequence_SetSlice(PyObject *o, Py_ssize_t i1, Py_ssize_t i2, PyObject *v)
Assign the sequence object v to the slice in sequence object o from i1 to i2. This is the equivalent of the
Python statement o[i1:i2] = v.
int PySequence_DelSlice(PyObject *o, Py_ssize_t i1, Py_ssize_t i2)
Delete the slice in sequence object o from i1 to i2. Returns -1 on failure. This is the equivalent of the
Python statement del o[i1:i2].
Py_ssize_t PySequence_Count(PyObject *o, PyObject *value)
Return the number of occurrences of value in o, that is, return the number of keys for which o[key] ==
value. On failure, return -1. This is equivalent to the Python expression o.count(value).
Changed in version 2.5: This function returned an int type. This might require changes in your code for
int PySequence_Contains(PyObject *o, PyObject *value)
Determine if o contains value. If an item in o is equal to value, return 1, otherwise return 0. On error, return
-1. This is equivalent to the Python expression value in o.
Py_ssize_t PySequence_Index(PyObject *o, PyObject *value)
Return the first index i for which o[i] == value. On error, return -1. This is equivalent to the Python
expression o.index(value).
PyObject* PySequence_List(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. Return a list object with the same contents as the arbitrary sequence o. The
returned list is guaranteed to be new.
PyObject* PySequence_Tuple(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. Return a tuple object with the same contents as the arbitrary sequence o or
NULL on failure. If o is a tuple, a new reference will be returned, otherwise a tuple will be constructed with
the appropriate contents. This is equivalent to the Python expression tuple(o).
PyObject* PySequence_Fast(PyObject *o, const char *m)
Return value: New reference. Return the sequence o as a list, unless it is already a tuple or list, in which
case o is returned. Use PySequence_Fast_GET_ITEM() to access the members of the result. Returns
NULL on failure. If the object is not a sequence, raises TypeError with m as the message text.
PyObject* PySequence_Fast_GET_ITEM(PyObject *o, Py_ssize_t i)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the ith element of o, assuming that o was returned by
PySequence_Fast(), o is not NULL, and that i is within bounds.
6.3. Sequence Protocol 49

PyObject** PySequence_Fast_ITEMS(PyObject *o)

Return the underlying array of PyObject pointers. Assumes that o was returned by PySequence_Fast()
and o is not NULL.
Note, if a list gets resized, the reallocation may relocate the items array. So, only use the underlying array
pointer in contexts where the sequence cannot change.
New in version 2.4.
PyObject* PySequence_ITEM(PyObject *o, Py_ssize_t i)
Return value: New reference. Return the ith element of o or NULL on failure. Macro form of
PySequence_GetItem() but without checking that PySequence_Check() on o is true and without
adjustment for negative indices.
New in version 2.3.
Py_ssize_t PySequence_Fast_GET_SIZE(PyObject *o)
Returns the length of o, assuming that o was returned by PySequence_Fast() and that
o is not NULL. The size can also be gotten by calling PySequence_Size() on o, but
PySequence_Fast_GET_SIZE() is faster because it can assume o is a list or tuple.
6.4 Mapping Protocol
int PyMapping_Check(PyObject *o)

Return 1 if the object provides mapping protocol, and 0 otherwise. This function always succeeds.
Py_ssize_t PyMapping_Size(PyObject *o)
Py_ssize_t PyMapping_Length(PyObject *o)
Returns the number of keys in object o on success, and -1 on failure. For objects that do not provide
mapping protocol, this is equivalent to the Python expression len(o).
int PyMapping_DelItemString(PyObject *o, char *key)
Remove the mapping for object key from the object o. Return -1 on failure. This is equivalent to the Python
statement del o[key].
int PyMapping_DelItem(PyObject *o, PyObject *key)
Remove the mapping for object key from the object o. Return -1 on failure. This is equivalent to the Python
statement del o[key].
int PyMapping_HasKeyString(PyObject *o, char *key)
On success, return 1 if the mapping object has the key key and 0 otherwise. This is equivalent to o[key],
returning True on success and False on an exception. This function always succeeds.
int PyMapping_HasKey(PyObject *o, PyObject *key)
Return 1 if the mapping object has the key key and 0 otherwise. This is equivalent to o[key], returning
True on success and False on an exception. This function always succeeds.
PyObject* PyMapping_Keys(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. On success, return a list of the keys in object o. On failure, return NULL. This
is equivalent to the Python expression o.keys().
PyObject* PyMapping_Values(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. On success, return a list of the values in object o. On failure, return NULL.
This is equivalent to the Python expression o.values().
PyObject* PyMapping_Items(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. On success, return a list of the items in object o, where each item is a

tuple containing a key-value pair. On failure, return NULL. This is equivalent to the Python expression
o.items().
PyObject* PyMapping_GetItemString(PyObject *o, char *key)
Return value: New reference. Return element of o corresponding to the object key or NULL on failure. This
is the equivalent of the Python expression o[key].
int PyMapping_SetItemString(PyObject *o, char *key, PyObject *v)
Map the object key to the value v in object o. Returns -1 on failure. This is the equivalent of the Python
statement o[key] = v.
6.5 Iterator Protocol
New in version 2.2.

There are two functions specifically for working with iterators.
int PyIter_Check(PyObject *o)
Return true if the object o supports the iterator protocol.
This function can return a false positive in the case of old-style classes because those classes always define
a tp_iternext slot with logic that either invokes a next() method or raises a TypeError.
PyObject* PyIter_Next(PyObject *o)
Return value: New reference. Return the next value from the iteration o. The object must be an iterator (it
is up to the caller to check this). If there are no remaining values, returns NULL with no exception set. If an
error occurs while retrieving the item, returns NULL and passes along the exception.
To write a loop which iterates over an iterator, the C code should look something like this:
PyObject *iterator = PyObject_GetIter(obj);
PyObject *item;
if (iterator == NULL) {
/* propagate error */
}
while (item = PyIter_Next(iterator)) {

/* do something with item */
...
/* release reference when done */
Py_DECREF(item);
}
Py_DECREF(iterator);
if (PyErr_Occurred()) {
/* propagate error */
}
else {
/* continue doing useful work */
}
6.6 Old Buffer Protocol
This section describes the legacy buffer protocol, which has been introduced in Python 1.6. It is still supported
but deprecated in the Python 2.x series. Python 3 introduces a new buffer protocol which fixes weaknesses and
shortcomings of the protocol, and has been backported to Python 2.6. See Buffers and Memoryview Objects for
more information.
6.5. Iterator Protocol 51

int PyObject_AsCharBuffer(PyObject *obj, const char **buffer, Py_ssize_t *buffer_len)

Returns a pointer to a read-only memory location usable as character-based input. The obj argument must
support the single-segment character buffer interface. On success, returns 0, sets buffer to the memory
location and buffer_len to the buffer length. Returns -1 and sets a TypeError on error.
New in version 1.6.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int * type for buffer_len. This might require changes in
int PyObject_AsReadBuffer(PyObject *obj, const void **buffer, Py_ssize_t *buffer_len)
Returns a pointer to a read-only memory location containing arbitrary data. The obj argument must support
the single-segment readable buffer interface. On success, returns 0, sets buffer to the memory location and
buffer_len to the buffer length. Returns -1 and sets a TypeError on error.
New in version 1.6.
int PyObject_CheckReadBuffer(PyObject *o)
Returns 1 if o supports the single-segment readable buffer interface. Otherwise returns 0.
New in version 2.2.
int PyObject_AsWriteBuffer(PyObject *obj, void **buffer, Py_ssize_t *buffer_len)
Returns a pointer to a writeable memory location. The obj argument must support the single-segment,
character buffer interface. On success, returns 0, sets buffer to the memory location and buffer_len to the
buffer length. Returns -1 and sets a TypeError on error.
New in version 1.6.

CHAPTER
SEVEN
CONCRETE OBJECTS LAYER
The functions in this chapter are specific to certain Python object types. Passing them an object of the wrong type
is not a good idea; if you receive an object from a Python program and you are not sure that it has the right type,
you must perform a type check first; for example, to check that an object is a dictionary, use PyDict_Check().
The chapter is structured like the “family tree” of Python object types.
Warning: While the functions described in this chapter carefully check the type of the objects which are
passed in, many of them do not check for NULL being passed instead of a valid object. Allowing NULL to be
passed in can cause memory access violations and immediate termination of the interpreter.
7.1 Fundamental Objects
This section describes Python type objects and the singleton object None.
7.1.1 Type Objects
PyTypeObject
The C structure of the objects used to describe built-in types.
PyObject* PyType_Type
This is the type object for type objects; it is the same object as type and types.TypeType in the Python
layer.
int PyType_Check(PyObject *o)
Return true if the object o is a type object, including instances of types derived from the standard type object.
Return false in all other cases.
int PyType_CheckExact(PyObject *o)
Return true if the object o is a type object, but not a subtype of the standard type object. Return false in all
other cases.
New in version 2.2.
unsigned int PyType_ClearCache()
Clear the internal lookup cache. Return the current version tag.
New in version 2.6.
void PyType_Modified(PyTypeObject *type)
Invalidate the internal lookup cache for the type and all of its subtypes. This function must be called after
any manual modification of the attributes or base classes of the type.
New in version 2.6.
int PyType_HasFeature(PyObject *o, int feature)
Return true if the type object o sets the feature feature. Type features are denoted by single bit flags.
53
int PyType_IS_GC(PyObject *o)

Return true if the type object includes support for the cycle detector; this tests the type flag
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC.
New in version 2.0.
int PyType_IsSubtype(PyTypeObject *a, PyTypeObject *b)
Return true if a is a subtype of b.
New in version 2.2.
This function only checks for actual subtypes, which means that __subclasscheck__() is not called
on b. Call PyObject_IsSubclass() to do the same check that issubclass() would do.
PyObject* PyType_GenericAlloc(PyTypeObject *type, Py_ssize_t nitems)
Return value: New reference. New in version 2.2.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for nitems. This might require changes in your
PyObject* PyType_GenericNew(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds)
int PyType_Ready(PyTypeObject *type)
Finalize a type object. This should be called on all type objects to finish their initialization. This function is
responsible for adding inherited slots from a type’s base class. Return 0 on success, or return -1 and sets
an exception on error.
New in version 2.2.
7.1.2 The None Object
Note that the PyTypeObject for None is not directly exposed in the Python/C API. Since None is a singleton,
testing for object identity (using == in C) is sufficient. There is no PyNone_Check() function for the same
reason.
PyObject* Py_None
The Python None object, denoting lack of value. This object has no methods. It needs to be treated just like
any other object with respect to reference counts.
Py_RETURN_NONE
Properly handle returning Py_None from within a C function.
New in version 2.4.
7.2 Numeric Objects
7.2.1 Plain Integer Objects
PyIntObject
This subtype of PyObject represents a Python integer object.
PyTypeObject PyInt_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python plain integer type. This is the same object as int
and types.IntType.
int PyInt_Check(PyObject *o)
Return true if o is of type PyInt_Type or a subtype of PyInt_Type.
Changed in version 2.2: Allowed subtypes to be accepted.
54 Chapter 7. Concrete Objects Layer

int PyInt_CheckExact(PyObject *o)

Return true if o is of type PyInt_Type, but not a subtype of PyInt_Type.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyInt_FromString(char *str, char **pend, int base)
Return value: New reference. Return a new PyIntObject or PyLongObject based on the string value
in str, which is interpreted according to the radix in base. If pend is non-NULL, *pend will point to the first
character in str which follows the representation of the number. If base is 0, the radix will be determined
based on the leading characters of str: if str starts with ’0x’ or ’0X’, radix 16 will be used; if str starts
with ’0’, radix 8 will be used; otherwise radix 10 will be used. If base is not 0, it must be between 2 and
36, inclusive. Leading spaces are ignored. If there are no digits, ValueError will be raised. If the string
represents a number too large to be contained within the machine’s long int type and overflow warnings
are being suppressed, a PyLongObject will be returned. If overflow warnings are not being suppressed,
NULL will be returned in this case.
PyObject* PyInt_FromLong(long ival)
Return value: New reference. Create a new integer object with a value of ival.
The current implementation keeps an array of integer objects for all integers between -5 and 256, when
you create an int in that range you actually just get back a reference to the existing object. So it should be
possible to change the value of 1. I suspect the behaviour of Python in this case is undefined. :-)
PyObject* PyInt_FromSsize_t(Py_ssize_t ival)
Return value: New reference. Create a new integer object with a value of ival. If the value is larger than
LONG_MAX or smaller than LONG_MIN, a long integer object is returned.
New in version 2.5.
PyObject* PyInt_FromSize_t(size_t ival)
Create a new integer object with a value of ival. If the value exceeds LONG_MAX, a long integer object is
returned.
New in version 2.5.
long PyInt_AsLong(PyObject *io)
Will first attempt to cast the object to a PyIntObject, if it is not already one, and then return its value.
If there is an error, -1 is returned, and the caller should check PyErr_Occurred() to find out whether
there was an error, or whether the value just happened to be -1.
long PyInt_AS_LONG(PyObject *io)
Return the value of the object io. No error checking is performed.
unsigned long PyInt_AsUnsignedLongMask(PyObject *io)
Will first attempt to cast the object to a PyIntObject or PyLongObject, if it is not already one, and
then return its value as unsigned long. This function does not check for overflow.
New in version 2.3.
unsigned PY_LONG_LONG PyInt_AsUnsignedLongLongMask(PyObject *io)
then return its value as unsigned long long, without checking for overflow.
New in version 2.3.
Py_ssize_t PyInt_AsSsize_t(PyObject *io)
then return its value as Py_ssize_t.
New in version 2.5.
long PyInt_GetMax()
Return the system’s idea of the largest integer it can handle (LONG_MAX, as defined in the system header
files).
int PyInt_ClearFreeList()
Clear the integer free list. Return the number of items that could not be freed.
7.2. Numeric Objects 55

New in version 2.6.
7.2.2 Boolean Objects
Booleans in Python are implemented as a subclass of integers. There are only two booleans, Py_False and
Py_True. As such, the normal creation and deletion functions don’t apply to booleans. The following macros
are available, however.
int PyBool_Check(PyObject *o)
Return true if o is of type PyBool_Type.
New in version 2.3.
PyObject* Py_False
The Python False object. This object has no methods. It needs to be treated just like any other object with
respect to reference counts.
PyObject* Py_True
The Python True object. This object has no methods. It needs to be treated just like any other object with
respect to reference counts.
Py_RETURN_FALSE
Return Py_False from a function, properly incrementing its reference count.
New in version 2.4.
Py_RETURN_TRUE
Return Py_True from a function, properly incrementing its reference count.
New in version 2.4.
PyObject* PyBool_FromLong(long v)
Return value: New reference. Return a new reference to Py_True or Py_False depending on the truth
value of v.
New in version 2.3.
7.2.3 Long Integer Objects
PyLongObject
This subtype of PyObject represents a Python long integer object.
PyTypeObject PyLong_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python long integer type. This is the same object as long
and types.LongType.
int PyLong_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if its argument is a PyLongObject or a subtype of PyLongObject.
int PyLong_CheckExact(PyObject *p)
Return true if its argument is a PyLongObject, but not a subtype of PyLongObject.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyLong_FromLong(long v)
Return value: New reference. Return a new PyLongObject object from v, or NULL on failure.
PyObject* PyLong_FromUnsignedLong(unsigned long v)
Return value: New reference. Return a new PyLongObject object from a C unsigned long, or NULL
on failure.

PyObject* PyLong_FromSsize_t(Py_ssize_t v)
Return value: New reference. Return a new PyLongObject object from a C Py_ssize_t, or NULL on
failure.
New in version 2.6.
PyObject* PyLong_FromSize_t(size_t v)
Return value: New reference. Return a new PyLongObject object from a C size_t, or NULL on
failure.
New in version 2.6.
PyObject* PyLong_FromLongLong(PY_LONG_LONG v)
Return value: New reference. Return a new PyLongObject object from a C long long, or NULL on
failure.
PyObject* PyLong_FromUnsignedLongLong(unsigned PY_LONG_LONG v)
Return value: New reference. Return a new PyLongObject object from a C unsigned long long,
or NULL on failure.
PyObject* PyLong_FromDouble(double v)
Return value: New reference. Return a new PyLongObject object from the integer part of v, or NULL on
failure.
PyObject* PyLong_FromString(char *str, char **pend, int base)
Return value: New reference. Return a new PyLongObject based on the string value in str, which is
interpreted according to the radix in base. If pend is non-NULL, *pend will point to the first character in
str which follows the representation of the number. If base is 0, the radix will be determined based on the
leading characters of str: if str starts with ’0x’ or ’0X’, radix 16 will be used; if str starts with ’0’, radix
8 will be used; otherwise radix 10 will be used. If base is not 0, it must be between 2 and 36, inclusive.
Leading spaces are ignored. If there are no digits, ValueError will be raised.
PyObject* PyLong_FromUnicode(Py_UNICODE *u, Py_ssize_t length, int base)
Return value: New reference. Convert a sequence of Unicode digits to a Python long integer value. The
first parameter, u, points to the first character of the Unicode string, length gives the number of characters,
and base is the radix for the conversion. The radix must be in the range [2, 36]; if it is out of range,
ValueError will be raised.
New in version 1.6.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int for length. This might require changes in your code for
PyObject* PyLong_FromVoidPtr(void *p)
Return value: New reference. Create a Python integer or long integer from the pointer p. The pointer value
can be retrieved from the resulting value using PyLong_AsVoidPtr().
New in version 1.5.2.
Changed in version 2.5: If the integer is larger than LONG_MAX, a positive long integer is returned.
long PyLong_AsLong(PyObject *pylong)
Return a C long representation of the contents of pylong. If pylong is greater than LONG_MAX, an
OverflowError is raised and -1 will be returned.
long PyLong_AsLongAndOverflow(PyObject *pylong, int *overflow)
Return a C long representation of the contents of pylong. If pylong is greater than LONG_MAX or less than
LONG_MIN, set *overflow to 1 or -1, respectively, and return -1; otherwise, set *overflow to 0. If any
other exception occurs (for example a TypeError or MemoryError), then -1 will be returned and *overflow
will be 0.
New in version 2.7.
PY_LONG_LONG PyLong_AsLongLongAndOverflow(PyObject *pylong, int *overflow)
Return a C long long representation of the contents of pylong. If pylong is greater than PY_LLONG_MAX
or less than PY_LLONG_MIN, set *overflow to 1 or -1, respectively, and return -1; otherwise, set *overflow

to 0. If any other exception occurs (for example a TypeError or MemoryError), then -1 will be returned
and *overflow will be 0.
New in version 2.7.
Py_ssize_t PyLong_AsSsize_t(PyObject *pylong)
Return a C Py_ssize_t representation of the contents of pylong. If pylong is greater than
PY_SSIZE_T_MAX, an OverflowError is raised and -1 will be returned.
New in version 2.6.
unsigned long PyLong_AsUnsignedLong(PyObject *pylong)
Return a C unsigned long representation of the contents of pylong. If pylong is greater than
ULONG_MAX, an OverflowError is raised.
PY_LONG_LONG PyLong_AsLongLong(PyObject *pylong)
Return a C long long from a Python long integer. If pylong cannot be represented as a long long, an
OverflowError is raised and -1 is returned.
New in version 2.2.
unsigned PY_LONG_LONG PyLong_AsUnsignedLongLong(PyObject *pylong)
Return a C unsigned long long from a Python long integer. If pylong cannot be represented as
an unsigned long long, an OverflowError is raised and (unsigned long long)-1 is re-
turned.
New in version 2.2.
Changed in version 2.7: A negative pylong now raises OverflowError, not TypeError.
unsigned long PyLong_AsUnsignedLongMask(PyObject *io)
Return a C unsigned long from a Python long integer, without checking for overflow.
New in version 2.3.
unsigned PY_LONG_LONG PyLong_AsUnsignedLongLongMask(PyObject *io)
Return a C unsigned long long from a Python long integer, without checking for overflow.
New in version 2.3.
double PyLong_AsDouble(PyObject *pylong)
Return a C double representation of the contents of pylong. If pylong cannot be approximately represented
as a double, an OverflowError exception is raised and -1.0 will be returned.
void* PyLong_AsVoidPtr(PyObject *pylong)
Convert a Python integer or long integer pylong to a C void pointer. If pylong cannot be converted, an
OverflowError will be raised. This is only assured to produce a usable void pointer for values created
with PyLong_FromVoidPtr().
Changed in version 2.5: For values outside 0..LONG_MAX, both signed and unsigned integers are accepted.
7.2.4 Floating Point Objects
PyFloatObject
This subtype of PyObject represents a Python floating point object.
PyTypeObject PyFloat_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python floating point type. This is the same object as
float and types.FloatType.
int PyFloat_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if its argument is a PyFloatObject or a subtype of PyFloatObject.

int PyFloat_CheckExact(PyObject *p)

Return true if its argument is a PyFloatObject, but not a subtype of PyFloatObject.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyFloat_FromString(PyObject *str, char **pend)
Return value: New reference. Create a PyFloatObject object based on the string value in str, or NULL
on failure. The pend argument is ignored. It remains only for backward compatibility.
PyObject* PyFloat_FromDouble(double v)
Return value: New reference. Create a PyFloatObject object from v, or NULL on failure.
double PyFloat_AsDouble(PyObject *pyfloat)
Return a C double representation of the contents of pyfloat. If pyfloat is not a Python floating point object
but has a __float__() method, this method will first be called to convert pyfloat into a float. This method
returns -1.0 upon failure, so one should call PyErr_Occurred() to check for errors.
double PyFloat_AS_DOUBLE(PyObject *pyfloat)
Return a C double representation of the contents of pyfloat, but without error checking.
PyObject* PyFloat_GetInfo(void)
Return a structseq instance which contains information about the precision, minimum and maximum values
of a float. It’s a thin wrapper around the header file float.h.
New in version 2.6.
double PyFloat_GetMax()
Return the maximum representable finite float DBL_MAX as C double.
New in version 2.6.
double PyFloat_GetMin()
Return the minimum normalized positive float DBL_MIN as C double.
New in version 2.6.
int PyFloat_ClearFreeList()
Clear the float free list. Return the number of items that could not be freed.
New in version 2.6.
void PyFloat_AsString(char *buf, PyFloatObject *v)
Convert the argument v to a string, using the same rules as str(). The length of buf should be at least 100.
This function is unsafe to call because it writes to a buffer whose length it does not know.
Deprecated since version 2.7: Use PyObject_Str() or PyOS_double_to_string() instead.
void PyFloat_AsReprString(char *buf, PyFloatObject *v)
Same as PyFloat_AsString, except uses the same rules as repr(). The length of buf should be at least
100.
This function is unsafe to call because it writes to a buffer whose length it does not know.
Deprecated since version 2.7: Use PyObject_Repr() or PyOS_double_to_string() instead.
7.2.5 Complex Number Objects
Python’s complex number objects are implemented as two distinct types when viewed from the C API: one is the
Python object exposed to Python programs, and the other is a C structure which represents the actual complex
number value. The API provides functions for working with both.
Complex Numbers as C Structures
Note that the functions which accept these structures as parameters and return them as results do so by value rather
than dereferencing them through pointers. This is consistent throughout the API.

Py_complex
The C structure which corresponds to the value portion of a Python complex number object. Most of the
functions for dealing with complex number objects use structures of this type as input or output values, as
appropriate. It is defined as:
typedef struct {
double real;
double imag;
} Py_complex;
Py_complex _Py_c_sum(Py_complex left, Py_complex right)

Return the sum of two complex numbers, using the C Py_complex representation.
Py_complex _Py_c_diff(Py_complex left, Py_complex right)
Return the difference between two complex numbers, using the C Py_complex representation.
Py_complex _Py_c_neg(Py_complex complex)
Return the negation of the complex number complex, using the C Py_complex representation.
Py_complex _Py_c_prod(Py_complex left, Py_complex right)
Return the product of two complex numbers, using the C Py_complex representation.
Py_complex _Py_c_quot(Py_complex dividend, Py_complex divisor)
Return the quotient of two complex numbers, using the C Py_complex representation.
If divisor is null, this method returns zero and sets errno to EDOM.
Py_complex _Py_c_pow(Py_complex num, Py_complex exp)
Return the exponentiation of num by exp, using the C Py_complex representation.
If num is null and exp is not a positive real number, this method returns zero and sets errno to EDOM.
Complex Numbers as Python Objects
PyComplexObject
This subtype of PyObject represents a Python complex number object.
PyTypeObject PyComplex_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python complex number type. It is the same object as
complex and types.ComplexType.
int PyComplex_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if its argument is a PyComplexObject or a subtype of PyComplexObject.
int PyComplex_CheckExact(PyObject *p)
Return true if its argument is a PyComplexObject, but not a subtype of PyComplexObject.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyComplex_FromCComplex(Py_complex v)
Return value: New reference. Create a new Python complex number object from a C Py_complex value.
PyObject* PyComplex_FromDoubles(double real, double imag)
Return value: New reference. Return a new PyComplexObject object from real and imag.
double PyComplex_RealAsDouble(PyObject *op)
Return the real part of op as a C double.
double PyComplex_ImagAsDouble(PyObject *op)
Return the imaginary part of op as a C double.
Py_complex PyComplex_AsCComplex(PyObject *op)
Return the Py_complex value of the complex number op. Upon failure, this method returns -1.0 as a
real value.

Changed in version 2.6: If op is not a Python complex number object but has a __complex__() method,
this method will first be called to convert op to a Python complex number object.
7.3 Sequence Objects
Generic operations on sequence objects were discussed in the previous chapter; this section deals with the specific
kinds of sequence objects that are intrinsic to the Python language.
7.3.1 Byte Array Objects
New in version 2.6.

PyByteArrayObject
This subtype of PyObject represents a Python bytearray object.
PyTypeObject PyByteArray_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python bytearray type; it is the same object as
bytearray in the Python layer.
Type check macros
int PyByteArray_Check(PyObject *o)

Return true if the object o is a bytearray object or an instance of a subtype of the bytearray type.
int PyByteArray_CheckExact(PyObject *o)
Return true if the object o is a bytearray object, but not an instance of a subtype of the bytearray type.
Direct API functions
PyObject* PyByteArray_FromObject(PyObject *o)

Return a new bytearray object from any object, o, that implements the buffer protocol.
PyObject* PyByteArray_FromStringAndSize(const char *string, Py_ssize_t len)
Create a new bytearray object from string and its length, len. On failure, NULL is returned.
PyObject* PyByteArray_Concat(PyObject *a, PyObject *b)
Concat bytearrays a and b and return a new bytearray with the result.
Py_ssize_t PyByteArray_Size(PyObject *bytearray)
Return the size of bytearray after checking for a NULL pointer.
char* PyByteArray_AsString(PyObject *bytearray)
Return the contents of bytearray as a char array after checking for a NULL pointer.
int PyByteArray_Resize(PyObject *bytearray, Py_ssize_t len)
Resize the internal buffer of bytearray to len.
Macros
These macros trade safety for speed and they don’t check pointers.
char* PyByteArray_AS_STRING(PyObject *bytearray)
Macro version of PyByteArray_AsString().
Py_ssize_t PyByteArray_GET_SIZE(PyObject *bytearray)
Macro version of PyByteArray_Size().
7.3. Sequence Objects 61

7.3.2 String/Bytes Objects
These functions raise TypeError when expecting a string parameter and are called with a non-string parameter.
Note: These functions have been renamed to PyBytes_* in Python 3.x. Unless otherwise noted, the PyBytes
functions available in 3.x are aliased to their PyString_* equivalents to help porting.
PyStringObject
This subtype of PyObject represents a Python string object.
PyTypeObject PyString_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python string type; it is the same object as str and
types.StringType in the Python layer. .
int PyString_Check(PyObject *o)
Return true if the object o is a string object or an instance of a subtype of the string type.
int PyString_CheckExact(PyObject *o)
Return true if the object o is a string object, but not an instance of a subtype of the string type.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyString_FromString(const char *v)
Return value: New reference. Return a new string object with a copy of the string v as value on success, and
NULL on failure. The parameter v must not be NULL; it will not be checked.
PyObject* PyString_FromStringAndSize(const char *v, Py_ssize_t len)
Return value: New reference. Return a new string object with a copy of the string v as value and length len
on success, and NULL on failure. If v is NULL, the contents of the string are uninitialized.
PyObject* PyString_FromFormat(const char *format, ...)
Return value: New reference. Take a C printf()-style format string and a variable number of arguments,
calculate the size of the resulting Python string and return a string with the values formatted into it. The
variable arguments must be C types and must correspond exactly to the format characters in the format
string. The following format characters are allowed:

Format Type Comment

Charac-
ters
%% n/a The literal % character.
%c int A single character, represented as an C int.
%d int Exactly equivalent to printf("%d").
%u un- Exactly equivalent to printf("%u").
signed
int
%ld long Exactly equivalent to printf("%ld").
%lu un- Exactly equivalent to printf("%lu").
signed
long
%lld long Exactly equivalent to printf("%lld").
long
%llu un- Exactly equivalent to printf("%llu").
signed
long
long
%zd Py_ssize_t Exactly equivalent to printf("%zd").
%zu size_t Exactly equivalent to printf("%zu").
%i int Exactly equivalent to printf("%i").
%x int Exactly equivalent to printf("%x").
%s char* A null-terminated C character array.
%p void* The hex representation of a C pointer. Mostly equivalent to printf("%p")
except that it is guaranteed to start with the literal 0x regardless of what the
platform’s printf yields.
An unrecognized format character causes all the rest of the format string to be copied as-is to the result
string, and any extra arguments discarded.
Note: The “%lld” and “%llu” format specifiers are only available when HAVE_LONG_LONG is defined.
Changed in version 2.7: Support for “%lld” and “%llu” added.

PyObject* PyString_FromFormatV(const char *format, va_list vargs)
Return value: New reference. Identical to PyString_FromFormat() except that it takes exactly two
arguments.
Py_ssize_t PyString_Size(PyObject *string)
Return the length of the string in string object string.
Py_ssize_t PyString_GET_SIZE(PyObject *string)
Macro form of PyString_Size() but without error checking.
Changed in version 2.5: This macro returned an int type. This might require changes in your code for
char* PyString_AsString(PyObject *string)
Return a NUL-terminated representation of the contents of string. The pointer refers to the internal buffer
of string, not a copy. The data must not be modified in any way, unless the string was just created using
PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, size). It must not be deallocated. If string is a Unicode
object, this function computes the default encoding of string and operates on that. If string is not a string
object at all, PyString_AsString() returns NULL and raises TypeError.
char* PyString_AS_STRING(PyObject *string)
Macro form of PyString_AsString() but without error checking. Only string objects are supported;
no Unicode objects should be passed.

int PyString_AsStringAndSize(PyObject *obj, char **buffer, Py_ssize_t *length)

Return a NUL-terminated representation of the contents of the object obj through the output variables buffer
and length.
The function accepts both string and Unicode objects as input. For Unicode objects it returns the default
encoded version of the object. If length is NULL, the resulting buffer may not contain NUL characters; if it
does, the function returns -1 and a TypeError is raised.
The buffer refers to an internal string buffer of obj, not a copy. The data must not be modified in any way,
unless the string was just created using PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, size). It must
not be deallocated. If string is a Unicode object, this function computes the default encoding of string and
operates on that. If string is not a string object at all, PyString_AsStringAndSize() returns -1 and
raises TypeError.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int * type for length. This might require changes in your
void PyString_Concat(PyObject **string, PyObject *newpart)
Create a new string object in *string containing the contents of newpart appended to string; the caller will
own the new reference. The reference to the old value of string will be stolen. If the new string cannot be
created, the old reference to string will still be discarded and the value of *string will be set to NULL; the
appropriate exception will be set.
void PyString_ConcatAndDel(PyObject **string, PyObject *newpart)
Create a new string object in *string containing the contents of newpart appended to string. This version
decrements the reference count of newpart.
int _PyString_Resize(PyObject **string, Py_ssize_t newsize)
A way to resize a string object even though it is “immutable”. Only use this to build up a brand new string
object; don’t use this if the string may already be known in other parts of the code. It is an error to call this
function if the refcount on the input string object is not one. Pass the address of an existing string object
as an lvalue (it may be written into), and the new size desired. On success, *string holds the resized string
object and 0 is returned; the address in *string may differ from its input value. If the reallocation fails, the
original string object at *string is deallocated, *string is set to NULL, a memory exception is set, and -1 is
returned.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for newsize. This might require changes in your
PyObject* PyString_Format(PyObject *format, PyObject *args)
Return value: New reference. Return a new string object from format and args. Analogous to format %
args. The args argument must be a tuple or dict.
void PyString_InternInPlace(PyObject **string)
Intern the argument *string in place. The argument must be the address of a pointer variable pointing to
a Python string object. If there is an existing interned string that is the same as *string, it sets *string to
it (decrementing the reference count of the old string object and incrementing the reference count of the
interned string object), otherwise it leaves *string alone and interns it (incrementing its reference count).
(Clarification: even though there is a lot of talk about reference counts, think of this function as reference-
count-neutral; you own the object after the call if and only if you owned it before the call.)
Note: This function is not available in 3.x and does not have a PyBytes alias.
PyObject* PyString_InternFromString(const char *v)

Return value: New reference. A combination of PyString_FromString() and
PyString_InternInPlace(), returning either a new string object that has been interned, or a
new (“owned”) reference to an earlier interned string object with the same value.
PyObject* PyString_Decode(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *encoding, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Create an object by decoding size bytes of the encoded buffer s using the

codec registered for encoding. encoding and errors have the same meaning as the parameters of the same
name in the unicode() built-in function. The codec to be used is looked up using the Python codec
registry. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for size. This might require changes in your code
PyObject* PyString_AsDecodedObject(PyObject *str, const char *encoding, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Decode a string object by passing it to the codec registered for encoding and
return the result as Python object. encoding and errors have the same meaning as the parameters of the same
name in the string encode() method. The codec to be used is looked up using the Python codec registry.
Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
PyObject* PyString_Encode(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *encoding, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Encode the char buffer of the given size by passing it to the codec registered
for encoding and return a Python object. encoding and errors have the same meaning as the parameters of
the same name in the string encode() method. The codec to be used is looked up using the Python codec
registry. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
PyObject* PyString_AsEncodedObject(PyObject *str, const char *encoding, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Encode a string object using the codec registered for encoding and return the
result as Python object. encoding and errors have the same meaning as the parameters of the same name in
the string encode() method. The codec to be used is looked up using the Python codec registry. Return
NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
7.3.3 Unicode Objects and Codecs
Unicode Objects
Unicode Type
These are the basic Unicode object types used for the Unicode implementation in Python:
Py_UNICODE
This type represents the storage type which is used by Python internally as basis for holding Unicode or-
dinals. Python’s default builds use a 16-bit type for Py_UNICODE and store Unicode values internally as
UCS2. It is also possible to build a UCS4 version of Python (most recent Linux distributions come with
UCS4 builds of Python). These builds then use a 32-bit type for Py_UNICODE and store Unicode data
internally as UCS4. On platforms where wchar_t is available and compatible with the chosen Python
Unicode build variant, Py_UNICODE is a typedef alias for wchar_t to enhance native platform compat-
ibility. On all other platforms, Py_UNICODE is a typedef alias for either unsigned short (UCS2) or
unsigned long (UCS4).
Note that UCS2 and UCS4 Python builds are not binary compatible. Please keep this in mind when writing
extensions or interfaces.

PyUnicodeObject
This subtype of PyObject represents a Python Unicode object.
PyTypeObject PyUnicode_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python Unicode type. It is exposed to Python code as
unicode and types.UnicodeType.
The following APIs are really C macros and can be used to do fast checks and to access internal read-only data of
Unicode objects:
int PyUnicode_Check(PyObject *o)
Return true if the object o is a Unicode object or an instance of a Unicode subtype.
int PyUnicode_CheckExact(PyObject *o)
Return true if the object o is a Unicode object, but not an instance of a subtype.
New in version 2.2.
Py_ssize_t PyUnicode_GET_SIZE(PyObject *o)
Return the size of the object. o has to be a PyUnicodeObject (not checked).
Py_ssize_t PyUnicode_GET_DATA_SIZE(PyObject *o)
Return the size of the object’s internal buffer in bytes. o has to be a PyUnicodeObject (not checked).
Py_UNICODE* PyUnicode_AS_UNICODE(PyObject *o)
Return a pointer to the internal Py_UNICODE buffer of the object. o has to be a PyUnicodeObject (not
checked).
const char* PyUnicode_AS_DATA(PyObject *o)
Return a pointer to the internal buffer of the object. o has to be a PyUnicodeObject (not checked).
int PyUnicode_ClearFreeList()
Clear the free list. Return the total number of freed items.
New in version 2.6.
Unicode Character Properties
Unicode provides many different character properties. The most often needed ones are available through these
macros which are mapped to C functions depending on the Python configuration.
int Py_UNICODE_ISSPACE(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return 1 or 0 depending on whether ch is a whitespace character.
int Py_UNICODE_ISLOWER(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return 1 or 0 depending on whether ch is a lowercase character.
int Py_UNICODE_ISUPPER(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return 1 or 0 depending on whether ch is an uppercase character.
int Py_UNICODE_ISTITLE(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return 1 or 0 depending on whether ch is a titlecase character.
int Py_UNICODE_ISLINEBREAK(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return 1 or 0 depending on whether ch is a linebreak character.
int Py_UNICODE_ISDECIMAL(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return 1 or 0 depending on whether ch is a decimal character.

int Py_UNICODE_ISDIGIT(Py_UNICODE ch)

Return 1 or 0 depending on whether ch is a digit character.
int Py_UNICODE_ISNUMERIC(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return 1 or 0 depending on whether ch is a numeric character.
int Py_UNICODE_ISALPHA(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return 1 or 0 depending on whether ch is an alphabetic character.
int Py_UNICODE_ISALNUM(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return 1 or 0 depending on whether ch is an alphanumeric character.
These APIs can be used for fast direct character conversions:
Py_UNICODE Py_UNICODE_TOLOWER(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return the character ch converted to lower case.
Py_UNICODE Py_UNICODE_TOUPPER(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return the character ch converted to upper case.
Py_UNICODE Py_UNICODE_TOTITLE(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return the character ch converted to title case.
int Py_UNICODE_TODECIMAL(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return the character ch converted to a decimal positive integer. Return -1 if this is not possible. This macro
does not raise exceptions.
int Py_UNICODE_TODIGIT(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return the character ch converted to a single digit integer. Return -1 if this is not possible. This macro does
not raise exceptions.
double Py_UNICODE_TONUMERIC(Py_UNICODE ch)
Return the character ch converted to a double. Return -1.0 if this is not possible. This macro does not
raise exceptions.
Plain Py_UNICODE
To create Unicode objects and access their basic sequence properties, use these APIs:
PyObject* PyUnicode_FromUnicode(const Py_UNICODE *u, Py_ssize_t size)
Return value: New reference. Create a Unicode object from the Py_UNICODE buffer u of the given size. u
may be NULL which causes the contents to be undefined. It is the user’s responsibility to fill in the needed
data. The buffer is copied into the new object. If the buffer is not NULL, the return value might be a shared
object. Therefore, modification of the resulting Unicode object is only allowed when u is NULL.
PyObject* PyUnicode_FromStringAndSize(const char *u, Py_ssize_t size)
Return value: New reference. Create a Unicode object from the char buffer u. The bytes will be interpreted
as being UTF-8 encoded. u may also be NULL which causes the contents to be undefined. It is the user’s
responsibility to fill in the needed data. The buffer is copied into the new object. If the buffer is not NULL,
the return value might be a shared object. Therefore, modification of the resulting Unicode object is only
allowed when u is NULL.
New in version 2.6.
PyObject *PyUnicode_FromString(const char *u)
Return value: New reference. Create a Unicode object from an UTF-8 encoded null-terminated char buffer
u.
New in version 2.6.
PyObject* PyUnicode_FromFormat(const char *format, ...)
Return value: New reference. Take a C printf()-style format string and a variable number of arguments,
calculate the size of the resulting Python unicode string and return a string with the values formatted into it.

The variable arguments must be C types and must correspond exactly to the format characters in the format
string. The following format characters are allowed:
Format Characters Type Comment
%% n/a The literal % character.
%c int A single character, represented as an C int.
%d int Exactly equivalent to printf("%d").
%u unsigned int Exactly equivalent to printf("%u").
%ld long Exactly equivalent to printf("%ld").
%lu unsigned long Exactly equivalent to printf("%lu").
%zd Py_ssize_t Exactly equivalent to printf("%zd").
%zu size_t Exactly equivalent to printf("%zu").
%i int Exactly equivalent to printf("%i").
%x int Exactly equivalent to printf("%x").
%s char* A null-terminated C character array.
%p void* The hex representation of a C pointer. Mostly equivalent
to printf("%p") except that it is guaranteed to start
with the literal 0x regardless of what the platform’s
printf yields.
%U PyObject* A unicode object.
%V PyObject*, char * A unicode object (which may be NULL) and a
null-terminated C character array as a second parameter
(which will be used, if the first parameter is NULL).
%S PyObject* The result of calling PyObject_Unicode().
%R PyObject* The result of calling PyObject_Repr().
An unrecognized format character causes all the rest of the format string to be copied as-is to the result
string, and any extra arguments discarded.
New in version 2.6.
PyObject* PyUnicode_FromFormatV(const char *format, va_list vargs)
Return value: New reference. Identical to PyUnicode_FromFormat() except that it takes exactly two
arguments.
New in version 2.6.
Py_UNICODE* PyUnicode_AsUnicode(PyObject *unicode)
Return a read-only pointer to the Unicode object’s internal Py_UNICODE buffer, NULL if unicode is not
a Unicode object. Note that the resulting Py_UNICODE* string may contain embedded null characters,
which would cause the string to be truncated when used in most C functions.
Py_ssize_t PyUnicode_GetSize(PyObject *unicode)
Return the length of the Unicode object.
PyObject* PyUnicode_FromEncodedObject(PyObject *obj, const char *encoding, const char *er-
rors)
Return value: New reference. Coerce an encoded object obj to an Unicode object and return a reference
with incremented refcount.
String and other char buffer compatible objects are decoded according to the given encoding and using the
error handling defined by errors. Both can be NULL to have the interface use the default values (see the next
section for details).
All other objects, including Unicode objects, cause a TypeError to be set.
The API returns NULL if there was an error. The caller is responsible for decref’ing the returned objects.
PyObject* PyUnicode_FromObject(PyObject *obj)
Return value: New reference. Shortcut for PyUnicode_FromEncodedObject(obj, NULL,
"strict") which is used throughout the interpreter whenever coercion to Unicode is needed.

If the platform supports wchar_t and provides a header file wchar.h, Python can interface directly to this type us-
ing the following functions. Support is optimized if Python’s own Py_UNICODE type is identical to the system’s
wchar_t.
wchar_t Support
wchar_t support for platforms which support it:

PyObject* PyUnicode_FromWideChar(const wchar_t *w, Py_ssize_t size)
Return value: New reference. Create a Unicode object from the wchar_t buffer w of the given size. Return
NULL on failure.
Py_ssize_t PyUnicode_AsWideChar(PyUnicodeObject *unicode, wchar_t *w, Py_ssize_t size)
Copy the Unicode object contents into the wchar_t buffer w. At most size wchar_t characters are copied
(excluding a possibly trailing 0-termination character). Return the number of wchar_t characters copied
or -1 in case of an error. Note that the resulting wchar_t string may or may not be 0-terminated. It is the
responsibility of the caller to make sure that the wchar_t string is 0-terminated in case this is required by
the application. Also, note that the wchar_t* string might contain null characters, which would cause the
string to be truncated when used with most C functions.
Changed in version 2.5: This function returned an int type and used an int type for size. This might
require changes in your code for properly supporting 64-bit systems.
Built-in Codecs
Python provides a set of built-in codecs which are written in C for speed. All of these codecs are directly usable
via the following functions.
Many of the following APIs take two arguments encoding and errors, and they have the same semantics as the
ones of the built-in unicode() Unicode object constructor.
Setting encoding to NULL causes the default encoding to be used which is ASCII. The file system calls should
use Py_FileSystemDefaultEncoding as the encoding for file names. This variable should be treated as
read-only: on some systems, it will be a pointer to a static string, on others, it will change at run-time (such as
when the application invokes setlocale).
Error handling is set by errors which may also be set to NULL meaning to use the default handling defined for the
codec. Default error handling for all built-in codecs is “strict” (ValueError is raised).
The codecs all use a similar interface. Only deviation from the following generic ones are documented for sim-
plicity.
Generic Codecs
These are the generic codec APIs:

PyObject* PyUnicode_Decode(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *encoding, const char *er-
rors)
Return value: New reference. Create a Unicode object by decoding size bytes of the encoded string s.
encoding and errors have the same meaning as the parameters of the same name in the unicode() built-
in function. The codec to be used is looked up using the Python codec registry. Return NULL if an exception
was raised by the codec.
PyObject* PyUnicode_Encode(const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *encoding, const
char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Encode the Py_UNICODE buffer s of the given size and return a Python

string object. encoding and errors have the same meaning as the parameters of the same name in the
Unicode encode() method. The codec to be used is looked up using the Python codec registry. Return
PyObject* PyUnicode_AsEncodedString(PyObject *unicode, const char *encoding, const
char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Encode a Unicode object and return the result as Python string object. en-
coding and errors have the same meaning as the parameters of the same name in the Unicode encode()
method. The codec to be used is looked up using the Python codec registry. Return NULL if an exception
UTF-8 Codecs
These are the UTF-8 codec APIs:

PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Create a Unicode object by decoding size bytes of the UTF-8 encoded string
s. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8Stateful(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors,
Py_ssize_t *consumed)
Return value: New reference. If consumed is NULL, behave like PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8(). If con-
sumed is not NULL, trailing incomplete UTF-8 byte sequences will not be treated as an error. Those bytes
will not be decoded and the number of bytes that have been decoded will be stored in consumed.
New in version 2.4.
PyObject* PyUnicode_EncodeUTF8(const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Encode the Py_UNICODE buffer s of the given size using UTF-8 and return
a Python string object. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
PyObject* PyUnicode_AsUTF8String(PyObject *unicode)
Return value: New reference. Encode a Unicode object using UTF-8 and return the result as Python string
object. Error handling is “strict”. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
UTF-32 Codecs

PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeUTF32(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors, int *byte-
order)
Decode size bytes from a UTF-32 encoded buffer string and return the corresponding Unicode object. errors
(if non-NULL) defines the error handling. It defaults to “strict”.
If byteorder is non-NULL, the decoder starts decoding using the given byte order:
*byteorder == -1: little endian

*byteorder == 0: native order
*byteorder == 1: big endian

If *byteorder is zero, and the first four bytes of the input data are a byte order mark (BOM), the decoder
switches to this byte order and the BOM is not copied into the resulting Unicode string. If *byteorder
is -1 or 1, any byte order mark is copied to the output.
After completion, *byteorder is set to the current byte order at the end of input data.
In a narrow build code points outside the BMP will be decoded as surrogate pairs.
If byteorder is NULL, the codec starts in native order mode.
New in version 2.6.
int *byteorder, Py_ssize_t *consumed)
If consumed is NULL, behave like PyUnicode_DecodeUTF32(). If consumed is not NULL,
PyUnicode_DecodeUTF32Stateful() will not treat trailing incomplete UTF-32 byte sequences
(such as a number of bytes not divisible by four) as an error. Those bytes will not be decoded and the
number of bytes that have been decoded will be stored in consumed.
New in version 2.6.
PyObject* PyUnicode_EncodeUTF32(const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors,
int byteorder)
Return a Python bytes object holding the UTF-32 encoded value of the Unicode data in s. Output is written
according to the following byte order:
byteorder == -1: little endian

byteorder == 0: native byte order (writes a BOM mark)
byteorder == 1: big endian
If byteorder is 0, the output string will always start with the Unicode BOM mark (U+FEFF). In the other
two modes, no BOM mark is prepended.
If Py_UNICODE_WIDE is not defined, surrogate pairs will be output as a single code point.
New in version 2.6.
Return a Python string using the UTF-32 encoding in native byte order. The string always starts with a
BOM mark. Error handling is “strict”. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
New in version 2.6.
UTF-16 Codecs

PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors, int *byte-
order)
Return value: New reference. Decode size bytes from a UTF-16 encoded buffer string and return the
corresponding Unicode object. errors (if non-NULL) defines the error handling. It defaults to “strict”.
If byteorder is non-NULL, the decoder starts decoding using the given byte order:
*byteorder == -1: little endian

*byteorder == 0: native order
*byteorder == 1: big endian
If *byteorder is zero, and the first two bytes of the input data are a byte order mark (BOM), the decoder
switches to this byte order and the BOM is not copied into the resulting Unicode string. If *byteorder is

-1 or 1, any byte order mark is copied to the output (where it will result in either a \ufeff or a \ufffe
character).
After completion, *byteorder is set to the current byte order at the end of input data.
If byteorder is NULL, the codec starts in native order mode.
int *byteorder, Py_ssize_t *consumed)
Return value: New reference. If consumed is NULL, behave like PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16(). If
consumed is not NULL, PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful() will not treat trailing incomplete
UTF-16 byte sequences (such as an odd number of bytes or a split surrogate pair) as an error. Those bytes
will not be decoded and the number of bytes that have been decoded will be stored in consumed.
New in version 2.4.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for size and an int * type for consumed. This
might require changes in your code for properly supporting 64-bit systems.
PyObject* PyUnicode_EncodeUTF16(const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors,
int byteorder)
Return value: New reference. Return a Python string object holding the UTF-16 encoded value of the
Unicode data in s. Output is written according to the following byte order:
byteorder == -1: little endian

byteorder == 0: native byte order (writes a BOM mark)
byteorder == 1: big endian
If byteorder is 0, the output string will always start with the Unicode BOM mark (U+FEFF). In the other
two modes, no BOM mark is prepended.
If Py_UNICODE_WIDE is defined, a single Py_UNICODE value may get represented as a surrogate pair.
If it is not defined, each Py_UNICODE values is interpreted as an UCS-2 character.
Return value: New reference. Return a Python string using the UTF-16 encoding in native byte order. The
string always starts with a BOM mark. Error handling is “strict”. Return NULL if an exception was raised
by the codec.
UTF-7 Codecs

PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeUTF7(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors)
Create a Unicode object by decoding size bytes of the UTF-7 encoded string s. Return NULL if an exception
Py_ssize_t *consumed)
If consumed is NULL, behave like PyUnicode_DecodeUTF7(). If consumed is not NULL, trailing
incomplete UTF-7 base-64 sections will not be treated as an error. Those bytes will not be decoded and the
number of bytes that have been decoded will be stored in consumed.

PyObject* PyUnicode_EncodeUTF7(const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_ssize_t size, int base64SetO,

int base64WhiteSpace, const char *errors)
Encode the Py_UNICODE buffer of the given size using UTF-7 and return a Python bytes object. Return
If base64SetO is nonzero, “Set O” (punctuation that has no otherwise special meaning) will be encoded in
base-64. If base64WhiteSpace is nonzero, whitespace will be encoded in base-64. Both are set to zero for
the Python “utf-7” codec.
Unicode-Escape Codecs
These are the “Unicode Escape” codec APIs:

PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeUnicodeEscape(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Create a Unicode object by decoding size bytes of the Unicode-Escape
encoded string s. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
PyObject* PyUnicode_EncodeUnicodeEscape(const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_ssize_t size)
Return value: New reference. Encode the Py_UNICODE buffer of the given size using Unicode-Escape and
return a Python string object. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
PyObject* PyUnicode_AsUnicodeEscapeString(PyObject *unicode)
Return value: New reference. Encode a Unicode object using Unicode-Escape and return the result as
Python string object. Error handling is “strict”. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
Raw-Unicode-Escape Codecs
These are the “Raw Unicode Escape” codec APIs:

PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeRawUnicodeEscape(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *er-
rors)
Return value: New reference. Create a Unicode object by decoding size bytes of the Raw-Unicode-Escape
encoded string s. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
PyObject* PyUnicode_EncodeRawUnicodeEscape(const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_ssize_t size, const
char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Encode the Py_UNICODE buffer of the given size using Raw-Unicode-
Escape and return a Python string object. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
PyObject* PyUnicode_AsRawUnicodeEscapeString(PyObject *unicode)
Return value: New reference. Encode a Unicode object using Raw-Unicode-Escape and return the result as
Python string object. Error handling is “strict”. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
Latin-1 Codecs
These are the Latin-1 codec APIs: Latin-1 corresponds to the first 256 Unicode ordinals and only these are
accepted by the codecs during encoding.

PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeLatin1(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors)

Return value: New reference. Create a Unicode object by decoding size bytes of the Latin-1 encoded string
PyObject* PyUnicode_EncodeLatin1(const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Encode the Py_UNICODE buffer of the given size using Latin-1 and return a
Python string object. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
PyObject* PyUnicode_AsLatin1String(PyObject *unicode)
Return value: New reference. Encode a Unicode object using Latin-1 and return the result as Python string
ASCII Codecs
These are the ASCII codec APIs. Only 7-bit ASCII data is accepted. All other codes generate errors.
PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeASCII(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Create a Unicode object by decoding size bytes of the ASCII encoded string
PyObject* PyUnicode_EncodeASCII(const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Encode the Py_UNICODE buffer of the given size using ASCII and return a
PyObject* PyUnicode_AsASCIIString(PyObject *unicode)
Return value: New reference. Encode a Unicode object using ASCII and return the result as Python string
Character Map Codecs
This codec is special in that it can be used to implement many different codecs (and this is in fact what was done
to obtain most of the standard codecs included in the encodings package). The codec uses mapping to encode
and decode characters.
Decoding mappings must map single string characters to single Unicode characters, integers (which are then
interpreted as Unicode ordinals) or None (meaning “undefined mapping” and causing an error).
Encoding mappings must map single Unicode characters to single string characters, integers (which are then
interpreted as Latin-1 ordinals) or None (meaning “undefined mapping” and causing an error).
The mapping objects provided must only support the __getitem__ mapping interface.
If a character lookup fails with a LookupError, the character is copied as-is meaning that its ordinal value will be
interpreted as Unicode or Latin-1 ordinal resp. Because of this, mappings only need to contain those mappings
which map characters to different code points.
These are the mapping codec APIs:
PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeCharmap(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, PyObject *mapping, const
char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Create a Unicode object by decoding size bytes of the encoded string s using
the given mapping object. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec. If mapping is NULL

latin-1 decoding will be done. Else it can be a dictionary mapping byte or a unicode string, which is treated
as a lookup table. Byte values greater that the length of the string and U+FFFE “characters” are treated as
“undefined mapping”.
Changed in version 2.4: Allowed unicode string as mapping argument.
PyObject* PyUnicode_EncodeCharmap(const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_ssize_t size, PyObject *map-
ping, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Encode the Py_UNICODE buffer of the given size using the given mapping
object and return a Python string object. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
PyObject* PyUnicode_AsCharmapString(PyObject *unicode, PyObject *mapping)
Return value: New reference. Encode a Unicode object using the given mapping object and return the result
as Python string object. Error handling is “strict”. Return NULL if an exception was raised by the codec.
The following codec API is special in that maps Unicode to Unicode.
PyObject* PyUnicode_TranslateCharmap(const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_ssize_t size, PyObject *ta-
ble, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Translate a Py_UNICODE buffer of the given size by applying a character
mapping table to it and return the resulting Unicode object. Return NULL when an exception was raised by
the codec.
The mapping table must map Unicode ordinal integers to Unicode ordinal integers or None (causing deletion
of the character).
Mapping tables need only provide the __getitem__() interface; dictionaries and sequences work well.
Unmapped character ordinals (ones which cause a LookupError) are left untouched and are copied as-is.
MBCS codecs for Windows
These are the MBCS codec APIs. They are currently only available on Windows and use the Win32 MBCS
converters to implement the conversions. Note that MBCS (or DBCS) is a class of encodings, not just one. The
target encoding is defined by the user settings on the machine running the codec.
PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeMBCS(const char *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Create a Unicode object by decoding size bytes of the MBCS encoded string
PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeMBCSStateful(const char *s, int size, const char *errors, int *con-
sumed)
If consumed is NULL, behave like PyUnicode_DecodeMBCS(). If consumed is not NULL,
PyUnicode_DecodeMBCSStateful() will not decode trailing lead byte and the number of bytes
that have been decoded will be stored in consumed.
New in version 2.5.
PyObject* PyUnicode_EncodeMBCS(const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_ssize_t size, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Encode the Py_UNICODE buffer of the given size using MBCS and return a

PyObject* PyUnicode_AsMBCSString(PyObject *unicode)

Return value: New reference. Encode a Unicode object using MBCS and return the result as Python string
Methods & Slots
Methods and Slot Functions
The following APIs are capable of handling Unicode objects and strings on input (we refer to them as strings in
the descriptions) and return Unicode objects or integers as appropriate.
They all return NULL or -1 if an exception occurs.
PyObject* PyUnicode_Concat(PyObject *left, PyObject *right)
Return value: New reference. Concat two strings giving a new Unicode string.
PyObject* PyUnicode_Split(PyObject *s, PyObject *sep, Py_ssize_t maxsplit)
Return value: New reference. Split a string giving a list of Unicode strings. If sep is NULL, splitting will
be done at all whitespace substrings. Otherwise, splits occur at the given separator. At most maxsplit splits
will be done. If negative, no limit is set. Separators are not included in the resulting list.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for maxsplit. This might require changes in your
PyObject* PyUnicode_Splitlines(PyObject *s, int keepend)
Return value: New reference. Split a Unicode string at line breaks, returning a list of Unicode strings. CRLF
is considered to be one line break. If keepend is 0, the Line break characters are not included in the resulting
strings.
PyObject* PyUnicode_Translate(PyObject *str, PyObject *table, const char *errors)
Return value: New reference. Translate a string by applying a character mapping table to it and return the
resulting Unicode object.
The mapping table must map Unicode ordinal integers to Unicode ordinal integers or None (causing deletion
of the character).
Mapping tables need only provide the __getitem__() interface; dictionaries and sequences work well.
Unmapped character ordinals (ones which cause a LookupError) are left untouched and are copied as-is.
errors has the usual meaning for codecs. It may be NULL which indicates to use the default error handling.
PyObject* PyUnicode_Join(PyObject *separator, PyObject *seq)
Return value: New reference. Join a sequence of strings using the given separator and return the resulting
Unicode string.
Py_ssize_t PyUnicode_Tailmatch(PyObject *str, PyObject *substr, Py_ssize_t start, Py_ssize_t end,
int direction)
Return 1 if substr matches str[start:end] at the given tail end (direction == -1 means to do a prefix
match, direction == 1 a suffix match), 0 otherwise. Return -1 if an error occurred.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for start and end. This might require changes in
Py_ssize_t PyUnicode_Find(PyObject *str, PyObject *substr, Py_ssize_t start, Py_ssize_t end, int di-
rection)
Return the first position of substr in str[start:end] using the given direction (direction == 1 means
to do a forward search, direction == -1 a backward search). The return value is the index of the first match;
a value of -1 indicates that no match was found, and -2 indicates that an error occurred and an exception
has been set.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for start and end. This might require changes in

Py_ssize_t PyUnicode_Count(PyObject *str, PyObject *substr, Py_ssize_t start, Py_ssize_t end)

Return the number of non-overlapping occurrences of substr in str[start:end]. Return -1 if an error
occurred.
Changed in version 2.5: This function returned an int type and used an int type for start and end. This
might require changes in your code for properly supporting 64-bit systems.
PyObject* PyUnicode_Replace(PyObject *str, PyObject *substr, PyObject *replstr, Py_ssize_t max-
count)
Return value: New reference. Replace at most maxcount occurrences of substr in str with replstr and return
the resulting Unicode object. maxcount == -1 means replace all occurrences.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for maxcount. This might require changes in your
int PyUnicode_Compare(PyObject *left, PyObject *right)
Compare two strings and return -1, 0, 1 for less than, equal, and greater than, respectively.
int PyUnicode_RichCompare(PyObject *left, PyObject *right, int op)
Rich compare two unicode strings and return one of the following:
•NULL in case an exception was raised
•Py_True or Py_False for successful comparisons
•Py_NotImplemented in case the type combination is unknown
Note that Py_EQ and Py_NE comparisons can cause a UnicodeWarning in case the conversion of the
arguments to Unicode fails with a UnicodeDecodeError.
Possible values for op are Py_GT, Py_GE, Py_EQ, Py_NE, Py_LT, and Py_LE.
PyObject* PyUnicode_Format(PyObject *format, PyObject *args)
Return value: New reference. Return a new string object from format and args; this is analogous to format
% args.
int PyUnicode_Contains(PyObject *container, PyObject *element)
Check whether element is contained in container and return true or false accordingly.
element has to coerce to a one element Unicode string. -1 is returned if there was an error.
7.3.4 Buffers and Memoryview Objects
Python objects implemented in C can export a group of functions called the “buffer interface.” These functions
can be used by an object to expose its data in a raw, byte-oriented format. Clients of the object can use the buffer
interface to access the object data directly, without needing to copy it first.
Two examples of objects that support the buffer interface are strings and arrays. The string object exposes the
character contents in the buffer interface’s byte-oriented form. An array can only expose its contents via the old-
style buffer interface. This limitation does not apply to Python 3, where memoryview objects can be constructed
from arrays, too. Array elements may be multi-byte values.
An example user of the buffer interface is the file object’s write() method. Any object that can export a
series of bytes through the buffer interface can be written to a file. There are a number of format codes to
PyArg_ParseTuple() that operate against an object’s buffer interface, returning data from the target object.
Starting from version 1.6, Python has been providing Python-level buffer objects and a C-level buffer API so that
any built-in or used-defined type can expose its characteristics. Both, however, have been deprecated because of
various shortcomings, and have been officially removed in Python 3 in favour of a new C-level buffer API and a
new Python-level object named memoryview.
The new buffer API has been backported to Python 2.6, and the memoryview object has been backported to
Python 2.7. It is strongly advised to use them rather than the old APIs, unless you are blocked from doing so for
compatibility reasons.

The new-style Py_buffer struct
Py_buffer
void *buf
A pointer to the start of the memory for the object.
Py_ssize_t len
The total length of the memory in bytes.
int readonly
An indicator of whether the buffer is read only.
const char *format
A NULL terminated string in struct module style syntax giving the contents of the elements avail-
able through the buffer. If this is NULL, "B" (unsigned bytes) is assumed.
int ndim
The number of dimensions the memory represents as a multi-dimensional array. If it is 0, strides
and suboffsets must be NULL.
Py_ssize_t *shape
An array of Py_ssize_ts the length of ndim giving the shape of the memory as a multi-dimensional
array. Note that ((*shape)[0] * ... * (*shape)[ndims-1])*itemsize should be
equal to len.
Py_ssize_t *strides
An array of Py_ssize_ts the length of ndim giving the number of bytes to skip to get to a new
element in each dimension.
Py_ssize_t *suboffsets
An array of Py_ssize_ts the length of ndim. If these suboffset numbers are greater than or equal
to 0, then the value stored along the indicated dimension is a pointer and the suboffset value dictates
how many bytes to add to the pointer after de-referencing. A suboffset value that it negative indicates
that no de-referencing should occur (striding in a contiguous memory block).
If all suboffsets are negative (i.e. no de-referencing is needed, then this field must be NULL (the
default value).
Here is a function that returns a pointer to the element in an N-D array pointed to by an N-dimensional
index when there are both non-NULL strides and suboffsets:
void *get_item_pointer(int ndim, void *buf, Py_ssize_t *strides,

Py_ssize_t *suboffsets, Py_ssize_t *indices) {
char *pointer = (char*)buf;
int i;
for (i = 0; i < ndim; i++) {
pointer += strides[i] * indices[i];
if (suboffsets[i] >=0 ) {
pointer = *((char**)pointer) + suboffsets[i];
}
}
return (void*)pointer;
}
Py_ssize_t itemsize
This is a storage for the itemsize (in bytes) of each element of the shared memory. It is technically
un-necessary as it can be obtained using PyBuffer_SizeFromFormat(), however an exporter
may know this information without parsing the format string and it is necessary to know the itemsize
for proper interpretation of striding. Therefore, storing it is more convenient and faster.
void *internal
This is for use internally by the exporting object. For example, this might be re-cast as an integer by

the exporter and used to store flags about whether or not the shape, strides, and suboffsets arrays must
be freed when the buffer is released. The consumer should never alter this value.
Buffer related functions
int PyObject_CheckBuffer(PyObject *obj)

Return 1 if obj supports the buffer interface otherwise 0.
int PyObject_GetBuffer(PyObject *obj, Py_buffer *view, int flags)
Export obj into a Py_buffer, view. These arguments must never be NULL. The flags argument is a bit
field indicating what kind of buffer the caller is prepared to deal with and therefore what kind of buffer the
exporter is allowed to return. The buffer interface allows for complicated memory sharing possibilities, but
some caller may not be able to handle all the complexity but may want to see if the exporter will let them
take a simpler view to its memory.
Some exporters may not be able to share memory in every possible way and may need to raise errors to
signal to some consumers that something is just not possible. These errors should be a BufferError
unless there is another error that is actually causing the problem. The exporter can use flags information to
simplify how much of the Py_buffer structure is filled in with non-default values and/or raise an error if
the object can’t support a simpler view of its memory.
0 is returned on success and -1 on error.
The following table gives possible values to the flags arguments.

Flag Description
PyBUF_SIMPLE This is the default flag state. The returned buffer may or may not
have writable memory. The format of the data will be assumed to
be unsigned bytes. This is a “stand-alone” flag constant. It never
needs to be ‘|’d to the others. The exporter will raise an error if it
cannot provide such a contiguous buffer of bytes.
PyBUF_WRITABLE The returned buffer must be writable. If it is not writable, then
raise an error.
PyBUF_STRIDES This implies PyBUF_ND. The returned buffer must provide strides
information (i.e. the strides cannot be NULL). This would be used
when the consumer can handle strided, discontiguous arrays.
Handling strides automatically assumes you can handle shape. The
exporter can raise an error if a strided representation of the data is
not possible (i.e. without the suboffsets).
PyBUF_ND The returned buffer must provide shape information. The memory
will be assumed C-style contiguous (last dimension varies the
fastest). The exporter may raise an error if it cannot provide this
kind of contiguous buffer. If this is not given then shape will be
NULL.
PyBUF_C_CONTIGUOUS These flags indicate that the contiguity returned buffer must be
PyBUF_F_CONTIGUOUS respectively, C-contiguous (last dimension varies the fastest),
PyBUF_ANY_CONTIGUOUS Fortran contiguous (first dimension varies the fastest) or either
one. All of these flags imply PyBUF_STRIDES and guarantee
that the strides buffer info structure will be filled in correctly.
PyBUF_INDIRECT This flag indicates the returned buffer must have suboffsets
information (which can be NULL if no suboffsets are needed).
This can be used when the consumer can handle indirect array
referencing implied by these suboffsets. This implies
PyBUF_STRIDES.
PyBUF_FORMAT The returned buffer must have true format information if this flag
is provided. This would be used when the consumer is going to be
checking for what ‘kind’ of data is actually stored. An exporter
should always be able to provide this information if requested. If
format is not explicitly requested then the format must be returned
as NULL (which means ’B’, or unsigned bytes)
PyBUF_STRIDED This is equivalent to (PyBUF_STRIDES |
PyBUF_WRITABLE).
PyBUF_STRIDED_RO This is equivalent to (PyBUF_STRIDES).
PyBUF_RECORDS This is equivalent to (PyBUF_STRIDES | PyBUF_FORMAT
| PyBUF_WRITABLE).
PyBUF_RECORDS_RO This is equivalent to (PyBUF_STRIDES | PyBUF_FORMAT).
PyBUF_FULL This is equivalent to (PyBUF_INDIRECT | PyBUF_FORMAT
| PyBUF_WRITABLE).
PyBUF_FULL_RO This is equivalent to (PyBUF_INDIRECT |
PyBUF_FORMAT).
PyBUF_CONTIG This is equivalent to (PyBUF_ND | PyBUF_WRITABLE).
PyBUF_CONTIG_RO This is equivalent to (PyBUF_ND).
void PyBuffer_Release(Py_buffer *view)
Release the buffer view. This should be called when the buffer is no longer being used as it may free memory
from it.
Py_ssize_t PyBuffer_SizeFromFormat(const char *)
Return the implied itemsize from the struct-stype format.
int PyBuffer_IsContiguous(Py_buffer *view, char fortran)
Return 1 if the memory defined by the view is C-style (fortran is ’C’) or Fortran-style (fortran is ’F’)
contiguous or either one (fortran is ’A’). Return 0 otherwise.

void PyBuffer_FillContiguousStrides(int ndim, Py_ssize_t *shape, Py_ssize_t *strides,

Py_ssize_t itemsize, char fortran)
Fill the strides array with byte-strides of a contiguous (C-style if fortran is ’C’ or Fortran-style if fortran
is ’F’) array of the given shape with the given number of bytes per element.
int PyBuffer_FillInfo(Py_buffer *view, PyObject *obj, void *buf, Py_ssize_t len, int readonly,
int infoflags)
Fill in a buffer-info structure, view, correctly for an exporter that can only share a contiguous chunk of
memory of “unsigned bytes” of the given length. Return 0 on success and -1 (with raising an error) on error.
MemoryView objects
New in version 2.7.

A memoryview object exposes the new C level buffer interface as a Python object which can then be passed
around like any other object.
PyObject *PyMemoryView_FromObject(PyObject *obj)
Create a memoryview object from an object that defines the new buffer interface.
PyObject *PyMemoryView_FromBuffer(Py_buffer *view)
Create a memoryview object wrapping the given buffer-info structure view. The memoryview object then
owns the buffer, which means you shouldn’t try to release it yourself: it will be released on deallocation of
the memoryview object.
PyObject *PyMemoryView_GetContiguous(PyObject *obj, int buffertype, char order)
Create a memoryview object to a contiguous chunk of memory (in either ‘C’ or ‘F’ortran order) from an
object that defines the buffer interface. If memory is contiguous, the memoryview object points to the
original memory. Otherwise copy is made and the memoryview points to a new bytes object.
int PyMemoryView_Check(PyObject *obj)
Return true if the object obj is a memoryview object. It is not currently allowed to create subclasses of
memoryview.
Py_buffer *PyMemoryView_GET_BUFFER(PyObject *obj)
Return a pointer to the buffer-info structure wrapped by the given object. The object must be a memoryview
instance; this macro doesn’t check its type, you must do it yourself or you will risk crashes.
Old-style buffer objects
More information on the old buffer interface is provided in the section Buffer Object Structures, under the descrip-
tion for PyBufferProcs.
A “buffer object” is defined in the bufferobject.h header (included by Python.h). These objects look
very similar to string objects at the Python programming level: they support slicing, indexing, concatenation, and
some other standard string operations. However, their data can come from one of two sources: from a block of
memory, or from another object which exports the buffer interface.
Buffer objects are useful as a way to expose the data from another object’s buffer interface to the Python program-
mer. They can also be used as a zero-copy slicing mechanism. Using their ability to reference a block of memory,
it is possible to expose any data to the Python programmer quite easily. The memory could be a large, constant
array in a C extension, it could be a raw block of memory for manipulation before passing to an operating system
library, or it could be used to pass around structured data in its native, in-memory format.
PyBufferObject
This subtype of PyObject represents a buffer object.
PyTypeObject PyBuffer_Type
The instance of PyTypeObject which represents the Python buffer type; it is the same object as buffer
and types.BufferType in the Python layer. .
int Py_END_OF_BUFFER
This constant may be passed as the size parameter to PyBuffer_FromObject() or

PyBuffer_FromReadWriteObject(). It indicates that the new PyBufferObject should

refer to base object from the specified offset to the end of its exported buffer. Using this enables the caller
to avoid querying the base object for its length.
int PyBuffer_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if the argument has type PyBuffer_Type.
PyObject* PyBuffer_FromObject(PyObject *base, Py_ssize_t offset, Py_ssize_t size)
Return value: New reference. Return a new read-only buffer object. This raises TypeError if base
doesn’t support the read-only buffer protocol or doesn’t provide exactly one buffer segment, or it raises
ValueError if offset is less than zero. The buffer will hold a reference to the base object, and the buffer’s
contents will refer to the base object’s buffer interface, starting as position offset and extending for size
bytes. If size is Py_END_OF_BUFFER, then the new buffer’s contents extend to the length of the base
object’s exported buffer data.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for offset and size. This might require changes in
PyObject* PyBuffer_FromReadWriteObject(PyObject *base, Py_ssize_t offset, Py_ssize_t size)
Return value: New reference. Return a new writable buffer object. Parameters and exceptions are similar to
those for PyBuffer_FromObject(). If the base object does not export the writeable buffer protocol,
then TypeError is raised.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for offset and size. This might require changes in
PyObject* PyBuffer_FromMemory(void *ptr, Py_ssize_t size)
Return value: New reference. Return a new read-only buffer object that reads from a specified location in
memory, with a specified size. The caller is responsible for ensuring that the memory buffer, passed in as
ptr, is not deallocated while the returned buffer object exists. Raises ValueError if size is less than zero.
Note that Py_END_OF_BUFFER may not be passed for the size parameter; ValueError will be raised
in that case.
PyObject* PyBuffer_FromReadWriteMemory(void *ptr, Py_ssize_t size)
Return value: New reference. Similar to PyBuffer_FromMemory(), but the returned buffer is writable.
PyObject* PyBuffer_New(Py_ssize_t size)
Return value: New reference. Return a new writable buffer object that maintains its own memory buffer of
size bytes. ValueError is returned if size is not zero or positive. Note that the memory buffer (as returned
by PyObject_AsWriteBuffer()) is not specifically aligned.
7.3.5 Tuple Objects
PyTupleObject
This subtype of PyObject represents a Python tuple object.
PyTypeObject PyTuple_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python tuple type; it is the same object as tuple and
types.TupleType in the Python layer..
int PyTuple_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if p is a tuple object or an instance of a subtype of the tuple type.

int PyTuple_CheckExact(PyObject *p)

Return true if p is a tuple object, but not an instance of a subtype of the tuple type.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyTuple_New(Py_ssize_t len)
Return value: New reference. Return a new tuple object of size len, or NULL on failure.
PyObject* PyTuple_Pack(Py_ssize_t n, ...)
Return value: New reference. Return a new tuple object of size n, or NULL on failure. The tuple values are
initialized to the subsequent n C arguments pointing to Python objects. PyTuple_Pack(2, a, b) is
equivalent to Py_BuildValue("(OO)", a, b).
New in version 2.4.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for n. This might require changes in your code for
Py_ssize_t PyTuple_Size(PyObject *p)
Take a pointer to a tuple object, and return the size of that tuple.
Py_ssize_t PyTuple_GET_SIZE(PyObject *p)
Return the size of the tuple p, which must be non-NULL and point to a tuple; no error checking is performed.
PyObject* PyTuple_GetItem(PyObject *p, Py_ssize_t pos)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the object at position pos in the tuple pointed to by p. If pos is
out of bounds, return NULL and sets an IndexError exception.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for pos. This might require changes in your code
PyObject* PyTuple_GET_ITEM(PyObject *p, Py_ssize_t pos)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Like PyTuple_GetItem(), but does no checking of its arguments.
PyObject* PyTuple_GetSlice(PyObject *p, Py_ssize_t low, Py_ssize_t high)
Return value: New reference. Take a slice of the tuple pointed to by p from low to high and return it as a
new tuple.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for low and high. This might require changes in
int PyTuple_SetItem(PyObject *p, Py_ssize_t pos, PyObject *o)
Insert a reference to object o at position pos of the tuple pointed to by p. Return 0 on success.
Note: This function “steals” a reference to o.
void PyTuple_SET_ITEM(PyObject *p, Py_ssize_t pos, PyObject *o)
Like PyTuple_SetItem(), but does no error checking, and should only be used to fill in brand new
tuples.
Note: This function “steals” a reference to o.

int _PyTuple_Resize(PyObject **p, Py_ssize_t newsize)
Can be used to resize a tuple. newsize will be the new length of the tuple. Because tuples are supposed to
be immutable, this should only be used if there is only one reference to the object. Do not use this if the
tuple may already be known to some other part of the code. The tuple will always grow or shrink at the
end. Think of this as destroying the old tuple and creating a new one, only more efficiently. Returns 0 on
success. Client code should never assume that the resulting value of *p will be the same as before calling
this function. If the object referenced by *p is replaced, the original *p is destroyed. On failure, returns -1
and sets *p to NULL, and raises MemoryError or SystemError.
Changed in version 2.2: Removed unused third parameter, last_is_sticky.
int PyTuple_ClearFreeList()
New in version 2.6.
7.3.6 List Objects
PyListObject
This subtype of PyObject represents a Python list object.
PyTypeObject PyList_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python list type. This is the same object as list in the
Python layer.
int PyList_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if p is a list object or an instance of a subtype of the list type.
int PyList_CheckExact(PyObject *p)
Return true if p is a list object, but not an instance of a subtype of the list type.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyList_New(Py_ssize_t len)
Return value: New reference. Return a new list of length len on success, or NULL on failure.
Note: If len is greater than zero, the returned list object’s items are set to NULL. Thus you cannot use
abstract API functions such as PySequence_SetItem() or expose the object to Python code before
setting all items to a real object with PyList_SetItem().
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int for size. This might require changes in your code for
Py_ssize_t PyList_Size(PyObject *list)
Return the length of the list object in list; this is equivalent to len(list) on a list object.
Changed in version 2.5: This function returned an int. This might require changes in your code for
Py_ssize_t PyList_GET_SIZE(PyObject *list)
Macro form of PyList_Size() without error checking.
Changed in version 2.5: This macro returned an int. This might require changes in your code for properly
supporting 64-bit systems.
PyObject* PyList_GetItem(PyObject *list, Py_ssize_t index)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the object at position index in the list pointed to by list. The

position must be positive, indexing from the end of the list is not supported. If index is out of bounds, return
NULL and set an IndexError exception.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int for index. This might require changes in your code for
PyObject* PyList_GET_ITEM(PyObject *list, Py_ssize_t i)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Macro form of PyList_GetItem() without error checking.
Changed in version 2.5: This macro used an int for i. This might require changes in your code for properly
int PyList_SetItem(PyObject *list, Py_ssize_t index, PyObject *item)
Set the item at index index in list to item. Return 0 on success or -1 on failure.
Note: This function “steals” a reference to item and discards a reference to an item already in the list at the
affected position.
void PyList_SET_ITEM(PyObject *list, Py_ssize_t i, PyObject *o)
Macro form of PyList_SetItem() without error checking. This is normally only used to fill in new
lists where there is no previous content.
Note: This macro “steals” a reference to item, and, unlike PyList_SetItem(), does not discard a
reference to any item that it being replaced; any reference in list at position i will be leaked.
Changed in version 2.5: This macro used an int for i. This might require changes in your code for properly
int PyList_Insert(PyObject *list, Py_ssize_t index, PyObject *item)
Insert the item item into list list in front of index index. Return 0 if successful; return -1 and set an exception
if unsuccessful. Analogous to list.insert(index, item).
int PyList_Append(PyObject *list, PyObject *item)
Append the object item at the end of list list. Return 0 if successful; return -1 and set an exception if
unsuccessful. Analogous to list.append(item).
PyObject* PyList_GetSlice(PyObject *list, Py_ssize_t low, Py_ssize_t high)
Return value: New reference. Return a list of the objects in list containing the objects between low and high.
Return NULL and set an exception if unsuccessful. Analogous to list[low:high]. Negative indices,
as when slicing from Python, are not supported.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int for low and high. This might require changes in your
int PyList_SetSlice(PyObject *list, Py_ssize_t low, Py_ssize_t high, PyObject *itemlist)
Set the slice of list between low and high to the contents of itemlist. Analogous to list[low:high] =
itemlist. The itemlist may be NULL, indicating the assignment of an empty list (slice deletion). Return
0 on success, -1 on failure. Negative indices, as when slicing from Python, are not supported.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int for low and high. This might require changes in your
int PyList_Sort(PyObject *list)
Sort the items of list in place. Return 0 on success, -1 on failure. This is equivalent to list.sort().
int PyList_Reverse(PyObject *list)
Reverse the items of list in place. Return 0 on success, -1 on failure. This is the equivalent of
list.reverse().

PyObject* PyList_AsTuple(PyObject *list)

Return value: New reference. Return a new tuple object containing the contents of list; equivalent to
tuple(list).
7.4 Mapping Objects
7.4.1 Dictionary Objects
PyDictObject
This subtype of PyObject represents a Python dictionary object.
PyTypeObject PyDict_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python dictionary type. This is exposed to Python pro-
grams as dict and types.DictType.
int PyDict_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if p is a dict object or an instance of a subtype of the dict type.
int PyDict_CheckExact(PyObject *p)
Return true if p is a dict object, but not an instance of a subtype of the dict type.
New in version 2.4.
PyObject* PyDict_New()
Return value: New reference. Return a new empty dictionary, or NULL on failure.
PyObject* PyDictProxy_New(PyObject *dict)
Return value: New reference. Return a proxy object for a mapping which enforces read-only behavior. This
is normally used to create a proxy to prevent modification of the dictionary for non-dynamic class types.
New in version 2.2.
void PyDict_Clear(PyObject *p)
Empty an existing dictionary of all key-value pairs.
int PyDict_Contains(PyObject *p, PyObject *key)
Determine if dictionary p contains key. If an item in p is matches key, return 1, otherwise return 0. On error,
return -1. This is equivalent to the Python expression key in p.
New in version 2.4.
PyObject* PyDict_Copy(PyObject *p)
Return value: New reference. Return a new dictionary that contains the same key-value pairs as p.
New in version 1.6.
int PyDict_SetItem(PyObject *p, PyObject *key, PyObject *val)
Insert value into the dictionary p with a key of key. key must be hashable; if it isn’t, TypeError will be
raised. Return 0 on success or -1 on failure.
int PyDict_SetItemString(PyObject *p, const char *key, PyObject *val)
Insert value into the dictionary p using key as a key. key should be a char*. The key object is created using
PyString_FromString(key). Return 0 on success or -1 on failure.
int PyDict_DelItem(PyObject *p, PyObject *key)
Remove the entry in dictionary p with key key. key must be hashable; if it isn’t, TypeError is raised.
Return 0 on success or -1 on failure.
int PyDict_DelItemString(PyObject *p, char *key)
Remove the entry in dictionary p which has a key specified by the string key. Return 0 on success or -1 on
failure.

PyObject* PyDict_GetItem(PyObject *p, PyObject *key)

Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the object from dictionary p which has a key key. Return NULL
if the key key is not present, but without setting an exception.
PyObject* PyDict_GetItemString(PyObject *p, const char *key)
Return value: Borrowed reference. This is the same as PyDict_GetItem(), but key is specified as a
char*, rather than a PyObject*.
PyObject* PyDict_Items(PyObject *p)
Return value: New reference. Return a PyListObject containing all the items from the dictionary, as in
the dictionary method dict.items().
PyObject* PyDict_Keys(PyObject *p)
Return value: New reference. Return a PyListObject containing all the keys from the dictionary, as in
the dictionary method dict.keys().
PyObject* PyDict_Values(PyObject *p)
Return value: New reference. Return a PyListObject containing all the values from the dictionary p, as
in the dictionary method dict.values().
Py_ssize_t PyDict_Size(PyObject *p)
Return the number of items in the dictionary. This is equivalent to len(p) on a dictionary.
int PyDict_Next(PyObject *p, Py_ssize_t *ppos, PyObject **pkey, PyObject **pvalue)
Iterate over all key-value pairs in the dictionary p. The Py_ssize_t referred to by ppos must be initialized
to 0 prior to the first call to this function to start the iteration; the function returns true for each pair in the
dictionary, and false once all pairs have been reported. The parameters pkey and pvalue should either point
to PyObject* variables that will be filled in with each key and value, respectively, or may be NULL.
Any references returned through them are borrowed. ppos should not be altered during iteration. Its value
represents offsets within the internal dictionary structure, and since the structure is sparse, the offsets are
not consecutive.
For example:
PyObject *key, *value;

Py_ssize_t pos = 0;
while (PyDict_Next(self->dict, &pos, &key, &value)) {

/* do something interesting with the values... */
...
}
The dictionary p should not be mutated during iteration. It is safe (since Python 2.1) to modify the values of
the keys as you iterate over the dictionary, but only so long as the set of keys does not change. For example:
PyObject *key, *value;

Py_ssize_t pos = 0;
while (PyDict_Next(self->dict, &pos, &key, &value)) {

int i = PyInt_AS_LONG(value) + 1;
PyObject *o = PyInt_FromLong(i);
if (o == NULL)
return -1;
if (PyDict_SetItem(self->dict, key, o) < 0) {
Py_DECREF(o);
return -1;
}
Py_DECREF(o);
}
7.4. Mapping Objects 87

Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int * type for ppos. This might require changes in your
int PyDict_Merge(PyObject *a, PyObject *b, int override)
Iterate over mapping object b adding key-value pairs to dictionary a. b may be a dictionary, or any object
supporting PyMapping_Keys() and PyObject_GetItem(). If override is true, existing pairs in a
will be replaced if a matching key is found in b, otherwise pairs will only be added if there is not a matching
key in a. Return 0 on success or -1 if an exception was raised.
New in version 2.2.
int PyDict_Update(PyObject *a, PyObject *b)
This is the same as PyDict_Merge(a, b, 1) in C, and is similar to a.update(b) in Python except
that PyDict_Update() doesn’t fall back to the iterating over a sequence of key value pairs if the second
argument has no “keys” attribute. Return 0 on success or -1 if an exception was raised.
New in version 2.2.
int PyDict_MergeFromSeq2(PyObject *a, PyObject *seq2, int override)
Update or merge into dictionary a, from the key-value pairs in seq2. seq2 must be an iterable object produc-
ing iterable objects of length 2, viewed as key-value pairs. In case of duplicate keys, the last wins if override
is true, else the first wins. Return 0 on success or -1 if an exception was raised. Equivalent Python (except
for the return value):
def PyDict_MergeFromSeq2(a, seq2, override):

for key, value in seq2:
if override or key not in a:
a[key] = value
New in version 2.2.
7.5 Other Objects
7.5.1 Class and Instance Objects
Note that the class objects described here represent old-style classes, which will go away in Python 3. When
creating new types for extension modules, you will want to work with type objects (section Type Objects).
PyClassObject
The C structure of the objects used to describe built-in classes.
PyObject* PyClass_Type
This is the type object for class objects; it is the same object as types.ClassType in the Python layer.
int PyClass_Check(PyObject *o)
Return true if the object o is a class object, including instances of types derived from the standard class
object. Return false in all other cases.
int PyClass_IsSubclass(PyObject *klass, PyObject *base)
Return true if klass is a subclass of base. Return false in all other cases.
There are very few functions specific to instance objects.
PyTypeObject PyInstance_Type
Type object for class instances.
int PyInstance_Check(PyObject *obj)
Return true if obj is an instance.
PyObject* PyInstance_New(PyObject *class, PyObject *arg, PyObject *kw)
Return value: New reference. Create a new instance of a specific class. The parameters arg and kw are used
as the positional and keyword parameters to the object’s constructor.

PyObject* PyInstance_NewRaw(PyObject *class, PyObject *dict)

Return value: New reference. Create a new instance of a specific class without calling its constructor. class
is the class of new object. The dict parameter will be used as the object’s __dict__; if NULL, a new
dictionary will be created for the instance.
7.5.2 Function Objects
There are a few functions specific to Python functions.

PyFunctionObject
The C structure used for functions.
PyTypeObject PyFunction_Type
This is an instance of PyTypeObject and represents the Python function type. It is exposed to Python
programmers as types.FunctionType.
int PyFunction_Check(PyObject *o)
Return true if o is a function object (has type PyFunction_Type). The parameter must not be NULL.
PyObject* PyFunction_New(PyObject *code, PyObject *globals)
Return value: New reference. Return a new function object associated with the code object code. globals
must be a dictionary with the global variables accessible to the function.
The function’s docstring, name and __module__ are retrieved from the code object, the argument defaults
and closure are set to NULL.
PyObject* PyFunction_GetCode(PyObject *op)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the code object associated with the function object op.
PyObject* PyFunction_GetGlobals(PyObject *op)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the globals dictionary associated with the function object op.
PyObject* PyFunction_GetModule(PyObject *op)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the __module__ attribute of the function object op. This is
normally a string containing the module name, but can be set to any other object by Python code.
PyObject* PyFunction_GetDefaults(PyObject *op)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the argument default values of the function object op. This can
be a tuple of arguments or NULL.
int PyFunction_SetDefaults(PyObject *op, PyObject *defaults)
Set the argument default values for the function object op. defaults must be Py_None or a tuple.
Raises SystemError and returns -1 on failure.
PyObject* PyFunction_GetClosure(PyObject *op)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the closure associated with the function object op. This can be
NULL or a tuple of cell objects.
int PyFunction_SetClosure(PyObject *op, PyObject *closure)
Set the closure associated with the function object op. closure must be Py_None or a tuple of cell objects.
Raises SystemError and returns -1 on failure.
7.5.3 Method Objects
There are some useful functions that are useful for working with method objects.
PyTypeObject PyMethod_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python method type. This is exposed to Python programs
as types.MethodType.
int PyMethod_Check(PyObject *o)
Return true if o is a method object (has type PyMethod_Type). The parameter must not be NULL.
7.5. Other Objects 89

PyObject* PyMethod_New(PyObject *func, PyObject *self, PyObject *class)

Return value: New reference. Return a new method object, with func being any callable object; this is the
function that will be called when the method is called. If this method should be bound to an instance, self
should be the instance and class should be the class of self, otherwise self should be NULL and class should
be the class which provides the unbound method..
PyObject* PyMethod_Class(PyObject *meth)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the class object from which the method meth was created; if this
was created from an instance, it will be the class of the instance.
PyObject* PyMethod_GET_CLASS(PyObject *meth)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Macro version of PyMethod_Class() which avoids error checking.
PyObject* PyMethod_Function(PyObject *meth)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the function object associated with the method meth.
PyObject* PyMethod_GET_FUNCTION(PyObject *meth)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Macro version of PyMethod_Function() which avoids error check-
ing.
PyObject* PyMethod_Self(PyObject *meth)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the instance associated with the method meth if it is bound,
otherwise return NULL.
PyObject* PyMethod_GET_SELF(PyObject *meth)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Macro version of PyMethod_Self() which avoids error checking.
int PyMethod_ClearFreeList()
New in version 2.6.
7.5.4 File Objects
Python’s built-in file objects are implemented entirely on the FILE* support from the C standard library. This is
an implementation detail and may change in future releases of Python.
PyFileObject
This subtype of PyObject represents a Python file object.
PyTypeObject PyFile_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python file type. This is exposed to Python programs as
file and types.FileType.
int PyFile_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if its argument is a PyFileObject or a subtype of PyFileObject.
int PyFile_CheckExact(PyObject *p)
Return true if its argument is a PyFileObject, but not a subtype of PyFileObject.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyFile_FromString(char *filename, char *mode)
Return value: New reference. On success, return a new file object that is opened on the file given by
filename, with a file mode given by mode, where mode has the same semantics as the standard C routine
fopen(). On failure, return NULL.
PyObject* PyFile_FromFile(FILE *fp, char *name, char *mode, int (*close)(FILE*))
Return value: New reference. Create a new PyFileObject from the already-open standard C file pointer,
fp. The function close will be called when the file should be closed. Return NULL and close the file using
close on failure. close is optional and can be set to NULL.

FILE* PyFile_AsFile(PyObject *p)

Return the file object associated with p as a FILE*.
If the caller will ever use the returned FILE* object while the GIL is released it must also call the
PyFile_IncUseCount() and PyFile_DecUseCount() functions described below as appropriate.
void PyFile_IncUseCount(PyFileObject *p)
Increments the PyFileObject’s internal use count to indicate that the underlying FILE* is being used.
This prevents Python from calling f_close() on it from another thread. Callers of this must call
PyFile_DecUseCount() when they are finished with the FILE*. Otherwise the file object will never
be closed by Python.
The GIL must be held while calling this function.
The suggested use is to call this after PyFile_AsFile() and before you release the GIL:
FILE *fp = PyFile_AsFile(p);

PyFile_IncUseCount(p);
/* ... */
Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
do_something(fp);
Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS
/* ... */
PyFile_DecUseCount(p);
New in version 2.6.

void PyFile_DecUseCount(PyFileObject *p)
Decrements the PyFileObject’s internal unlocked_count member to indicate that the caller is done with its
own use of the FILE*. This may only be called to undo a prior call to PyFile_IncUseCount().
The GIL must be held while calling this function (see the example above).
New in version 2.6.
PyObject* PyFile_GetLine(PyObject *p, int n)
Return value: New reference. Equivalent to p.readline([n]), this function reads one line from the
object p. p may be a file object or any object with a readline() method. If n is 0, exactly one line is
read, regardless of the length of the line. If n is greater than 0, no more than n bytes will be read from the
file; a partial line can be returned. In both cases, an empty string is returned if the end of the file is reached
immediately. If n is less than 0, however, one line is read regardless of length, but EOFError is raised if
the end of the file is reached immediately.
PyObject* PyFile_Name(PyObject *p)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the name of the file specified by p as a string object.
void PyFile_SetBufSize(PyFileObject *p, int n)
Available on systems with setvbuf() only. This should only be called immediately after file object
creation.
int PyFile_SetEncoding(PyFileObject *p, const char *enc)
Set the file’s encoding for Unicode output to enc. Return 1 on success and 0 on failure.
New in version 2.3.
int PyFile_SetEncodingAndErrors(PyFileObject *p, const char *enc, *errors)
Set the file’s encoding for Unicode output to enc, and its error mode to err. Return 1 on success and 0 on
failure.
New in version 2.6.
int PyFile_SoftSpace(PyObject *p, int newflag)
This function exists for internal use by the interpreter. Set the softspace attribute of p to newflag and
return the previous value. p does not have to be a file object for this function to work properly; any object
is supported (thought its only interesting if the softspace attribute can be set). This function clears any

errors, and will return 0 as the previous value if the attribute either does not exist or if there were errors in
retrieving it. There is no way to detect errors from this function, but doing so should not be needed.
int PyFile_WriteObject(PyObject *obj, PyObject *p, int flags)
Write object obj to file object p. The only supported flag for flags is Py_PRINT_RAW; if given, the str()
of the object is written instead of the repr(). Return 0 on success or -1 on failure; the appropriate
exception will be set.
int PyFile_WriteString(const char *s, PyObject *p)
Write string s to file object p. Return 0 on success or -1 on failure; the appropriate exception will be set.
7.5.5 Module Objects
There are only a few functions special to module objects.

PyTypeObject PyModule_Type
This instance of PyTypeObject represents the Python module type. This is exposed to Python programs
as types.ModuleType.
int PyModule_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if p is a module object, or a subtype of a module object.
int PyModule_CheckExact(PyObject *p)
Return true if p is a module object, but not a subtype of PyModule_Type.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyModule_New(const char *name)
Return value: New reference. Return a new module object with the __name__ attribute set to name.
Only the module’s __doc__ and __name__ attributes are filled in; the caller is responsible for providing
a __file__ attribute.
PyObject* PyModule_GetDict(PyObject *module)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the dictionary object that implements module‘s namespace;
this object is the same as the __dict__ attribute of the module object. This function never fails. It is
recommended extensions use other PyModule_*() and PyObject_*() functions rather than directly
manipulate a module’s __dict__.
char* PyModule_GetName(PyObject *module)
Return module‘s __name__ value. If the module does not provide one, or if it is not a string,
SystemError is raised and NULL is returned.
char* PyModule_GetFilename(PyObject *module)
Return the name of the file from which module was loaded using module‘s __file__ attribute. If this is
not defined, or if it is not a string, raise SystemError and return NULL.
int PyModule_AddObject(PyObject *module, const char *name, PyObject *value)
Add an object to module as name. This is a convenience function which can be used from the module’s
initialization function. This steals a reference to value. Return -1 on error, 0 on success.
New in version 2.0.
int PyModule_AddIntConstant(PyObject *module, const char *name, long value)
Add an integer constant to module as name. This convenience function can be used from the module’s
initialization function. Return -1 on error, 0 on success.
New in version 2.0.
int PyModule_AddStringConstant(PyObject *module, const char *name, const char *value)
Add a string constant to module as name. This convenience function can be used from the module’s initial-
ization function. The string value must be null-terminated. Return -1 on error, 0 on success.
New in version 2.0.

int PyModule_AddIntMacro(PyObject *module, macro)

Add an int constant to module. The name and the value are taken from macro. For example
PyModule_AddIntMacro(module, AF_INET) adds the int constant AF_INET with the value of
AF_INET to module. Return -1 on error, 0 on success.
New in version 2.6.
int PyModule_AddStringMacro(PyObject *module, macro)
Add a string constant to module.
New in version 2.6.
7.5.6 Iterator Objects
Python provides two general-purpose iterator objects. The first, a sequence iterator, works with an arbitrary
sequence supporting the __getitem__() method. The second works with a callable object and a sentinel value,
calling the callable for each item in the sequence, and ending the iteration when the sentinel value is returned.
PyTypeObject PySeqIter_Type
Type object for iterator objects returned by PySeqIter_New() and the one-argument form of the
iter() built-in function for built-in sequence types.
New in version 2.2.
int PySeqIter_Check(op)
Return true if the type of op is PySeqIter_Type.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PySeqIter_New(PyObject *seq)
Return value: New reference. Return an iterator that works with a general sequence object, seq. The
iteration ends when the sequence raises IndexError for the subscripting operation.
New in version 2.2.
PyTypeObject PyCallIter_Type
Type object for iterator objects returned by PyCallIter_New() and the two-argument form of the
iter() built-in function.
New in version 2.2.
int PyCallIter_Check(op)
Return true if the type of op is PyCallIter_Type.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyCallIter_New(PyObject *callable, PyObject *sentinel)
Return value: New reference. Return a new iterator. The first parameter, callable, can be any Python callable
object that can be called with no parameters; each call to it should return the next item in the iteration. When
callable returns a value equal to sentinel, the iteration will be terminated.
New in version 2.2.
7.5.7 Descriptor Objects
“Descriptors” are objects that describe some attribute of an object. They are found in the dictionary of type objects.
PyTypeObject PyProperty_Type
The type object for the built-in descriptor types.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyDescr_NewGetSet(PyTypeObject *type, struct PyGetSetDef *getset)

PyObject* PyDescr_NewMember(PyTypeObject *type, struct PyMemberDef *meth)

PyObject* PyDescr_NewMethod(PyTypeObject *type, struct PyMethodDef *meth)
PyObject* PyDescr_NewWrapper(PyTypeObject *type, struct wrapperbase *wrapper,
void *wrapped)
PyObject* PyDescr_NewClassMethod(PyTypeObject *type, PyMethodDef *method)
int PyDescr_IsData(PyObject *descr)
Return true if the descriptor objects descr describes a data attribute, or false if it describes a method. descr
must be a descriptor object; there is no error checking.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyWrapper_New(PyObject *, PyObject *)
7.5.8 Slice Objects
PyTypeObject PySlice_Type
The type object for slice objects. This is the same as slice and types.SliceType.
int PySlice_Check(PyObject *ob)
Return true if ob is a slice object; ob must not be NULL.
PyObject* PySlice_New(PyObject *start, PyObject *stop, PyObject *step)
Return value: New reference. Return a new slice object with the given values. The start, stop, and step
parameters are used as the values of the slice object attributes of the same names. Any of the values may be
NULL, in which case the None will be used for the corresponding attribute. Return NULL if the new object
could not be allocated.
int PySlice_GetIndices(PySliceObject *slice, Py_ssize_t length, Py_ssize_t *start,
Py_ssize_t *stop, Py_ssize_t *step)
Retrieve the start, stop and step indices from the slice object slice, assuming a sequence of length length.
Treats indices greater than length as errors.
Returns 0 on success and -1 on error with no exception set (unless one of the indices was not None and
failed to be converted to an integer, in which case -1 is returned with an exception set).
You probably do not want to use this function. If you want to use slice objects in versions of Python prior
to 2.3, you would probably do well to incorporate the source of PySlice_GetIndicesEx(), suitably
renamed, in the source of your extension.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for length and an int * type for start, stop, and
step. This might require changes in your code for properly supporting 64-bit systems.
int PySlice_GetIndicesEx(PySliceObject *slice, Py_ssize_t length, Py_ssize_t *start,
Py_ssize_t *stop, Py_ssize_t *step, Py_ssize_t *slicelength)
Usable replacement for PySlice_GetIndices(). Retrieve the start, stop, and step indices from the
slice object slice assuming a sequence of length length, and store the length of the slice in slicelength. Out
of bounds indices are clipped in a manner consistent with the handling of normal slices.
Returns 0 on success and -1 on error with exception set.
New in version 2.3.
Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for length and an int * type for start, stop, step,
and slicelength. This might require changes in your code for properly supporting 64-bit systems.

7.5.9 Weak Reference Objects
Python supports weak references as first-class objects. There are two specific object types which directly imple-
ment weak references. The first is a simple reference object, and the second acts as a proxy for the original object
as much as it can.
int PyWeakref_Check(ob)
Return true if ob is either a reference or proxy object.
New in version 2.2.
int PyWeakref_CheckRef(ob)
Return true if ob is a reference object.
New in version 2.2.
int PyWeakref_CheckProxy(ob)
Return true if ob is a proxy object.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyWeakref_NewRef(PyObject *ob, PyObject *callback)
Return value: New reference. Return a weak reference object for the object ob. This will always return a new
reference, but is not guaranteed to create a new object; an existing reference object may be returned. The
second parameter, callback, can be a callable object that receives notification when ob is garbage collected;
it should accept a single parameter, which will be the weak reference object itself. callback may also be
None or NULL. If ob is not a weakly-referencable object, or if callback is not callable, None, or NULL,
this will return NULL and raise TypeError.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyWeakref_NewProxy(PyObject *ob, PyObject *callback)
Return value: New reference. Return a weak reference proxy object for the object ob. This will always return
a new reference, but is not guaranteed to create a new object; an existing proxy object may be returned. The
second parameter, callback, can be a callable object that receives notification when ob is garbage collected;
it should accept a single parameter, which will be the weak reference object itself. callback may also be
None or NULL. If ob is not a weakly-referencable object, or if callback is not callable, None, or NULL,
this will return NULL and raise TypeError.
New in version 2.2.
PyObject* PyWeakref_GetObject(PyObject *ref )
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the referenced object from a weak reference, ref. If the referent
is no longer live, returns Py_None.
New in version 2.2.
Warning: This function returns a borrowed reference to the referenced object. This means that you
should always call Py_INCREF() on the object except if you know that it cannot be destroyed while
you are still using it.
PyObject* PyWeakref_GET_OBJECT(PyObject *ref )

Return value: Borrowed reference. Similar to PyWeakref_GetObject(), but implemented as a macro
that does no error checking.
New in version 2.2.
7.5.10 Capsules
Refer to using-capsules for more information on using these objects.

PyCapsule
This subtype of PyObject represents an opaque value, useful for C extension modules who need to pass
an opaque value (as a void* pointer) through Python code to other C code. It is often used to make a C

function pointer defined in one module available to other modules, so the regular import mechanism can be
used to access C APIs defined in dynamically loaded modules.
PyCapsule_Destructor
The type of a destructor callback for a capsule. Defined as:
typedef void (*PyCapsule_Destructor)(PyObject *);
See PyCapsule_New() for the semantics of PyCapsule_Destructor callbacks.

int PyCapsule_CheckExact(PyObject *p)
Return true if its argument is a PyCapsule.
PyObject* PyCapsule_New(void *pointer, const char *name, PyCapsule_Destructor destructor)
Return value: New reference. Create a PyCapsule encapsulating the pointer. The pointer argument may
not be NULL.
On failure, set an exception and return NULL.
The name string may either be NULL or a pointer to a valid C string. If non-NULL, this string must outlive
the capsule. (Though it is permitted to free it inside the destructor.)
If the destructor argument is not NULL, it will be called with the capsule as its argument when it is destroyed.
If this capsule will be stored as an attribute of a module, the name should be specified as
modulename.attributename. This will enable other modules to import the capsule using
PyCapsule_Import().
void* PyCapsule_GetPointer(PyObject *capsule, const char *name)
Retrieve the pointer stored in the capsule. On failure, set an exception and return NULL.
The name parameter must compare exactly to the name stored in the capsule. If the name stored in the
capsule is NULL, the name passed in must also be NULL. Python uses the C function strcmp() to compare
capsule names.
PyCapsule_Destructor PyCapsule_GetDestructor(PyObject *capsule)
Return the current destructor stored in the capsule. On failure, set an exception and return NULL.
It is legal for a capsule to have a NULL destructor. This makes a NULL return code somewhat ambiguous;
use PyCapsule_IsValid() or PyErr_Occurred() to disambiguate.
void* PyCapsule_GetContext(PyObject *capsule)
Return the current context stored in the capsule. On failure, set an exception and return NULL.
It is legal for a capsule to have a NULL context. This makes a NULL return code somewhat ambiguous; use
PyCapsule_IsValid() or PyErr_Occurred() to disambiguate.
const char* PyCapsule_GetName(PyObject *capsule)
Return the current name stored in the capsule. On failure, set an exception and return NULL.
It is legal for a capsule to have a NULL name. This makes a NULL return code somewhat ambiguous; use
PyCapsule_IsValid() or PyErr_Occurred() to disambiguate.
void* PyCapsule_Import(const char *name, int no_block)
Import a pointer to a C object from a capsule attribute in a module. The name parameter should
specify the full name to the attribute, as in module.attribute. The name stored in the cap-
sule must match this string exactly. If no_block is true, import the module without blocking (using
PyImport_ImportModuleNoBlock()). If no_block is false, import the module conventionally (us-
ing PyImport_ImportModule()).
Return the capsule’s internal pointer on success. On failure, set an exception and return NULL. However, if
PyCapsule_Import() failed to import the module, and no_block was true, no exception is set.
int PyCapsule_IsValid(PyObject *capsule, const char *name)
Determines whether or not capsule is a valid capsule. A valid capsule is non-NULL, passes
PyCapsule_CheckExact(), has a non-NULL pointer stored in it, and its internal name matches the

name parameter. (See PyCapsule_GetPointer() for information on how capsule names are com-
pared.)
In other words, if PyCapsule_IsValid() returns a true value, calls to any of the accessors (any function
starting with PyCapsule_Get()) are guaranteed to succeed.
Return a nonzero value if the object is valid and matches the name passed in. Return 0 otherwise. This
function will not fail.
int PyCapsule_SetContext(PyObject *capsule, void *context)
Set the context pointer inside capsule to context.
Return 0 on success. Return nonzero and set an exception on failure.
int PyCapsule_SetDestructor(PyObject *capsule, PyCapsule_Destructor destructor)
Set the destructor inside capsule to destructor.
int PyCapsule_SetName(PyObject *capsule, const char *name)
Set the name inside capsule to name. If non-NULL, the name must outlive the capsule. If the previous name
stored in the capsule was not NULL, no attempt is made to free it.
int PyCapsule_SetPointer(PyObject *capsule, void *pointer)
Set the void pointer inside capsule to pointer. The pointer may not be NULL.
7.5.11 CObjects
Warning: The CObject API is deprecated as of Python 2.7. Please switch to the new Capsules API.
PyCObject
This subtype of PyObject represents an opaque value, useful for C extension modules who need to pass
an opaque value (as a void* pointer) through Python code to other C code. It is often used to make a C
function pointer defined in one module available to other modules, so the regular import mechanism can be
used to access C APIs defined in dynamically loaded modules.
int PyCObject_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if its argument is a PyCObject.
PyObject* PyCObject_FromVoidPtr(void* cobj, void (*destr)(void *))
Return value: New reference. Create a PyCObject from the void * cobj. The destr function will be
called when the object is reclaimed, unless it is NULL.
PyObject* PyCObject_FromVoidPtrAndDesc(void* cobj, void* desc, void (*destr)(void *, void
*))
Return value: New reference. Create a PyCObject from the void * cobj. The destr function will be
called when the object is reclaimed. The desc argument can be used to pass extra callback data for the
destructor function.
void* PyCObject_AsVoidPtr(PyObject* self )
Return the object void * that the PyCObject self was created with.
void* PyCObject_GetDesc(PyObject* self )
Return the description void * that the PyCObject self was created with.
int PyCObject_SetVoidPtr(PyObject* self, void* cobj)
Set the void pointer inside self to cobj. The PyCObject must not have an associated destructor. Return
true on success, false on failure.

7.5.12 Cell Objects
“Cell” objects are used to implement variables referenced by multiple scopes. For each such variable, a cell object
is created to store the value; the local variables of each stack frame that references the value contains a reference
to the cells from outer scopes which also use that variable. When the value is accessed, the value contained in
the cell is used instead of the cell object itself. This de-referencing of the cell object requires support from the
generated byte-code; these are not automatically de-referenced when accessed. Cell objects are not likely to be
useful elsewhere.
PyCellObject
The C structure used for cell objects.
PyTypeObject PyCell_Type
The type object corresponding to cell objects.
int PyCell_Check(ob)
Return true if ob is a cell object; ob must not be NULL.
PyObject* PyCell_New(PyObject *ob)
Return value: New reference. Create and return a new cell object containing the value ob. The parameter
may be NULL.
PyObject* PyCell_Get(PyObject *cell)
Return value: New reference. Return the contents of the cell cell.
PyObject* PyCell_GET(PyObject *cell)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return the contents of the cell cell, but without checking that cell is
non-NULL and a cell object.
int PyCell_Set(PyObject *cell, PyObject *value)
Set the contents of the cell object cell to value. This releases the reference to any current content of the cell.
value may be NULL. cell must be non-NULL; if it is not a cell object, -1 will be returned. On success, 0
will be returned.
void PyCell_SET(PyObject *cell, PyObject *value)
Sets the value of the cell object cell to value. No reference counts are adjusted, and no checks are made for
safety; cell must be non-NULL and must be a cell object.
7.5.13 Generator Objects
Generator objects are what Python uses to implement generator iterators. They are normally created by iterating
over a function that yields values, rather than explicitly calling PyGen_New().
PyGenObject
The C structure used for generator objects.
PyTypeObject PyGen_Type
The type object corresponding to generator objects.
int PyGen_Check(ob)
Return true if ob is a generator object; ob must not be NULL.
int PyGen_CheckExact(ob)
Return true if ob‘s type is PyGen_Type is a generator object; ob must not be NULL.
PyObject* PyGen_New(PyFrameObject *frame)
Return value: New reference. Create and return a new generator object based on the frame object. A
reference to frame is stolen by this function. The parameter must not be NULL.
7.5.14 DateTime Objects
Various date and time objects are supplied by the datetime module. Before using any of these functions, the
header file datetime.h must be included in your source (note that this is not included by Python.h), and the

macro PyDateTime_IMPORT must be invoked, usually as part of the module initialisation function. The macro
puts a pointer to a C structure into a static variable, PyDateTimeAPI, that is used by the following macros.
Type-check macros:
int PyDate_Check(PyObject *ob)
Return true if ob is of type PyDateTime_DateType or a subtype of PyDateTime_DateType. ob
must not be NULL.
New in version 2.4.
int PyDate_CheckExact(PyObject *ob)
Return true if ob is of type PyDateTime_DateType. ob must not be NULL.
New in version 2.4.
int PyDateTime_Check(PyObject *ob)
Return true if ob is of type PyDateTime_DateTimeType or a subtype of
PyDateTime_DateTimeType. ob must not be NULL.
New in version 2.4.
int PyDateTime_CheckExact(PyObject *ob)
Return true if ob is of type PyDateTime_DateTimeType. ob must not be NULL.
New in version 2.4.
int PyTime_Check(PyObject *ob)
Return true if ob is of type PyDateTime_TimeType or a subtype of PyDateTime_TimeType. ob
must not be NULL.
New in version 2.4.
int PyTime_CheckExact(PyObject *ob)
Return true if ob is of type PyDateTime_TimeType. ob must not be NULL.
New in version 2.4.
int PyDelta_Check(PyObject *ob)
Return true if ob is of type PyDateTime_DeltaType or a subtype of PyDateTime_DeltaType. ob
must not be NULL.
New in version 2.4.
int PyDelta_CheckExact(PyObject *ob)
Return true if ob is of type PyDateTime_DeltaType. ob must not be NULL.
New in version 2.4.
int PyTZInfo_Check(PyObject *ob)
Return true if ob is of type PyDateTime_TZInfoType or a subtype of PyDateTime_TZInfoType.
ob must not be NULL.
New in version 2.4.
int PyTZInfo_CheckExact(PyObject *ob)
Return true if ob is of type PyDateTime_TZInfoType. ob must not be NULL.
New in version 2.4.
Macros to create objects:
PyObject* PyDate_FromDate(int year, int month, int day)
Return value: New reference. Return a datetime.date object with the specified year, month and day.
New in version 2.4.
PyObject* PyDateTime_FromDateAndTime(int year, int month, int day, int hour, int minute, int sec-
ond, int usecond)
Return value: New reference. Return a datetime.datetime object with the specified year, month, day,
hour, minute, second and microsecond.

New in version 2.4.

PyObject* PyTime_FromTime(int hour, int minute, int second, int usecond)
Return value: New reference. Return a datetime.time object with the specified hour, minute, second
and microsecond.
New in version 2.4.
PyObject* PyDelta_FromDSU(int days, int seconds, int useconds)
Return value: New reference. Return a datetime.timedelta object representing the given number of
days, seconds and microseconds. Normalization is performed so that the resulting number of microseconds
and seconds lie in the ranges documented for datetime.timedelta objects.
New in version 2.4.
Macros to extract fields from date objects. The argument must be an instance of PyDateTime_Date, including
subclasses (such as PyDateTime_DateTime). The argument must not be NULL, and the type is not checked:
int PyDateTime_GET_YEAR(PyDateTime_Date *o)
Return the year, as a positive int.
New in version 2.4.
int PyDateTime_GET_MONTH(PyDateTime_Date *o)
Return the month, as an int from 1 through 12.
New in version 2.4.
int PyDateTime_GET_DAY(PyDateTime_Date *o)
Return the day, as an int from 1 through 31.
New in version 2.4.
Macros to extract fields from datetime objects. The argument must be an instance of PyDateTime_DateTime,
including subclasses. The argument must not be NULL, and the type is not checked:
int PyDateTime_DATE_GET_HOUR(PyDateTime_DateTime *o)
Return the hour, as an int from 0 through 23.
New in version 2.4.
int PyDateTime_DATE_GET_MINUTE(PyDateTime_DateTime *o)
Return the minute, as an int from 0 through 59.
New in version 2.4.
int PyDateTime_DATE_GET_SECOND(PyDateTime_DateTime *o)
Return the second, as an int from 0 through 59.
New in version 2.4.
int PyDateTime_DATE_GET_MICROSECOND(PyDateTime_DateTime *o)
Return the microsecond, as an int from 0 through 999999.
New in version 2.4.
Macros to extract fields from time objects. The argument must be an instance of PyDateTime_Time, including
subclasses. The argument must not be NULL, and the type is not checked:
int PyDateTime_TIME_GET_HOUR(PyDateTime_Time *o)
Return the hour, as an int from 0 through 23.
New in version 2.4.
int PyDateTime_TIME_GET_MINUTE(PyDateTime_Time *o)
Return the minute, as an int from 0 through 59.
New in version 2.4.

int PyDateTime_TIME_GET_SECOND(PyDateTime_Time *o)

Return the second, as an int from 0 through 59.
New in version 2.4.
int PyDateTime_TIME_GET_MICROSECOND(PyDateTime_Time *o)
Return the microsecond, as an int from 0 through 999999.
New in version 2.4.
Macros for the convenience of modules implementing the DB API:
PyObject* PyDateTime_FromTimestamp(PyObject *args)
Return value: New reference. Create and return a new datetime.datetime object given an argument
tuple suitable for passing to datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp().
New in version 2.4.
PyObject* PyDate_FromTimestamp(PyObject *args)
Return value: New reference. Create and return a new datetime.date object given an argument tuple
suitable for passing to datetime.date.fromtimestamp().
New in version 2.4.
7.5.15 Set Objects
New in version 2.5.

This section details the public API for set and frozenset objects. Any functional-
ity not listed below is best accessed using the either the abstract object protocol (includ-
ing PyObject_CallMethod(), PyObject_RichCompareBool(), PyObject_Hash(),
PyObject_Repr(), PyObject_IsTrue(), PyObject_Print(), and PyObject_GetIter()) or
the abstract number protocol (including PyNumber_And(), PyNumber_Subtract(), PyNumber_Or(),
PyNumber_Xor(), PyNumber_InPlaceAnd(), PyNumber_InPlaceSubtract(),
PyNumber_InPlaceOr(), and PyNumber_InPlaceXor()).
PySetObject
This subtype of PyObject is used to hold the internal data for both set and frozenset objects. It is
like a PyDictObject in that it is a fixed size for small sets (much like tuple storage) and will point to a
separate, variable sized block of memory for medium and large sized sets (much like list storage). None of
the fields of this structure should be considered public and are subject to change. All access should be done
through the documented API rather than by manipulating the values in the structure.
PyTypeObject PySet_Type
This is an instance of PyTypeObject representing the Python set type.
PyTypeObject PyFrozenSet_Type
This is an instance of PyTypeObject representing the Python frozenset type.
The following type check macros work on pointers to any Python object. Likewise, the constructor functions work
with any iterable Python object.
int PySet_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if p is a set object or an instance of a subtype.
New in version 2.6.
int PyFrozenSet_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if p is a frozenset object or an instance of a subtype.
New in version 2.6.
int PyAnySet_Check(PyObject *p)
Return true if p is a set object, a frozenset object, or an instance of a subtype.
int PyAnySet_CheckExact(PyObject *p)
Return true if p is a set object or a frozenset object but not an instance of a subtype.

int PyFrozenSet_CheckExact(PyObject *p)

Return true if p is a frozenset object but not an instance of a subtype.
PyObject* PySet_New(PyObject *iterable)
Return value: New reference. Return a new set containing objects returned by the iterable. The it-
erable may be NULL to create a new empty set. Return the new set on success or NULL on failure.
Raise TypeError if iterable is not actually iterable. The constructor is also useful for copying a set
(c=set(s)).
PyObject* PyFrozenSet_New(PyObject *iterable)
Return value: New reference. Return a new frozenset containing objects returned by the iterable. The
iterable may be NULL to create a new empty frozenset. Return the new set on success or NULL on failure.
Raise TypeError if iterable is not actually iterable.
Changed in version 2.6: Now guaranteed to return a brand-new frozenset. Formerly, frozensets of
zero-length were a singleton. This got in the way of building-up new frozensets with PySet_Add().
The following functions and macros are available for instances of set or frozenset or instances of their
subtypes.
Py_ssize_t PySet_Size(PyObject *anyset)
Return the length of a set or frozenset object. Equivalent to len(anyset). Raises a
PyExc_SystemError if anyset is not a set, frozenset, or an instance of a subtype.
Changed in version 2.5: This function returned an int. This might require changes in your code for
Py_ssize_t PySet_GET_SIZE(PyObject *anyset)
Macro form of PySet_Size() without error checking.
int PySet_Contains(PyObject *anyset, PyObject *key)
Return 1 if found, 0 if not found, and -1 if an error is encountered. Unlike the Python __contains__()
method, this function does not automatically convert unhashable sets into temporary frozensets. Raise a
TypeError if the key is unhashable. Raise PyExc_SystemError if anyset is not a set, frozenset,
or an instance of a subtype.
int PySet_Add(PyObject *set, PyObject *key)
Add key to a set instance. Does not apply to frozenset instances. Return 0 on success or -1 on failure.
Raise a TypeError if the key is unhashable. Raise a MemoryError if there is no room to grow. Raise a
SystemError if set is an not an instance of set or its subtype.
Changed in version 2.6: Now works with instances of frozenset or its subtypes. Like
PyTuple_SetItem() in that it can be used to fill-in the values of brand new frozensets before they
are exposed to other code.
The following functions are available for instances of set or its subtypes but not for instances of frozenset or
its subtypes.
int PySet_Discard(PyObject *set, PyObject *key)
Return 1 if found and removed, 0 if not found (no action taken), and -1 if an error is encountered.
Does not raise KeyError for missing keys. Raise a TypeError if the key is unhashable. Unlike the
Python discard() method, this function does not automatically convert unhashable sets into temporary
frozensets. Raise PyExc_SystemError if set is an not an instance of set or its subtype.
PyObject* PySet_Pop(PyObject *set)
Return value: New reference. Return a new reference to an arbitrary object in the set, and removes the
object from the set. Return NULL on failure. Raise KeyError if the set is empty. Raise a SystemError
if set is an not an instance of set or its subtype.
int PySet_Clear(PyObject *set)
Empty an existing set of all elements.

7.5.16 Code Objects
Code objects are a low-level detail of the CPython implementation. Each one represents a chunk of executable
code that hasn’t yet been bound into a function.
PyCodeObject
The C structure of the objects used to describe code objects. The fields of this type are subject to change at
any time.
PyTypeObject PyCode_Type
This is an instance of PyTypeObject representing the Python code type.
int PyCode_Check(PyObject *co)
Return true if co is a code object.
int PyCode_GetNumFree(PyObject *co)
Return the number of free variables in co.
PyCodeObject *PyCode_New(int argcount, int nlocals, int stacksize, int flags, PyObject *code, PyOb-
ject *consts, PyObject *names, PyObject *varnames, PyObject *freevars,
PyObject *cellvars, PyObject *filename, PyObject *name, int firstlineno,
PyObject *lnotab)
Return a new code object. If you need a dummy code object to create a frame, use PyCode_NewEmpty()
instead. Calling PyCode_New() directly can bind you to a precise Python version since the definition of
the bytecode changes often.
int PyCode_NewEmpty(const char *filename, const char *funcname, int firstlineno)
Return a new empty code object with the specified filename, function name, and first line number. It is
illegal to exec or eval() the resulting code object.


CHAPTER
EIGHT
INITIALIZATION, FINALIZATION, AND THREADS
8.1 Initializing and finalizing the interpreter
void Py_Initialize()
Initialize the Python interpreter. In an application embedding Python, this should be called be-
fore using any other Python/C API functions; with the exception of Py_SetProgramName(),
Py_SetPythonHome(), PyEval_InitThreads(), PyEval_ReleaseLock(), and
PyEval_AcquireLock(). This initializes the table of loaded modules (sys.modules), and
creates the fundamental modules __builtin__, __main__ and sys. It also initializes the module
search path (sys.path). It does not set sys.argv; use PySys_SetArgvEx() for that. This is a
no-op when called for a second time (without calling Py_Finalize() first). There is no return value; it
is a fatal error if the initialization fails.
void Py_InitializeEx(int initsigs)
This function works like Py_Initialize() if initsigs is 1. If initsigs is 0, it skips initialization registra-
tion of signal handlers, which might be useful when Python is embedded.
New in version 2.4.
int Py_IsInitialized()
Return true (nonzero) when the Python interpreter has been initialized, false (zero) if not. After
Py_Finalize() is called, this returns false until Py_Initialize() is called again.
void Py_Finalize()
Undo all initializations made by Py_Initialize() and subsequent use of Python/C API functions, and
destroy all sub-interpreters (see Py_NewInterpreter() below) that were created and not yet destroyed
since the last call to Py_Initialize(). Ideally, this frees all memory allocated by the Python inter-
preter. This is a no-op when called for a second time (without calling Py_Initialize() again first).
There is no return value; errors during finalization are ignored.
This function is provided for a number of reasons. An embedding application might want to restart Python
without having to restart the application itself. An application that has loaded the Python interpreter from a
dynamically loadable library (or DLL) might want to free all memory allocated by Python before unloading
the DLL. During a hunt for memory leaks in an application a developer might want to free all memory
allocated by Python before exiting from the application.
Bugs and caveats: The destruction of modules and objects in modules is done in random order; this may
cause destructors (__del__() methods) to fail when they depend on other objects (even functions) or
modules. Dynamically loaded extension modules loaded by Python are not unloaded. Small amounts of
memory allocated by the Python interpreter may not be freed (if you find a leak, please report it). Memory
tied up in circular references between objects is not freed. Some memory allocated by extension modules
may not be freed. Some extensions may not work properly if their initialization routine is called more than
once; this can happen if an application calls Py_Initialize() and Py_Finalize() more than once.
105
8.2 Process-wide parameters
void Py_SetProgramName(char *name)

This function should be called before Py_Initialize() is called for the first time, if it is called at all.
It tells the interpreter the value of the argv[0] argument to the main() function of the program. This is
used by Py_GetPath() and some other functions below to find the Python run-time libraries relative to
the interpreter executable. The default value is ’python’. The argument should point to a zero-terminated
character string in static storage whose contents will not change for the duration of the program’s execution.
No code in the Python interpreter will change the contents of this storage.
char* Py_GetProgramName()
Return the program name set with Py_SetProgramName(), or the default. The returned string points
into static storage; the caller should not modify its value.
char* Py_GetPrefix()
Return the prefix for installed platform-independent files. This is derived through a number of complicated
rules from the program name set with Py_SetProgramName() and some environment variables; for
example, if the program name is ’/usr/local/bin/python’, the prefix is ’/usr/local’. The
returned string points into static storage; the caller should not modify its value. This corresponds to the
prefix variable in the top-level Makefile and the --prefix argument to the configure script at
build time. The value is available to Python code as sys.prefix. It is only useful on Unix. See also the
next function.
char* Py_GetExecPrefix()
Return the exec-prefix for installed platform-dependent files. This is derived through a number of
complicated rules from the program name set with Py_SetProgramName() and some environ-
ment variables; for example, if the program name is ’/usr/local/bin/python’, the exec-
prefix is ’/usr/local’. The returned string points into static storage; the caller should not mod-
ify its value. This corresponds to the exec_prefix variable in the top-level Makefile and the
--exec-prefix argument to the configure script at build time. The value is available to Python
code as sys.exec_prefix. It is only useful on Unix.
Background: The exec-prefix differs from the prefix when platform dependent files (such as executables
and shared libraries) are installed in a different directory tree. In a typical installation, platform dependent
files may be installed in the /usr/local/plat subtree while platform independent may be installed in
/usr/local.
Generally speaking, a platform is a combination of hardware and software families, e.g. Sparc machines
running the Solaris 2.x operating system are considered the same platform, but Intel machines running
Solaris 2.x are another platform, and Intel machines running Linux are yet another platform. Different
major revisions of the same operating system generally also form different platforms. Non-Unix operating
systems are a different story; the installation strategies on those systems are so different that the prefix and
exec-prefix are meaningless, and set to the empty string. Note that compiled Python bytecode files are
platform independent (but not independent from the Python version by which they were compiled!).
System administrators will know how to configure the mount or automount programs to share
/usr/local between platforms while having /usr/local/plat be a different filesystem for each
platform.
char* Py_GetProgramFullPath()
Return the full program name of the Python executable; this is computed as a side-effect of deriving
the default module search path from the program name (set by Py_SetProgramName() above). The
returned string points into static storage; the caller should not modify its value. The value is available to
Python code as sys.executable.
char* Py_GetPath()
Return the default module search path; this is computed from the program name (set by
Py_SetProgramName() above) and some environment variables. The returned string consists of a
series of directory names separated by a platform dependent delimiter character. The delimiter character is
’:’ on Unix and Mac OS X, ’;’ on Windows. The returned string points into static storage; the caller
should not modify its value. The list sys.path is initialized with this value on interpreter startup; it can
106 Chapter 8. Initialization, Finalization, and Threads

be (and usually is) modified later to change the search path for loading modules.
const char* Py_GetVersion()
Return the version of this Python interpreter. This is a string that looks something like
"1.5 (#67, Dec 31 1997, 22:34:28) [GCC 2.7.2.2]"
The first word (up to the first space character) is the current Python version; the first three characters are
the major and minor version separated by a period. The returned string points into static storage; the caller
should not modify its value. The value is available to Python code as sys.version.
const char* Py_GetPlatform()
Return the platform identifier for the current platform. On Unix, this is formed from the “official” name of
the operating system, converted to lower case, followed by the major revision number; e.g., for Solaris 2.x,
which is also known as SunOS 5.x, the value is ’sunos5’. On Mac OS X, it is ’darwin’. On Windows,
it is ’win’. The returned string points into static storage; the caller should not modify its value. The value
is available to Python code as sys.platform.
const char* Py_GetCopyright()
Return the official copyright string for the current Python version, for example
’Copyright 1991-1995 Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam’
The returned string points into static storage; the caller should not modify its value. The value is available
to Python code as sys.copyright.
const char* Py_GetCompiler()
Return an indication of the compiler used to build the current Python version, in square brackets, for exam-
ple:
"[GCC 2.7.2.2]"
to Python code as part of the variable sys.version.
const char* Py_GetBuildInfo()
Return information about the sequence number and build date and time of the current Python interpreter
instance, for example
"#67, Aug 1 1997, 22:34:28"
to Python code as part of the variable sys.version.
void PySys_SetArgvEx(int argc, char **argv, int updatepath)
Set sys.argv based on argc and argv. These parameters are similar to those passed to the program’s
main() function with the difference that the first entry should refer to the script file to be executed rather
than the executable hosting the Python interpreter. If there isn’t a script that will be run, the first entry in
argv can be an empty string. If this function fails to initialize sys.argv, a fatal condition is signalled
using Py_FatalError().
If updatepath is zero, this is all the function does. If updatepath is non-zero, the function also modifies
sys.path according to the following algorithm:
•If the name of an existing script is passed in argv[0], the absolute path of the directory where the
script is located is prepended to sys.path.
•Otherwise (that is, if argc is 0 or argv[0] doesn’t point to an existing file name), an empty string is
prepended to sys.path, which is the same as prepending the current working directory (".").
Note: It is recommended that applications embedding the Python interpreter for purposes other than
executing a single script pass 0 as updatepath, and update sys.path themselves if desired. See CVE-
2008-5983.
8.2. Process-wide parameters 107

On versions before 2.6.6, you can achieve the same effect by manually popping the first sys.path element
after having called PySys_SetArgv(), for example using:
PyRun_SimpleString("import sys; sys.path.pop(0)\n");

void PySys_SetArgv(int argc, char **argv)
This function works like PySys_SetArgvEx() with updatepath set to 1.
void Py_SetPythonHome(char *home)
Set the default “home” directory, that is, the location of the standard Python libraries. See PYTHONHOME
for the meaning of the argument string.
The argument should point to a zero-terminated character string in static storage whose contents will not
change for the duration of the program’s execution. No code in the Python interpreter will change the
contents of this storage.
char* Py_GetPythonHome()
Return the default “home”, that is, the value set by a previous call to Py_SetPythonHome(), or the
value of the PYTHONHOME environment variable if it is set.
8.3 Thread State and the Global Interpreter Lock
The Python interpreter is not fully thread-safe. In order to support multi-threaded Python programs, there’s a
global lock, called the global interpreter lock or GIL, that must be held by the current thread before it can safely
access Python objects. Without the lock, even the simplest operations could cause problems in a multi-threaded
program: for example, when two threads simultaneously increment the reference count of the same object, the
reference count could end up being incremented only once instead of twice.
Therefore, the rule exists that only the thread that has acquired the GIL may operate on Python objects or call
Python/C API functions. In order to emulate concurrency of execution, the interpreter regularly tries to switch
threads (see sys.setcheckinterval()). The lock is also released around potentially blocking I/O opera-
tions like reading or writing a file, so that other Python threads can run in the meantime.
The Python interpreter keeps some thread-specific bookkeeping information inside a data structure called
PyThreadState. There’s also one global variable pointing to the current PyThreadState: it can be re-
trieved using PyThreadState_Get().
8.3.1 Releasing the GIL from extension code
Most extension code manipulating the GIL has the following simple structure:
Save the thread state in a local variable.
Release the global interpreter lock.
... Do some blocking I/O operation ...
Reacquire the global interpreter lock.
Restore the thread state from the local variable.
This is so common that a pair of macros exists to simplify it:
... Do some blocking I/O operation ...
The Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS macro opens a new block and declares a hidden local variable; the
Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS macro closes the block. These two macros are still available when Python is com-
piled without thread support (they simply have an empty expansion).
When thread support is enabled, the block above expands to the following code:

PyThreadState *_save;
_save = PyEval_SaveThread();
...Do some blocking I/O operation...
PyEval_RestoreThread(_save);
Here is how these functions work: the global interpreter lock is used to protect the pointer to the current thread
state. When releasing the lock and saving the thread state, the current thread state pointer must be retrieved before
the lock is released (since another thread could immediately acquire the lock and store its own thread state in the
global variable). Conversely, when acquiring the lock and restoring the thread state, the lock must be acquired
before storing the thread state pointer.
Note: Calling system I/O functions is the most common use case for releasing the GIL, but it can also be useful
before calling long-running computations which don’t need access to Python objects, such as compression or
cryptographic functions operating over memory buffers. For example, the standard zlib and hashlib modules
release the GIL when compressing or hashing data.
8.3.2 Non-Python created threads
When threads are created using the dedicated Python APIs (such as the threading module), a thread state is
automatically associated to them and the code showed above is therefore correct. However, when threads are
created from C (for example by a third-party library with its own thread management), they don’t hold the GIL,
nor is there a thread state structure for them.
If you need to call Python code from these threads (often this will be part of a callback API provided by the
aforementioned third-party library), you must first register these threads with the interpreter by creating a thread
state data structure, then acquiring the GIL, and finally storing their thread state pointer, before you can start using
the Python/C API. When you are done, you should reset the thread state pointer, release the GIL, and finally free
the thread state data structure.
The PyGILState_Ensure() and PyGILState_Release() functions do all of the above automatically.
The typical idiom for calling into Python from a C thread is:
PyGILState_STATE gstate;
gstate = PyGILState_Ensure();
/* Perform Python actions here. */

result = CallSomeFunction();
/* evaluate result or handle exception */
/* Release the thread. No Python API allowed beyond this point. */

PyGILState_Release(gstate);
Note that the PyGILState_*() functions assume there is only one global interpreter (created au-
tomatically by Py_Initialize()). Python supports the creation of additional interpreters (using
Py_NewInterpreter()), but mixing multiple interpreters and the PyGILState_*() API is unsupported.
Another important thing to note about threads is their behaviour in the face of the C fork() call. On most
systems with fork(), after a process forks only the thread that issued the fork will exist. That also means any
locks held by other threads will never be released. Python solves this for os.fork() by acquiring the locks it
uses internally before the fork, and releasing them afterwards. In addition, it resets any lock-objects in the child.
When extending or embedding Python, there is no way to inform Python of additional (non-Python) locks that
need to be acquired before or reset after a fork. OS facilities such as pthread_atfork() would need to be
used to accomplish the same thing. Additionally, when extending or embedding Python, calling fork() directly
rather than through os.fork() (and returning to or calling into Python) may result in a deadlock by one of
Python’s internal locks being held by a thread that is defunct after the fork. PyOS_AfterFork() tries to reset
the necessary locks, but is not always able to.
8.3. Thread State and the Global Interpreter Lock 109

8.3.3 High-level API
These are the most commonly used types and functions when writing C extension code, or when embedding the
Python interpreter:
PyInterpreterState
This data structure represents the state shared by a number of cooperating threads. Threads belonging to
the same interpreter share their module administration and a few other internal items. There are no public
members in this structure.
Threads belonging to different interpreters initially share nothing, except process state like available mem-
ory, open file descriptors and such. The global interpreter lock is also shared by all threads, regardless of to
which interpreter they belong.
PyThreadState
This data structure represents the state of a single thread. The only public data member is
PyInterpreterState *interp, which points to this thread’s interpreter state.
void PyEval_InitThreads()
Initialize and acquire the global interpreter lock. It should be called in the main thread before creat-
ing a second thread or engaging in any other thread operations such as PyEval_ReleaseLock() or
PyEval_ReleaseThread(tstate). It is not needed before calling PyEval_SaveThread() or
PyEval_RestoreThread().
This is a no-op when called for a second time. It is safe to call this function before calling
Py_Initialize().
Note: When only the main thread exists, no GIL operations are needed. This is a common situation (most
Python programs do not use threads), and the lock operations slow the interpreter down a bit. Therefore,
the lock is not created initially. This situation is equivalent to having acquired the lock: when there is only
a single thread, all object accesses are safe. Therefore, when this function initializes the global interpreter
lock, it also acquires it. Before the Python _thread module creates a new thread, knowing that either
it has the lock or the lock hasn’t been created yet, it calls PyEval_InitThreads(). When this call
returns, it is guaranteed that the lock has been created and that the calling thread has acquired it.
It is not safe to call this function when it is unknown which thread (if any) currently has the global interpreter
lock.
This function is not available when thread support is disabled at compile time.
int PyEval_ThreadsInitialized()
Returns a non-zero value if PyEval_InitThreads() has been called. This function can be called
without holding the GIL, and therefore can be used to avoid calls to the locking API when running single-
threaded. This function is not available when thread support is disabled at compile time.
New in version 2.4.
PyThreadState* PyEval_SaveThread()
Release the global interpreter lock (if it has been created and thread support is enabled) and reset the thread
state to NULL, returning the previous thread state (which is not NULL). If the lock has been created, the
current thread must have acquired it. (This function is available even when thread support is disabled at
compile time.)
void PyEval_RestoreThread(PyThreadState *tstate)
Acquire the global interpreter lock (if it has been created and thread support is enabled) and set the thread
state to tstate, which must not be NULL. If the lock has been created, the current thread must not have
acquired it, otherwise deadlock ensues. (This function is available even when thread support is disabled at
compile time.)
PyThreadState* PyThreadState_Get()
Return the current thread state. The global interpreter lock must be held. When the current thread state is
NULL, this issues a fatal error (so that the caller needn’t check for NULL).

PyThreadState* PyThreadState_Swap(PyThreadState *tstate)

Swap the current thread state with the thread state given by the argument tstate, which may be NULL. The
global interpreter lock must be held and is not released.
void PyEval_ReInitThreads()
This function is called from PyOS_AfterFork() to ensure that newly created child processes don’t hold
locks referring to threads which are not running in the child process.
The following functions use thread-local storage, and are not compatible with sub-interpreters:
PyGILState_STATE PyGILState_Ensure()
Ensure that the current thread is ready to call the Python C API regardless of the current state of Python,
or of the global interpreter lock. This may be called as many times as desired by a thread as long as
each call is matched with a call to PyGILState_Release(). In general, other thread-related APIs
may be used between PyGILState_Ensure() and PyGILState_Release() calls as long as the
thread state is restored to its previous state before the Release(). For example, normal usage of the
Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS and Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS macros is acceptable.
The return value is an opaque “handle” to the thread state when PyGILState_Ensure() was called,
and must be passed to PyGILState_Release() to ensure Python is left in the same state. Even though
recursive calls are allowed, these handles cannot be shared - each unique call to PyGILState_Ensure()
must save the handle for its call to PyGILState_Release().
When the function returns, the current thread will hold the GIL and be able to call arbitrary Python code.
Failure is a fatal error.
New in version 2.3.
void PyGILState_Release(PyGILState_STATE)
Release any resources previously acquired. After this call, Python’s state will be the same as it was prior to
the corresponding PyGILState_Ensure() call (but generally this state will be unknown to the caller,
hence the use of the GILState API).
Every call to PyGILState_Ensure() must be matched by a call to PyGILState_Release() on
the same thread.
New in version 2.3.
PyThreadState* PyGILState_GetThisThreadState()
Get the current thread state for this thread. May return NULL if no GILState API has been used on the
current thread. Note that the main thread always has such a thread-state, even if no auto-thread-state call
has been made on the main thread. This is mainly a helper/diagnostic function.
New in version 2.3.
The following macros are normally used without a trailing semicolon; look for example usage in the Python source
distribution.
This macro expands to { PyThreadState *_save; _save = PyEval_SaveThread();. Note
that it contains an opening brace; it must be matched with a following Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS macro.
See above for further discussion of this macro. It is a no-op when thread support is disabled at compile time.
This macro expands to PyEval_RestoreThread(_save); }. Note that it contains a closing brace;
it must be matched with an earlier Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS macro. See above for further discussion
of this macro. It is a no-op when thread support is disabled at compile time.
Py_BLOCK_THREADS
This macro expands to PyEval_RestoreThread(_save);: it is equivalent to
Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS without the closing brace. It is a no-op when thread support is disabled at
compile time.
Py_UNBLOCK_THREADS
This macro expands to _save = PyEval_SaveThread();: it is equivalent to
8.3. Thread State and the Global Interpreter Lock 111

Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS without the opening brace and variable declaration. It is a no-op

when thread support is disabled at compile time.
8.3.4 Low-level API
All of the following functions are only available when thread support is enabled at compile time, and must be
called only when the global interpreter lock has been created.
PyInterpreterState* PyInterpreterState_New()
Create a new interpreter state object. The global interpreter lock need not be held, but may be held if it is
necessary to serialize calls to this function.
void PyInterpreterState_Clear(PyInterpreterState *interp)
Reset all information in an interpreter state object. The global interpreter lock must be held.
void PyInterpreterState_Delete(PyInterpreterState *interp)
Destroy an interpreter state object. The global interpreter lock need not be held. The interpreter state must
have been reset with a previous call to PyInterpreterState_Clear().
PyThreadState* PyThreadState_New(PyInterpreterState *interp)
Create a new thread state object belonging to the given interpreter object. The global interpreter lock need
not be held, but may be held if it is necessary to serialize calls to this function.
void PyThreadState_Clear(PyThreadState *tstate)
Reset all information in a thread state object. The global interpreter lock must be held.
void PyThreadState_Delete(PyThreadState *tstate)
Destroy a thread state object. The global interpreter lock need not be held. The thread state must have been
reset with a previous call to PyThreadState_Clear().
PyObject* PyThreadState_GetDict()
Return value: Borrowed reference. Return a dictionary in which extensions can store thread-specific state
information. Each extension should use a unique key to use to store state in the dictionary. It is okay to call
this function when no current thread state is available. If this function returns NULL, no exception has been
raised and the caller should assume no current thread state is available.
Changed in version 2.3: Previously this could only be called when a current thread is active, and NULL
meant that an exception was raised.
int PyThreadState_SetAsyncExc(long id, PyObject *exc)
Asynchronously raise an exception in a thread. The id argument is the thread id of the target thread; exc
is the exception object to be raised. This function does not steal any references to exc. To prevent naive
misuse, you must write your own C extension to call this. Must be called with the GIL held. Returns the
number of thread states modified; this is normally one, but will be zero if the thread id isn’t found. If exc is
NULL, the pending exception (if any) for the thread is cleared. This raises no exceptions.
New in version 2.3.
void PyEval_AcquireThread(PyThreadState *tstate)
Acquire the global interpreter lock and set the current thread state to tstate, which should not be NULL. The
lock must have been created earlier. If this thread already has the lock, deadlock ensues.
PyEval_RestoreThread() is a higher-level function which is always available (even when thread
support isn’t enabled or when threads have not been initialized).
void PyEval_ReleaseThread(PyThreadState *tstate)
Reset the current thread state to NULL and release the global interpreter lock. The lock must have been
created earlier and must be held by the current thread. The tstate argument, which must not be NULL, is
only used to check that it represents the current thread state — if it isn’t, a fatal error is reported.
PyEval_SaveThread() is a higher-level function which is always available (even when thread support
isn’t enabled or when threads have not been initialized).

void PyEval_AcquireLock()
Acquire the global interpreter lock. The lock must have been created earlier. If this thread already has the
lock, a deadlock ensues.
Warning: This function does not change the current thread state. Please use
PyEval_RestoreThread() or PyEval_AcquireThread() instead.
void PyEval_ReleaseLock()
Release the global interpreter lock. The lock must have been created earlier.
Warning: This function does not change the current thread state. Please use
PyEval_SaveThread() or PyEval_ReleaseThread() instead.
8.4 Sub-interpreter support
While in most uses, you will only embed a single Python interpreter, there are cases where you need to create
several independent interpreters in the same process and perhaps even in the same thread. Sub-interpreters allow
you to do that. You can switch between sub-interpreters using the PyThreadState_Swap() function. You
can create and destroy them using the following functions:
PyThreadState* Py_NewInterpreter()
Create a new sub-interpreter. This is an (almost) totally separate environment for the execution of
Python code. In particular, the new interpreter has separate, independent versions of all imported mod-
ules, including the fundamental modules builtins, __main__ and sys. The table of loaded modules
(sys.modules) and the module search path (sys.path) are also separate. The new environment has
no sys.argv variable. It has new standard I/O stream file objects sys.stdin, sys.stdout and
sys.stderr (however these refer to the same underlying file descriptors).
The return value points to the first thread state created in the new sub-interpreter. This thread state is made
in the current thread state. Note that no actual thread is created; see the discussion of thread states below.
If creation of the new interpreter is unsuccessful, NULL is returned; no exception is set since the exception
state is stored in the current thread state and there may not be a current thread state. (Like all other Python/C
API functions, the global interpreter lock must be held before calling this function and is still held when
it returns; however, unlike most other Python/C API functions, there needn’t be a current thread state on
entry.)
Extension modules are shared between (sub-)interpreters as follows: the first time a particular extension
is imported, it is initialized normally, and a (shallow) copy of its module’s dictionary is squirreled away.
When the same extension is imported by another (sub-)interpreter, a new module is initialized and filled
with the contents of this copy; the extension’s init function is not called. Note that this is different from
what happens when an extension is imported after the interpreter has been completely re-initialized by
calling Py_Finalize() and Py_Initialize(); in that case, the extension’s initmodule function
is called again.
void Py_EndInterpreter(PyThreadState *tstate)
Destroy the (sub-)interpreter represented by the given thread state. The given thread state must be the
current thread state. See the discussion of thread states below. When the call returns, the current thread
state is NULL. All thread states associated with this interpreter are destroyed. (The global interpreter lock
must be held before calling this function and is still held when it returns.) Py_Finalize() will destroy
all sub-interpreters that haven’t been explicitly destroyed at that point.
8.4.1 Bugs and caveats
Because sub-interpreters (and the main interpreter) are part of the same process, the insulation between them
isn’t perfect — for example, using low-level file operations like os.close() they can (accidentally or mali-
ciously) affect each other’s open files. Because of the way extensions are shared between (sub-)interpreters, some
8.4. Sub-interpreter support 113

extensions may not work properly; this is especially likely when the extension makes use of (static) global vari-
ables, or when the extension manipulates its module’s dictionary after its initialization. It is possible to insert
objects created in one sub-interpreter into a namespace of another sub-interpreter; this should be done with great
care to avoid sharing user-defined functions, methods, instances or classes between sub-interpreters, since import
operations executed by such objects may affect the wrong (sub-)interpreter’s dictionary of loaded modules.
Also note that combining this functionality with PyGILState_*() APIs is delicate, because these APIs as-
sume a bijection between Python thread states and OS-level threads, an assumption broken by the presence of
sub-interpreters. It is highly recommended that you don’t switch sub-interpreters between a pair of matching
PyGILState_Ensure() and PyGILState_Release() calls. Furthermore, extensions (such as ctypes)
using these APIs to allow calling of Python code from non-Python created threads will probably be broken when
using sub-interpreters.
8.5 Asynchronous Notifications
A mechanism is provided to make asynchronous notifications to the main interpreter thread. These notifications
take the form of a function pointer and a void pointer argument.
int Py_AddPendingCall(int (*func)(void *), void *arg)
Schedule a function to be called from the main interpreter thread. On success, 0 is returned and func is
queued for being called in the main thread. On failure, -1 is returned without setting any exception.
When successfully queued, func will be eventually called from the main interpreter thread with the argument
arg. It will be called asynchronously with respect to normally running Python code, but with both these
conditions met:
•on a bytecode boundary;
•with the main thread holding the global interpreter lock (func can therefore use the full C API).
func must return 0 on success, or -1 on failure with an exception set. func won’t be interrupted to perform
another asynchronous notification recursively, but it can still be interrupted to switch threads if the global
interpreter lock is released.
This function doesn’t need a current thread state to run, and it doesn’t need the global interpreter lock.
Warning: This is a low-level function, only useful for very special cases. There is no guarantee that
func will be called as quick as possible. If the main thread is busy executing a system call, func won’t
be called before the system call returns. This function is generally not suitable for calling Python code
from arbitrary C threads. Instead, use the PyGILState API.
New in version 2.7.
8.6 Profiling and Tracing
The Python interpreter provides some low-level support for attaching profiling and execution tracing facilities.
These are used for profiling, debugging, and coverage analysis tools.
Starting with Python 2.2, the implementation of this facility was substantially revised, and an interface from C was
added. This C interface allows the profiling or tracing code to avoid the overhead of calling through Python-level
callable objects, making a direct C function call instead. The essential attributes of the facility have not changed;
the interface allows trace functions to be installed per-thread, and the basic events reported to the trace function
are the same as had been reported to the Python-level trace functions in previous versions.
int (*Py_tracefunc)(PyObject *obj, PyFrameObject *frame, int what, PyObject *arg)
The type of the trace function registered using PyEval_SetProfile() and PyEval_SetTrace().
The first parameter is the object passed to the registration function as obj, frame is the frame object to
which the event pertains, what is one of the constants PyTrace_CALL, PyTrace_EXCEPTION,

PyTrace_LINE, PyTrace_RETURN, PyTrace_C_CALL, PyTrace_C_EXCEPTION, or

PyTrace_C_RETURN, and arg depends on the value of what:
Value of what Meaning of arg
PyTrace_CALL Always NULL.
PyTrace_EXCEPTION Exception information as returned by sys.exc_info().
PyTrace_LINE Always NULL.
PyTrace_RETURN Value being returned to the caller, or NULL if caused by an exception.
PyTrace_C_CALL Function object being called.
PyTrace_C_EXCEPTION Function object being called.
PyTrace_C_RETURN Function object being called.
int PyTrace_CALL
The value of the what parameter to a Py_tracefunc function when a new call to a function or method is
being reported, or a new entry into a generator. Note that the creation of the iterator for a generator function
is not reported as there is no control transfer to the Python bytecode in the corresponding frame.
int PyTrace_EXCEPTION
The value of the what parameter to a Py_tracefunc function when an exception has been raised. The
callback function is called with this value for what when after any bytecode is processed after which the
exception becomes set within the frame being executed. The effect of this is that as exception propaga-
tion causes the Python stack to unwind, the callback is called upon return to each frame as the exception
propagates. Only trace functions receives these events; they are not needed by the profiler.
int PyTrace_LINE
The value passed as the what parameter to a trace function (but not a profiling function) when a line-number
event is being reported.
int PyTrace_RETURN
The value for the what parameter to Py_tracefunc functions when a call is returning without propagat-
ing an exception.
int PyTrace_C_CALL
The value for the what parameter to Py_tracefunc functions when a C function is about to be called.
int PyTrace_C_EXCEPTION
The value for the what parameter to Py_tracefunc functions when a C function has raised an exception.
int PyTrace_C_RETURN
The value for the what parameter to Py_tracefunc functions when a C function has returned.
void PyEval_SetProfile(Py_tracefunc func, PyObject *obj)
Set the profiler function to func. The obj parameter is passed to the function as its first parameter, and may
be any Python object, or NULL. If the profile function needs to maintain state, using a different value for
obj for each thread provides a convenient and thread-safe place to store it. The profile function is called for
all monitored events except the line-number events.
void PyEval_SetTrace(Py_tracefunc func, PyObject *obj)
Set the tracing function to func. This is similar to PyEval_SetProfile(), except the tracing function
does receive line-number events.
PyObject* PyEval_GetCallStats(PyObject *self )
Return a tuple of function call counts. There are constants defined for the positions within the tuple:
8.6. Profiling and Tracing 115

Name Value
PCALL_ALL 0
PCALL_FUNCTION 1
PCALL_FAST_FUNCTION 2
PCALL_FASTER_FUNCTION 3
PCALL_METHOD 4
PCALL_BOUND_METHOD 5
PCALL_CFUNCTION 6
PCALL_TYPE 7
PCALL_GENERATOR 8
PCALL_OTHER 9
PCALL_POP 10
PCALL_FAST_FUNCTION means no argument tuple needs to be created. PCALL_FASTER_FUNCTION
means that the fast-path frame setup code is used.
If there is a method call where the call can be optimized by changing the argument tuple and calling the
function directly, it gets recorded twice.
This function is only present if Python is compiled with CALL_PROFILE defined.
8.7 Advanced Debugger Support
These functions are only intended to be used by advanced debugging tools.

PyInterpreterState* PyInterpreterState_Head()
Return the interpreter state object at the head of the list of all such objects.
New in version 2.2.
PyInterpreterState* PyInterpreterState_Next(PyInterpreterState *interp)
Return the next interpreter state object after interp from the list of all such objects.
New in version 2.2.
PyThreadState * PyInterpreterState_ThreadHead(PyInterpreterState *interp)
Return the pointer to the first PyThreadState object in the list of threads associated with the interpreter
interp.
New in version 2.2.
PyThreadState* PyThreadState_Next(PyThreadState *tstate)
Return the next thread state object after tstate from the list of all such objects belonging to the same
PyInterpreterState object.
New in version 2.2.

CHAPTER
NINE
MEMORY MANAGEMENT
9.1 Overview
Memory management in Python involves a private heap containing all Python objects and data structures. The
management of this private heap is ensured internally by the Python memory manager. The Python memory
manager has different components which deal with various dynamic storage management aspects, like sharing,
segmentation, preallocation or caching.
At the lowest level, a raw memory allocator ensures that there is enough room in the private heap for storing
all Python-related data by interacting with the memory manager of the operating system. On top of the raw
memory allocator, several object-specific allocators operate on the same heap and implement distinct memory
management policies adapted to the peculiarities of every object type. For example, integer objects are managed
differently within the heap than strings, tuples or dictionaries because integers imply different storage requirements
and speed/space tradeoffs. The Python memory manager thus delegates some of the work to the object-specific
allocators, but ensures that the latter operate within the bounds of the private heap.
It is important to understand that the management of the Python heap is performed by the interpreter itself and
that the user has no control over it, even if she regularly manipulates object pointers to memory blocks inside that
heap. The allocation of heap space for Python objects and other internal buffers is performed on demand by the
Python memory manager through the Python/C API functions listed in this document.
To avoid memory corruption, extension writers should never try to operate on Python objects with the functions
exported by the C library: malloc(), calloc(), realloc() and free(). This will result in mixed calls
between the C allocator and the Python memory manager with fatal consequences, because they implement dif-
ferent algorithms and operate on different heaps. However, one may safely allocate and release memory blocks
with the C library allocator for individual purposes, as shown in the following example:
PyObject *res;
char *buf = (char *) malloc(BUFSIZ); /* for I/O */
if (buf == NULL)
return PyErr_NoMemory();
...Do some I/O operation involving buf...
res = PyString_FromString(buf);
free(buf); /* malloc'ed */
return res;
In this example, the memory request for the I/O buffer is handled by the C library allocator. The Python memory
manager is involved only in the allocation of the string object returned as a result.
In most situations, however, it is recommended to allocate memory from the Python heap specifically because
the latter is under control of the Python memory manager. For example, this is required when the interpreter is
extended with new object types written in C. Another reason for using the Python heap is the desire to inform the
Python memory manager about the memory needs of the extension module. Even when the requested memory
is used exclusively for internal, highly-specific purposes, delegating all memory requests to the Python memory
manager causes the interpreter to have a more accurate image of its memory footprint as a whole. Consequently,
under certain circumstances, the Python memory manager may or may not trigger appropriate actions, like garbage
117
collection, memory compaction or other preventive procedures. Note that by using the C library allocator as shown
in the previous example, the allocated memory for the I/O buffer escapes completely the Python memory manager.
9.2 Memory Interface
The following function sets, modeled after the ANSI C standard, but specifying behavior when requesting zero
bytes, are available for allocating and releasing memory from the Python heap:
void* PyMem_Malloc(size_t n)
Allocates n bytes and returns a pointer of type void* to the allocated memory, or NULL if the request fails.
Requesting zero bytes returns a distinct non-NULL pointer if possible, as if PyMem_Malloc(1) had been
called instead. The memory will not have been initialized in any way.
void* PyMem_Realloc(void *p, size_t n)
Resizes the memory block pointed to by p to n bytes. The contents will be unchanged to the minimum of
the old and the new sizes. If p is NULL, the call is equivalent to PyMem_Malloc(n); else if n is equal
to zero, the memory block is resized but is not freed, and the returned pointer is non-NULL. Unless p is
NULL, it must have been returned by a previous call to PyMem_Malloc() or PyMem_Realloc(). If
the request fails, PyMem_Realloc() returns NULL and p remains a valid pointer to the previous memory
area.
void PyMem_Free(void *p)
Frees the memory block pointed to by p, which must have been returned by a previous call to
PyMem_Malloc() or PyMem_Realloc(). Otherwise, or if PyMem_Free(p) has been called be-
fore, undefined behavior occurs. If p is NULL, no operation is performed.
The following type-oriented macros are provided for convenience. Note that TYPE refers to any C type.
TYPE* PyMem_New(TYPE, size_t n)
Same as PyMem_Malloc(), but allocates (n * sizeof(TYPE)) bytes of memory. Returns a pointer
cast to TYPE*. The memory will not have been initialized in any way.
TYPE* PyMem_Resize(void *p, TYPE, size_t n)
Same as PyMem_Realloc(), but the memory block is resized to (n * sizeof(TYPE)) bytes. Re-
turns a pointer cast to TYPE*. On return, p will be a pointer to the new memory area, or NULL in the event
of failure. This is a C preprocessor macro; p is always reassigned. Save the original value of p to avoid
losing memory when handling errors.
void PyMem_Del(void *p)
Same as PyMem_Free().
In addition, the following macro sets are provided for calling the Python memory allocator directly, without
involving the C API functions listed above. However, note that their use does not preserve binary compatibility
across Python versions and is therefore deprecated in extension modules.
PyMem_MALLOC(), PyMem_REALLOC(), PyMem_FREE().
PyMem_NEW(), PyMem_RESIZE(), PyMem_DEL().
9.3 Examples
Here is the example from section Overview, rewritten so that the I/O buffer is allocated from the Python heap by
using the first function set:
PyObject *res;
char *buf = (char *) PyMem_Malloc(BUFSIZ); /* for I/O */
if (buf == NULL)
/* ...Do some I/O operation involving buf... */
118 Chapter 9. Memory Management

PyMem_Free(buf); /* allocated with PyMem_Malloc */
return res;
The same code using the type-oriented function set:
PyObject *res;
char *buf = PyMem_New(char, BUFSIZ); /* for I/O */
if (buf == NULL)
/* ...Do some I/O operation involving buf... */
PyMem_Del(buf); /* allocated with PyMem_New */
return res;
Note that in the two examples above, the buffer is always manipulated via functions belonging to the same set.
Indeed, it is required to use the same memory API family for a given memory block, so that the risk of mixing
different allocators is reduced to a minimum. The following code sequence contains two errors, one of which is
labeled as fatal because it mixes two different allocators operating on different heaps.
char *buf1 = PyMem_New(char, BUFSIZ);
char *buf2 = (char *) malloc(BUFSIZ);
char *buf3 = (char *) PyMem_Malloc(BUFSIZ);
...
PyMem_Del(buf3); /* Wrong -- should be PyMem_Free() */
free(buf2); /* Right -- allocated via malloc() */
free(buf1); /* Fatal -- should be PyMem_Del() */
In addition to the functions aimed at handling raw memory blocks from the Python heap, objects in Python are
allocated and released with PyObject_New(), PyObject_NewVar() and PyObject_Del().
These will be explained in the next chapter on defining and implementing new object types in C.
9.3. Examples 119

120 Chapter 9. Memory Management

CHAPTER
TEN
OBJECT IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT
This chapter describes the functions, types, and macros used when defining new object types.
10.1 Allocating Objects on the Heap
PyObject* _PyObject_New(PyTypeObject *type)

Return value: New reference.
PyVarObject* _PyObject_NewVar(PyTypeObject *type, Py_ssize_t size)
Return value: New reference. Changed in version 2.5: This function used an int type for size. This might
require changes in your code for properly supporting 64-bit systems.
void _PyObject_Del(PyObject *op)
PyObject* PyObject_Init(PyObject *op, PyTypeObject *type)
Return value: Borrowed reference. Initialize a newly-allocated object op with its type and initial reference.
Returns the initialized object. If type indicates that the object participates in the cyclic garbage detector, it
is added to the detector’s set of observed objects. Other fields of the object are not affected.
PyVarObject* PyObject_InitVar(PyVarObject *op, PyTypeObject *type, Py_ssize_t size)
Return value: Borrowed reference. This does everything PyObject_Init() does, and also initializes
the length information for a variable-size object.
TYPE* PyObject_New(TYPE, PyTypeObject *type)
Return value: New reference. Allocate a new Python object using the C structure type TYPE and the Python
type object type. Fields not defined by the Python object header are not initialized; the object’s reference
count will be one. The size of the memory allocation is determined from the tp_basicsize field of the
type object.
TYPE* PyObject_NewVar(TYPE, PyTypeObject *type, Py_ssize_t size)
Return value: New reference. Allocate a new Python object using the C structure type TYPE and the Python
type object type. Fields not defined by the Python object header are not initialized. The allocated memory
allows for the TYPE structure plus size fields of the size given by the tp_itemsize field of type. This
is useful for implementing objects like tuples, which are able to determine their size at construction time.
Embedding the array of fields into the same allocation decreases the number of allocations, improving the
memory management efficiency.
void PyObject_Del(PyObject *op)
Releases memory allocated to an object using PyObject_New() or PyObject_NewVar(). This is
normally called from the tp_dealloc handler specified in the object’s type. The fields of the object
should not be accessed after this call as the memory is no longer a valid Python object.
121
PyObject* Py_InitModule(char *name, PyMethodDef *methods)

Return value: Borrowed reference. Create a new module object based on a name and table of functions,
returning the new module object.
Changed in version 2.3: Older versions of Python did not support NULL as the value for the methods
argument.
PyObject* Py_InitModule3(char *name, PyMethodDef *methods, char *doc)
returning the new module object. If doc is non-NULL, it will be used to define the docstring for the module.
argument.
PyObject* Py_InitModule4(char *name, PyMethodDef *methods, char *doc, PyObject *self,
int apiver)
returning the new module object. If doc is non-NULL, it will be used to define the docstring for the module.
If self is non-NULL, it will passed to the functions of the module as their (otherwise NULL) first parameter.
(This was added as an experimental feature, and there are no known uses in the current version of Python.)
For apiver, the only value which should be passed is defined by the constant PYTHON_API_VERSION.
Note: Most uses of this function should probably be using the Py_InitModule3() instead; only use
this if you are sure you need it.
argument.
PyObject _Py_NoneStruct
Object which is visible in Python as None. This should only be accessed using the Py_None macro, which
evaluates to a pointer to this object.
10.2 Common Object Structures
There are a large number of structures which are used in the definition of object types for Python. This section
describes these structures and how they are used.
All Python objects ultimately share a small number of fields at the beginning of the object’s representation in
memory. These are represented by the PyObject and PyVarObject types, which are defined, in turn, by the
expansions of some macros also used, whether directly or indirectly, in the definition of all other Python objects.
PyObject
All object types are extensions of this type. This is a type which contains the information Python needs to
treat a pointer to an object as an object. In a normal “release” build, it contains only the object’s reference
count and a pointer to the corresponding type object. It corresponds to the fields defined by the expansion
of the PyObject_HEAD macro.
PyVarObject
This is an extension of PyObject that adds the ob_size field. This is only used for objects that have
some notion of length. This type does not often appear in the Python/C API. It corresponds to the fields
defined by the expansion of the PyObject_VAR_HEAD macro.
These macros are used in the definition of PyObject and PyVarObject:
PyObject_HEAD
This is a macro which expands to the declarations of the fields of the PyObject type; it is used when
declaring new types which represent objects without a varying length. The specific fields it expands to de-
pend on the definition of Py_TRACE_REFS. By default, that macro is not defined, and PyObject_HEAD
expands to:
122 Chapter 10. Object Implementation Support

Py_ssize_t ob_refcnt;
PyTypeObject *ob_type;
When Py_TRACE_REFS is defined, it expands to:
PyObject *_ob_next, *_ob_prev;

Py_ssize_t ob_refcnt;
PyTypeObject *ob_type;
PyObject_VAR_HEAD
This is a macro which expands to the declarations of the fields of the PyVarObject type; it is used when
declaring new types which represent objects with a length that varies from instance to instance. This macro
always expands to:
PyObject_HEAD
Py_ssize_t ob_size;
Note that PyObject_HEAD is part of the expansion, and that its own expansion varies depending on the
definition of Py_TRACE_REFS.
Py_TYPE(o)
This macro is used to access the ob_type member of a Python object. It expands to:
(((PyObject*)(o))->ob_type)
New in version 2.6.

Py_REFCNT(o)
This macro is used to access the ob_refcnt member of a Python object. It expands to:
(((PyObject*)(o))->ob_refcnt)
New in version 2.6.

Py_SIZE(o)
This macro is used to access the ob_size member of a Python object. It expands to:
(((PyVarObject*)(o))->ob_size)
New in version 2.6.

PyObject_HEAD_INIT(type)
This is a macro which expands to initialization values for a new PyObject type. This macro expands to:
_PyObject_EXTRA_INIT
1, type,
PyVarObject_HEAD_INIT(type, size)
This is a macro which expands to initialization values for a new PyVarObject type, including the
ob_size field. This macro expands to:
_PyObject_EXTRA_INIT
1, type, size,
PyCFunction
Type of the functions used to implement most Python callables in C. Functions of this type take two
PyObject* parameters and return one such value. If the return value is NULL, an exception shall have
been set. If not NULL, the return value is interpreted as the return value of the function as exposed in Python.
The function must return a new reference.
10.2. Common Object Structures 123

PyMethodDef
Structure used to describe a method of an extension type. This structure has four fields:
Field C Type Meaning
ml_name char * name of the method
ml_meth PyCFunction pointer to the C implementation
ml_flags int flag bits indicating how the call should be constructed
ml_doc char * points to the contents of the docstring
The ml_meth is a C function pointer. The functions may be of different types, but they always return
PyObject*. If the function is not of the PyCFunction, the compiler will require a cast in the method ta-
ble. Even though PyCFunction defines the first parameter as PyObject*, it is common that the method
implementation uses the specific C type of the self object.
The ml_flags field is a bitfield which can include the following flags. The individual flags indicate ei-
ther a calling convention or a binding convention. Of the calling convention flags, only METH_VARARGS and
METH_KEYWORDS can be combined (but note that METH_KEYWORDS alone is equivalent to METH_VARARGS
| METH_KEYWORDS). Any of the calling convention flags can be combined with a binding flag.
METH_VARARGS
This is the typical calling convention, where the methods have the type PyCFunction. The function
expects two PyObject* values. The first one is the self object for methods; for module functions, it is the
module object. The second parameter (often called args) is a tuple object representing all arguments. This
parameter is typically processed using PyArg_ParseTuple() or PyArg_UnpackTuple().
METH_KEYWORDS
Methods with these flags must be of type PyCFunctionWithKeywords. The function ex-
pects three parameters: self, args, and a dictionary of all the keyword arguments. The flag
is typically combined with METH_VARARGS, and the parameters are typically processed using
PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords().
METH_NOARGS
Methods without parameters don’t need to check whether arguments are given if they are listed with the
METH_NOARGS flag. They need to be of type PyCFunction. The first parameter is typically named
self and will hold a reference to the module or object instance. In all cases the second parameter will be
NULL.
METH_O
Methods with a single object argument can be listed with the METH_O flag, instead of invoking
PyArg_ParseTuple() with a "O" argument. They have the type PyCFunction, with the self pa-
rameter, and a PyObject* parameter representing the single argument.
METH_OLDARGS
This calling convention is deprecated. The method must be of type PyCFunction. The second argument
is NULL if no arguments are given, a single object if exactly one argument is given, and a tuple of objects
if more than one argument is given. There is no way for a function using this convention to distinguish
between a call with multiple arguments and a call with a tuple as the only argument.
These two constants are not used to indicate the calling convention but the binding when use with methods of
classes. These may not be used for functions defined for modules. At most one of these flags may be set for any
given method.
METH_CLASS
The method will be passed the type object as the first parameter rather than an instance of the type. This is
used to create class methods, similar to what is created when using the classmethod() built-in function.
New in version 2.3.
METH_STATIC
The method will be passed NULL as the first parameter rather than an instance of the type. This is used to
create static methods, similar to what is created when using the staticmethod() built-in function.
New in version 2.3.

One other constant controls whether a method is loaded in place of another definition with the same method name.
METH_COEXIST
The method will be loaded in place of existing definitions. Without METH_COEXIST, the default is to skip
repeated definitions. Since slot wrappers are loaded before the method table, the existence of a sq_contains
slot, for example, would generate a wrapped method named __contains__() and preclude the loading
of a corresponding PyCFunction with the same name. With the flag defined, the PyCFunction will be loaded
in place of the wrapper object and will co-exist with the slot. This is helpful because calls to PyCFunctions
are optimized more than wrapper object calls.
New in version 2.4.
PyMemberDef
Structure which describes an attribute of a type which corresponds to a C struct member. Its fields are:
Field C Type Meaning
name char * name of the member
type int the type of the member in the C struct
offset Py_ssize_t the offset in bytes that the member is located on the type’s object struct
flags int flag bits indicating if the field should be read-only or writable
doc char * points to the contents of the docstring
type can be one of many T_ macros corresponding to various C types. When the member is accessed in
Python, it will be converted to the equivalent Python type.
Macro name C type
T_SHORT short
T_INT int
T_LONG long
T_FLOAT float
T_DOUBLE double
T_STRING char *
T_OBJECT PyObject *
T_OBJECT_EX PyObject *
T_CHAR char
T_BYTE char
T_UBYTE unsigned char
T_UINT unsigned int
T_USHORT unsigned short
T_ULONG unsigned long
T_BOOL char
T_LONGLONG long long
T_ULONGLONG unsigned long long
T_PYSSIZET Py_ssize_t
T_OBJECT and T_OBJECT_EX differ in that T_OBJECT returns None if the member is NULL and
T_OBJECT_EX raises an AttributeError. Try to use T_OBJECT_EX over T_OBJECT because
T_OBJECT_EX handles use of the del statement on that attribute more correctly than T_OBJECT.
flags can be 0 for write and read access or READONLY for read-only access. Using T_STRING for
type implies READONLY. Only T_OBJECT and T_OBJECT_EX members can be deleted. (They are set
to NULL).
PyObject* Py_FindMethod(PyMethodDef table[], PyObject *ob, char *name)
Return value: New reference. Return a bound method object for an extension type implemented in C. This
can be useful in the implementation of a tp_getattro or tp_getattr handler that does not use the
PyObject_GenericGetAttr() function.
10.2. Common Object Structures 125

10.3 Type Objects
Perhaps one of the most important structures of the Python object system is the structure that defines a new type:
the PyTypeObject structure. Type objects can be handled using any of the PyObject_*() or PyType_*()
functions, but do not offer much that’s interesting to most Python applications. These objects are fundamental to
how objects behave, so they are very important to the interpreter itself and to any extension module that implements
new types.
Type objects are fairly large compared to most of the standard types. The reason for the size is that each type
object stores a large number of values, mostly C function pointers, each of which implements a small part of the
type’s functionality. The fields of the type object are examined in detail in this section. The fields will be described
in the order in which they occur in the structure.
Typedefs: unaryfunc, binaryfunc, ternaryfunc, inquiry, coercion, intargfunc, intintargfunc, intobjargproc, intinto-
bjargproc, objobjargproc, destructor, freefunc, printfunc, getattrfunc, getattrofunc, setattrfunc, setattrofunc, cmp-
func, reprfunc, hashfunc
The structure definition for PyTypeObject can be found in Include/object.h. For convenience of refer-
ence, this repeats the definition found there:
typedef struct _typeobject {
PyObject_VAR_HEAD
char *tp_name; /* For printing, in format "<module>.<name>" */
int tp_basicsize, tp_itemsize; /* For allocation */
/* Methods to implement standard operations */
destructor tp_dealloc;
printfunc tp_print;
getattrfunc tp_getattr;
setattrfunc tp_setattr;
cmpfunc tp_compare;
reprfunc tp_repr;
/* Method suites for standard classes */
PyNumberMethods *tp_as_number;
PySequenceMethods *tp_as_sequence;
PyMappingMethods *tp_as_mapping;
/* More standard operations (here for binary compatibility) */
hashfunc tp_hash;
ternaryfunc tp_call;
reprfunc tp_str;
getattrofunc tp_getattro;
setattrofunc tp_setattro;
/* Functions to access object as input/output buffer */

PyBufferProcs *tp_as_buffer;
/* Flags to define presence of optional/expanded features */

long tp_flags;
char *tp_doc; /* Documentation string */
/* Assigned meaning in release 2.0 */

/* call function for all accessible objects */
traverseproc tp_traverse;

/* delete references to contained objects */

inquiry tp_clear;
/* Assigned meaning in release 2.1 */

/* rich comparisons */
richcmpfunc tp_richcompare;
/* weak reference enabler */

long tp_weaklistoffset;
/* Added in release 2.2 */

/* Iterators */
getiterfunc tp_iter;
iternextfunc tp_iternext;
/* Attribute descriptor and subclassing stuff */

struct PyMethodDef *tp_methods;
struct PyMemberDef *tp_members;
struct PyGetSetDef *tp_getset;
struct _typeobject *tp_base;
PyObject *tp_dict;
descrgetfunc tp_descr_get;
descrsetfunc tp_descr_set;
long tp_dictoffset;
initproc tp_init;
allocfunc tp_alloc;
newfunc tp_new;
freefunc tp_free; /* Low-level free-memory routine */
inquiry tp_is_gc; /* For PyObject_IS_GC */
PyObject *tp_bases;
PyObject *tp_mro; /* method resolution order */
PyObject *tp_cache;
PyObject *tp_subclasses;
PyObject *tp_weaklist;
} PyTypeObject;
The type object structure extends the PyVarObject structure. The ob_size field is used for dynamic types
(created by type_new(), usually called from a class statement). Note that PyType_Type (the metatype)
initializes tp_itemsize, which means that its instances (i.e. type objects) must have the ob_size field.
PyObject* PyObject._ob_next
PyObject* PyObject._ob_prev
These fields are only present when the macro Py_TRACE_REFS is defined. Their initialization to NULL is
taken care of by the PyObject_HEAD_INIT macro. For statically allocated objects, these fields always
remain NULL. For dynamically allocated objects, these two fields are used to link the object into a doubly-
linked list of all live objects on the heap. This could be used for various debugging purposes; currently
the only use is to print the objects that are still alive at the end of a run when the environment variable
PYTHONDUMPREFS is set.
These fields are not inherited by subtypes.
Py_ssize_t PyObject.ob_refcnt
This is the type object’s reference count, initialized to 1 by the PyObject_HEAD_INIT macro. Note that
for statically allocated type objects, the type’s instances (objects whose ob_type points back to the type)
do not count as references. But for dynamically allocated type objects, the instances do count as references.
This field is not inherited by subtypes.
Changed in version 2.5: This field used to be an int type. This might require changes in your code for
10.3. Type Objects 127


PyTypeObject* PyObject.ob_type
This is the type’s type, in other words its metatype. It is initialized by the argument to the
PyObject_HEAD_INIT macro, and its value should normally be &PyType_Type. However, for dy-
namically loadable extension modules that must be usable on Windows (at least), the compiler complains
that this is not a valid initializer. Therefore, the convention is to pass NULL to the PyObject_HEAD_INIT
macro and to initialize this field explicitly at the start of the module’s initialization function, before doing
anything else. This is typically done like this:
Foo_Type.ob_type = &PyType_Type;
This should be done before any instances of the type are created. PyType_Ready() checks if ob_type
is NULL, and if so, initializes it: in Python 2.2, it is set to &PyType_Type; in Python 2.2.1 and later it
is initialized to the ob_type field of the base class. PyType_Ready() will not change this field if it is
non-zero.
In Python 2.2, this field is not inherited by subtypes. In 2.2.1, and in 2.3 and beyond, it is inherited by
subtypes.
Py_ssize_t PyVarObject.ob_size
For statically allocated type objects, this should be initialized to zero. For dynamically allocated type
objects, this field has a special internal meaning.
char* PyTypeObject.tp_name
Pointer to a NUL-terminated string containing the name of the type. For types that are accessible as module
globals, the string should be the full module name, followed by a dot, followed by the type name; for built-in
types, it should be just the type name. If the module is a submodule of a package, the full package name is
part of the full module name. For example, a type named T defined in module M in subpackage Q in package
P should have the tp_name initializer "P.Q.M.T".
For dynamically allocated type objects, this should just be the type name, and the module name explicitly
stored in the type dict as the value for key ’__module__’.
For statically allocated type objects, the tp_name field should contain a dot. Everything before the last dot
is made accessible as the __module__ attribute, and everything after the last dot is made accessible as the
__name__ attribute.
If no dot is present, the entire tp_name field is made accessible as the __name__ attribute, and the
__module__ attribute is undefined (unless explicitly set in the dictionary, as explained above). This
means your type will be impossible to pickle.
Py_ssize_t PyTypeObject.tp_basicsize
Py_ssize_t PyTypeObject.tp_itemsize
These fields allow calculating the size in bytes of instances of the type.
There are two kinds of types: types with fixed-length instances have a zero tp_itemsize field, types with
variable-length instances have a non-zero tp_itemsize field. For a type with fixed-length instances, all
instances have the same size, given in tp_basicsize.
For a type with variable-length instances, the instances must have an ob_size field, and the instance size
is tp_basicsize plus N times tp_itemsize, where N is the “length” of the object. The value of
N is typically stored in the instance’s ob_size field. There are exceptions: for example, long ints use
a negative ob_size to indicate a negative number, and N is abs(ob_size) there. Also, the presence
of an ob_size field in the instance layout doesn’t mean that the instance structure is variable-length (for
example, the structure for the list type has fixed-length instances, yet those instances have a meaningful
ob_size field).
The basic size includes the fields in the instance declared by the macro PyObject_HEAD or
PyObject_VAR_HEAD (whichever is used to declare the instance struct) and this in turn includes the

_ob_prev and _ob_next fields if they are present. This means that the only correct way to get an ini-
tializer for the tp_basicsize is to use the sizeof operator on the struct used to declare the instance
layout. The basic size does not include the GC header size (this is new in Python 2.2; in 2.1 and 2.0, the GC
header size was included in tp_basicsize).
These fields are inherited separately by subtypes. If the base type has a non-zero tp_itemsize, it is
generally not safe to set tp_itemsize to a different non-zero value in a subtype (though this depends on
the implementation of the base type).
A note about alignment: if the variable items require a particular alignment, this should be taken care of by
the value of tp_basicsize. Example: suppose a type implements an array of double. tp_itemsize
is sizeof(double). It is the programmer’s responsibility that tp_basicsize is a multiple of
sizeof(double) (assuming this is the alignment requirement for double).
destructor PyTypeObject.tp_dealloc
A pointer to the instance destructor function. This function must be defined unless the type guarantees that
its instances will never be deallocated (as is the case for the singletons None and Ellipsis).
The destructor function is called by the Py_DECREF() and Py_XDECREF() macros when the new
reference count is zero. At this point, the instance is still in existence, but there are no references
to it. The destructor function should free all references which the instance owns, free all memory
buffers owned by the instance (using the freeing function corresponding to the allocation function used
to allocate the buffer), and finally (as its last action) call the type’s tp_free function. If the type
is not subtypable (doesn’t have the Py_TPFLAGS_BASETYPE flag bit set), it is permissible to call
the object deallocator directly instead of via tp_free. The object deallocator should be the one
used to allocate the instance; this is normally PyObject_Del() if the instance was allocated using
PyObject_New() or PyObject_VarNew(), or PyObject_GC_Del() if the instance was allocated
using PyObject_GC_New() or PyObject_GC_NewVar().
This field is inherited by subtypes.
printfunc PyTypeObject.tp_print
An optional pointer to the instance print function.
The print function is only called when the instance is printed to a real file; when it is printed to a pseudo-
file (like a StringIO instance), the instance’s tp_repr or tp_str function is called to convert it to a
string. These are also called when the type’s tp_print field is NULL. A type should never implement
tp_print in a way that produces different output than tp_repr or tp_str would.
The print function is called with the same signature as PyObject_Print(): int
tp_print(PyObject *self, FILE *file, int flags). The self argument is the in-
stance to be printed. The file argument is the stdio file to which it is to be printed. The flags argument is
composed of flag bits. The only flag bit currently defined is Py_PRINT_RAW. When the Py_PRINT_RAW
flag bit is set, the instance should be printed the same way as tp_str would format it; when the
Py_PRINT_RAW flag bit is clear, the instance should be printed the same was as tp_repr would format
it. It should return -1 and set an exception condition when an error occurred during the comparison.
It is possible that the tp_print field will be deprecated. In any case, it is recommended not to define
tp_print, but instead to rely on tp_repr and tp_str for printing.
getattrfunc PyTypeObject.tp_getattr
An optional pointer to the get-attribute-string function.
This field is deprecated. When it is defined, it should point to a function that acts the same as the
tp_getattro function, but taking a C string instead of a Python string object to give the attribute name.
The signature is the same as for PyObject_GetAttrString().
This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_getattro: a subtype inherits both tp_getattr
and tp_getattro from its base type when the subtype’s tp_getattr and tp_getattro are both
NULL.
setattrfunc PyTypeObject.tp_setattr
An optional pointer to the set-attribute-string function.

This field is deprecated. When it is defined, it should point to a function that acts the same as the
tp_setattro function, but taking a C string instead of a Python string object to give the attribute name.
The signature is the same as for PyObject_SetAttrString().
This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_setattro: a subtype inherits both tp_setattr
and tp_setattro from its base type when the subtype’s tp_setattr and tp_setattro are both
NULL.
cmpfunc PyTypeObject.tp_compare
An optional pointer to the three-way comparison function.
The signature is the same as for PyObject_Compare(). The function should return 1 if self greater
than other, 0 if self is equal to other, and -1 if self less than other. It should return -1 and set an exception
condition when an error occurred during the comparison.
This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_richcompare and tp_hash: a subtypes inher-
its all three of tp_compare, tp_richcompare, and tp_hash when the subtype’s tp_compare,
tp_richcompare, and tp_hash are all NULL.
reprfunc PyTypeObject.tp_repr
An optional pointer to a function that implements the built-in function repr().
The signature is the same as for PyObject_Repr(); it must return a string or a Unicode object. Ideally,
this function should return a string that, when passed to eval(), given a suitable environment, returns an
object with the same value. If this is not feasible, it should return a string starting with ’<’ and ending with
’>’ from which both the type and the value of the object can be deduced.
When this field is not set, a string of the form <%s object at %p> is returned, where %s is replaced
by the type name, and %p by the object’s memory address.
PyNumberMethods* tp_as_number
Pointer to an additional structure that contains fields relevant only to objects which implement the number
protocol. These fields are documented in Number Object Structures.
The tp_as_number field is not inherited, but the contained fields are inherited individually.
PySequenceMethods* tp_as_sequence
Pointer to an additional structure that contains fields relevant only to objects which implement the sequence
protocol. These fields are documented in Sequence Object Structures.
The tp_as_sequence field is not inherited, but the contained fields are inherited individually.
PyMappingMethods* tp_as_mapping
Pointer to an additional structure that contains fields relevant only to objects which implement the mapping
protocol. These fields are documented in Mapping Object Structures.
The tp_as_mapping field is not inherited, but the contained fields are inherited individually.
hashfunc PyTypeObject.tp_hash
An optional pointer to a function that implements the built-in function hash().
The signature is the same as for PyObject_Hash(); it must return a C long. The value -1 should not
be returned as a normal return value; when an error occurs during the computation of the hash value, the
function should set an exception and return -1.
This field can be set explicitly to PyObject_HashNotImplemented() to block inheritance of the hash
method from a parent type. This is interpreted as the equivalent of __hash__ = None at the Python
level, causing isinstance(o, collections.Hashable) to correctly return False. Note that
the converse is also true - setting __hash__ = None on a class at the Python level will result in the
tp_hash slot being set to PyObject_HashNotImplemented().
When this field is not set, two possibilities exist: if the tp_compare and tp_richcompare fields are
both NULL, a default hash value based on the object’s address is returned; otherwise, a TypeError is
raised.

This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_richcompare and tp_compare: a subtypes in-
herits all three of tp_compare, tp_richcompare, and tp_hash, when the subtype’s tp_compare,
tp_richcompare and tp_hash are all NULL.
ternaryfunc PyTypeObject.tp_call
An optional pointer to a function that implements calling the object. This should be NULL if the object is
not callable. The signature is the same as for PyObject_Call().
reprfunc PyTypeObject.tp_str
An optional pointer to a function that implements the built-in operation str(). (Note that str is a type
now, and str() calls the constructor for that type. This constructor calls PyObject_Str() to do the
actual work, and PyObject_Str() will call this handler.)
The signature is the same as for PyObject_Str(); it must return a string or a Unicode object. This
function should return a “friendly” string representation of the object, as this is the representation that will
be used by the print statement.
When this field is not set, PyObject_Repr() is called to return a string representation.
getattrofunc PyTypeObject.tp_getattro
An optional pointer to the get-attribute function.
The signature is the same as for PyObject_GetAttr(). It is usually convenient to set this field to
PyObject_GenericGetAttr(), which implements the normal way of looking for object attributes.
This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_getattr: a subtype inherits both tp_getattr and
tp_getattro from its base type when the subtype’s tp_getattr and tp_getattro are both NULL.
setattrofunc PyTypeObject.tp_setattro
An optional pointer to the set-attribute function.
The signature is the same as for PyObject_SetAttr(). It is usually convenient to set this field to
PyObject_GenericSetAttr(), which implements the normal way of setting object attributes.
This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_setattr: a subtype inherits both tp_setattr and
tp_setattro from its base type when the subtype’s tp_setattr and tp_setattro are both NULL.
PyBufferProcs* PyTypeObject.tp_as_buffer
Pointer to an additional structure that contains fields relevant only to objects which implement the buffer
interface. These fields are documented in Buffer Object Structures.
The tp_as_buffer field is not inherited, but the contained fields are inherited individually.
long PyTypeObject.tp_flags
This field is a bit mask of various flags. Some flags indicate variant semantics for certain situations; oth-
ers are used to indicate that certain fields in the type object (or in the extension structures referenced via
tp_as_number, tp_as_sequence, tp_as_mapping, and tp_as_buffer) that were historically
not always present are valid; if such a flag bit is clear, the type fields it guards must not be accessed and
must be considered to have a zero or NULL value instead.
Inheritance of this field is complicated. Most flag bits are inherited individually, i.e. if the base type has
a flag bit set, the subtype inherits this flag bit. The flag bits that pertain to extension structures are strictly
inherited if the extension structure is inherited, i.e. the base type’s value of the flag bit is copied into
the subtype together with a pointer to the extension structure. The Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC flag bit is
inherited together with the tp_traverse and tp_clear fields, i.e. if the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC
flag bit is clear in the subtype and the tp_traverse and tp_clear fields in the subtype exist (as
indicated by the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_RICHCOMPARE flag bit) and have NULL values.
The following bit masks are currently defined; these can be ORed together using the | operator to form the
value of the tp_flags field. The macro PyType_HasFeature() takes a type and a flags value, tp and
f, and checks whether tp->tp_flags & f is non-zero.

Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GETCHARBUFFER
If this bit is set, the PyBufferProcs struct referenced by tp_as_buffer has the
bf_getcharbuffer field.
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_SEQUENCE_IN
If this bit is set, the PySequenceMethods struct referenced by tp_as_sequence has the
sq_contains field.
Py_TPFLAGS_GC
This bit is obsolete. The bit it used to name is no longer in use. The symbol is now defined as zero.
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_INPLACEOPS
If this bit is set, the PySequenceMethods struct referenced by tp_as_sequence and
the PyNumberMethods structure referenced by tp_as_number contain the fields for
in-place operators. In particular, this means that the PyNumberMethods structure has
the fields nb_inplace_add, nb_inplace_subtract, nb_inplace_multiply,
nb_inplace_divide, nb_inplace_remainder, nb_inplace_power,
nb_inplace_lshift, nb_inplace_rshift, nb_inplace_and, nb_inplace_xor, and
nb_inplace_or; and the PySequenceMethods struct has the fields sq_inplace_concat
and sq_inplace_repeat.
Py_TPFLAGS_CHECKTYPES
If this bit is set, the binary and ternary operations in the PyNumberMethods structure refer-
enced by tp_as_number accept arguments of arbitrary object types, and do their own type con-
versions if needed. If this bit is clear, those operations require that all arguments have the cur-
rent type as their type, and the caller is supposed to perform a coercion operation first. This ap-
plies to nb_add, nb_subtract, nb_multiply, nb_divide, nb_remainder, nb_divmod,
nb_power, nb_lshift, nb_rshift, nb_and, nb_xor, and nb_or.
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_RICHCOMPARE
If this bit is set, the type object has the tp_richcompare field, as well as the tp_traverse and
the tp_clear fields.
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_WEAKREFS
If this bit is set, the tp_weaklistoffset field is defined. Instances of a type are weakly refer-
enceable if the type’s tp_weaklistoffset field has a value greater than zero.
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_ITER
If this bit is set, the type object has the tp_iter and tp_iternext fields.
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_CLASS
If this bit is set, the type object has several new fields defined starting in Python
2.2: tp_methods, tp_members, tp_getset, tp_base, tp_dict, tp_descr_get,
tp_descr_set, tp_dictoffset, tp_init, tp_alloc, tp_new, tp_free, tp_is_gc,
tp_bases, tp_mro, tp_cache, tp_subclasses, and tp_weaklist.
Py_TPFLAGS_HEAPTYPE
This bit is set when the type object itself is allocated on the heap. In this case, the ob_type field
of its instances is considered a reference to the type, and the type object is INCREF’ed when a new
instance is created, and DECREF’ed when an instance is destroyed (this does not apply to instances
of subtypes; only the type referenced by the instance’s ob_type gets INCREF’ed or DECREF’ed).
Py_TPFLAGS_BASETYPE
This bit is set when the type can be used as the base type of another type. If this bit is clear, the type
cannot be subtyped (similar to a “final” class in Java).
Py_TPFLAGS_READY
This bit is set when the type object has been fully initialized by PyType_Ready().
Py_TPFLAGS_READYING
This bit is set while PyType_Ready() is in the process of initializing the type object.
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC
This bit is set when the object supports garbage collection. If this bit is set, instances must be

created using PyObject_GC_New() and destroyed using PyObject_GC_Del(). More infor-

mation in section Supporting Cyclic Garbage Collection. This bit also implies that the GC-related
fields tp_traverse and tp_clear are present in the type object; but those fields also exist when
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC is clear but Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_RICHCOMPARE is set.
Py_TPFLAGS_DEFAULT
This is a bitmask of all the bits that pertain to the existence of certain fields in
the type object and its extension structures. Currently, it includes the following
bits: Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GETCHARBUFFER, Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_SEQUENCE_IN ,
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_INPLACEOPS, Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_RICHCOMPARE,
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_WEAKREFS, Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_ITER, and
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_CLASS.
char* PyTypeObject.tp_doc
An optional pointer to a NUL-terminated C string giving the docstring for this type object. This is exposed
as the __doc__ attribute on the type and instances of the type.
The following three fields only exist if the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_RICHCOMPARE flag bit is set.
traverseproc PyTypeObject.tp_traverse
An optional pointer to a traversal function for the garbage collector. This is only used if the
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC flag bit is set. More information about Python’s garbage collection scheme
can be found in section Supporting Cyclic Garbage Collection.
The tp_traverse pointer is used by the garbage collector to detect reference cycles. A typical imple-
mentation of a tp_traverse function simply calls Py_VISIT() on each of the instance’s members
that are Python objects. For example, this is function local_traverse() from the thread extension
module:
static int
local_traverse(localobject *self, visitproc visit, void *arg)
{
Py_VISIT(self->args);
Py_VISIT(self->kw);
Py_VISIT(self->dict);
return 0;
}
Note that Py_VISIT() is called only on those members that can participate in reference cycles. Although
there is also a self->key member, it can only be NULL or a Python string and therefore cannot be part
of a reference cycle.
On the other hand, even if you know a member can never be part of a cycle, as a debugging aid you may
want to visit it anyway just so the gc module’s get_referents() function will include it.
Note that Py_VISIT() requires the visit and arg parameters to local_traverse() to have these
specific names; don’t name them just anything.
This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_clear and the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC flag bit:
the flag bit, tp_traverse, and tp_clear are all inherited from the base type if they are all zero in the
subtype and the subtype has the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_RICHCOMPARE flag bit set.
inquiry PyTypeObject.tp_clear
An optional pointer to a clear function for the garbage collector. This is only used if the
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC flag bit is set.
The tp_clear member function is used to break reference cycles in cyclic garbage detected by the garbage
collector. Taken together, all tp_clear functions in the system must combine to break all reference cycles.
This is subtle, and if in any doubt supply a tp_clear function. For example, the tuple type does not
implement a tp_clear function, because it’s possible to prove that no reference cycle can be composed
entirely of tuples. Therefore the tp_clear functions of other types must be sufficient to break any cycle

containing a tuple. This isn’t immediately obvious, and there’s rarely a good reason to avoid implementing
tp_clear.
Implementations of tp_clear should drop the instance’s references to those of its members that may be
Python objects, and set its pointers to those members to NULL, as in the following example:
static int
local_clear(localobject *self)
{
Py_CLEAR(self->key);
Py_CLEAR(self->args);
Py_CLEAR(self->kw);
Py_CLEAR(self->dict);
return 0;
}
The Py_CLEAR() macro should be used, because clearing references is delicate: the reference to the
contained object must not be decremented until after the pointer to the contained object is set to NULL. This
is because decrementing the reference count may cause the contained object to become trash, triggering a
chain of reclamation activity that may include invoking arbitrary Python code (due to finalizers, or weakref
callbacks, associated with the contained object). If it’s possible for such code to reference self again, it’s
important that the pointer to the contained object be NULL at that time, so that self knows the contained
object can no longer be used. The Py_CLEAR() macro performs the operations in a safe order.
Because the goal of tp_clear functions is to break reference cycles, it’s not necessary to clear contained
objects like Python strings or Python integers, which can’t participate in reference cycles. On the other hand,
it may be convenient to clear all contained Python objects, and write the type’s tp_dealloc function to
invoke tp_clear.
More information about Python’s garbage collection scheme can be found in section Supporting Cyclic
Garbage Collection.
This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_traverse and the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC flag
bit: the flag bit, tp_traverse, and tp_clear are all inherited from the base type if they are all zero in
the subtype and the subtype has the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_RICHCOMPARE flag bit set.
richcmpfunc PyTypeObject.tp_richcompare
An optional pointer to the rich comparison function, whose signature is PyObject
*tp_richcompare(PyObject *a, PyObject *b, int op).
The function should return the result of the comparison (usually Py_True or Py_False). If the compari-
son is undefined, it must return Py_NotImplemented, if another error occurred it must return NULL and
set an exception condition.
Note: If you want to implement a type for which only a limited set of comparisons makes sense (e.g. ==
and !=, but not < and friends), directly raise TypeError in the rich comparison function.
This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_compare and tp_hash: a subtype inherits
all three of tp_compare, tp_richcompare, and tp_hash, when the subtype’s tp_compare,
tp_richcompare, and tp_hash are all NULL.
The following constants are defined to be used as the third argument for tp_richcompare and for
PyObject_RichCompare():
Constant Comparison
Py_LT <
Py_LE <=
Py_EQ ==
Py_NE !=
Py_GT >
Py_GE >=

The next field only exists if the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_WEAKREFS flag bit is set.
long PyTypeObject.tp_weaklistoffset
If the instances of this type are weakly referenceable, this field is greater than zero and contains the offset in
the instance structure of the weak reference list head (ignoring the GC header, if present); this offset is used
by PyObject_ClearWeakRefs() and the PyWeakref_*() functions. The instance structure needs
to include a field of type PyObject* which is initialized to NULL.
Do not confuse this field with tp_weaklist; that is the list head for weak references to the type object
itself.
This field is inherited by subtypes, but see the rules listed below. A subtype may override this offset; this
means that the subtype uses a different weak reference list head than the base type. Since the list head is
always found via tp_weaklistoffset, this should not be a problem.
When a type defined by a class statement has no __slots__ declaration, and none of its base types are
weakly referenceable, the type is made weakly referenceable by adding a weak reference list head slot to
the instance layout and setting the tp_weaklistoffset of that slot’s offset.
When a type’s __slots__ declaration contains a slot named __weakref__, that slot becomes
the weak reference list head for instances of the type, and the slot’s offset is stored in the type’s
tp_weaklistoffset.
When a type’s __slots__ declaration does not contain a slot named __weakref__, the type inherits
its tp_weaklistoffset from its base type.
The next two fields only exist if the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_ITER flag bit is set.
getiterfunc PyTypeObject.tp_iter
An optional pointer to a function that returns an iterator for the object. Its presence normally signals that
the instances of this type are iterable (although sequences may be iterable without this function, and classic
instances always have this function, even if they don’t define an __iter__() method).
This function has the same signature as PyObject_GetIter().
iternextfunc PyTypeObject.tp_iternext
An optional pointer to a function that returns the next item in an iterator. When the iterator is exhausted, it
must return NULL; a StopIteration exception may or may not be set. When another error occurs, it
must return NULL too. Its presence normally signals that the instances of this type are iterators (although
classic instances always have this function, even if they don’t define a next() method).
Iterator types should also define the tp_iter function, and that function should return the iterator instance
itself (not a new iterator instance).
This function has the same signature as PyIter_Next().
The next fields, up to and including tp_weaklist, only exist if the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_CLASS flag bit is
set.
struct PyMethodDef * PyTypeObject.tp_methods
An optional pointer to a static NULL-terminated array of PyMethodDef structures, declaring regular
methods of this type.
For each entry in the array, an entry is added to the type’s dictionary (see tp_dict below) containing a
method descriptor.
This field is not inherited by subtypes (methods are inherited through a different mechanism).
struct PyMemberDef * PyTypeObject.tp_members
An optional pointer to a static NULL-terminated array of PyMemberDef structures, declaring regular data
members (fields or slots) of instances of this type.
member descriptor.

This field is not inherited by subtypes (members are inherited through a different mechanism).
struct PyGetSetDef* PyTypeObject.tp_getset
An optional pointer to a static NULL-terminated array of PyGetSetDef structures, declaring computed
attributes of instances of this type.
getset descriptor.
This field is not inherited by subtypes (computed attributes are inherited through a different mechanism).
Docs for PyGetSetDef:
typedef PyObject *(*getter)(PyObject *, void *);

typedef int (*setter)(PyObject *, PyObject *, void *);
typedef struct PyGetSetDef {

char *name; /* attribute name */
getter get; /* C function to get the attribute */
setter set; /* C function to set the attribute */
char *doc; /* optional doc string */
void *closure; /* optional additional data for getter and setter */
} PyGetSetDef;
PyTypeObject* PyTypeObject.tp_base
An optional pointer to a base type from which type properties are inherited. At this level, only single
inheritance is supported; multiple inheritance require dynamically creating a type object by calling the
metatype.
This field is not inherited by subtypes (obviously), but it defaults to &PyBaseObject_Type (which to
Python programmers is known as the type object).
PyObject* PyTypeObject.tp_dict
The type’s dictionary is stored here by PyType_Ready().
This field should normally be initialized to NULL before PyType_Ready is called; it may also be initialized
to a dictionary containing initial attributes for the type. Once PyType_Ready() has initialized the type,
extra attributes for the type may be added to this dictionary only if they don’t correspond to overloaded
operations (like __add__()).
This field is not inherited by subtypes (though the attributes defined in here are inherited through a different
mechanism).
descrgetfunc PyTypeObject.tp_descr_get
An optional pointer to a “descriptor get” function.
The function signature is
PyObject * tp_descr_get(PyObject *self, PyObject *obj, PyObject *type);

descrsetfunc PyTypeObject.tp_descr_set
An optional pointer to a “descriptor set” function.
int tp_descr_set(PyObject *self, PyObject *obj, PyObject *value);

long PyTypeObject.tp_dictoffset
If the instances of this type have a dictionary containing instance variables, this field is non-zero and
contains the offset in the instances of the type of the instance variable dictionary; this offset is used by
PyObject_GenericGetAttr().

Do not confuse this field with tp_dict; that is the dictionary for attributes of the type object itself.
If the value of this field is greater than zero, it specifies the offset from the start of the instance structure.
If the value is less than zero, it specifies the offset from the end of the instance structure. A negative
offset is more expensive to use, and should only be used when the instance structure contains a variable-
length part. This is used for example to add an instance variable dictionary to subtypes of str or tuple.
Note that the tp_basicsize field should account for the dictionary added to the end in that case, even
though the dictionary is not included in the basic object layout. On a system with a pointer size of 4 bytes,
tp_dictoffset should be set to -4 to indicate that the dictionary is at the very end of the structure.
The real dictionary offset in an instance can be computed from a negative tp_dictoffset as follows:
dictoffset = tp_basicsize + abs(ob_size)*tp_itemsize + tp_dictoffset

if dictoffset is not aligned on sizeof(void*):
round up to sizeof(void*)
where tp_basicsize, tp_itemsize and tp_dictoffset are taken from the type object, and
ob_size is taken from the instance. The absolute value is taken because long ints use the sign of ob_size
to store the sign of the number. (There’s never a need to do this calculation yourself; it is done for you by
_PyObject_GetDictPtr().)
This field is inherited by subtypes, but see the rules listed below. A subtype may override this offset; this
means that the subtype instances store the dictionary at a difference offset than the base type. Since the
dictionary is always found via tp_dictoffset, this should not be a problem.
When a type defined by a class statement has no __slots__ declaration, and none of its base types has
an instance variable dictionary, a dictionary slot is added to the instance layout and the tp_dictoffset
is set to that slot’s offset.
When a type defined by a class statement has a __slots__ declaration, the type inherits its
tp_dictoffset from its base type.
(Adding a slot named __dict__ to the __slots__ declaration does not have the expected effect, it just
causes confusion. Maybe this should be added as a feature just like __weakref__ though.)
initproc PyTypeObject.tp_init
An optional pointer to an instance initialization function.
This function corresponds to the __init__() method of classes. Like __init__(), it is possible to
create an instance without calling __init__(), and it is possible to reinitialize an instance by calling its
__init__() method again.
int tp_init(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds)
The self argument is the instance to be initialized; the args and kwds arguments represent positional and
keyword arguments of the call to __init__().
The tp_init function, if not NULL, is called when an instance is created normally by calling its type,
after the type’s tp_new function has returned an instance of the type. If the tp_new function returns an
instance of some other type that is not a subtype of the original type, no tp_init function is called; if
tp_new returns an instance of a subtype of the original type, the subtype’s tp_init is called. (VERSION
NOTE: described here is what is implemented in Python 2.2.1 and later. In Python 2.2, the tp_init of
the type of the object returned by tp_new was always called, if not NULL.)
allocfunc PyTypeObject.tp_alloc
An optional pointer to an instance allocation function.
PyObject *tp_alloc(PyTypeObject *self, Py_ssize_t nitems)

The purpose of this function is to separate memory allocation from memory initialization. It should return
a pointer to a block of memory of adequate length for the instance, suitably aligned, and initialized to
zeros, but with ob_refcnt set to 1 and ob_type set to the type argument. If the type’s tp_itemsize
is non-zero, the object’s ob_size field should be initialized to nitems and the length of the allocated
memory block should be tp_basicsize + nitems*tp_itemsize, rounded up to a multiple of
sizeof(void*); otherwise, nitems is not used and the length of the block should be tp_basicsize.
Do not use this function to do any other instance initialization, not even to allocate additional memory; that
should be done by tp_new.
This field is inherited by static subtypes, but not by dynamic subtypes (subtypes created by a class state-
ment); in the latter, this field is always set to PyType_GenericAlloc(), to force a standard heap
allocation strategy. That is also the recommended value for statically defined types.
newfunc PyTypeObject.tp_new
An optional pointer to an instance creation function.
If this function is NULL for a particular type, that type cannot be called to create new instances; presumably
there is some other way to create instances, like a factory function.
PyObject *tp_new(PyTypeObject *subtype, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds)
The subtype argument is the type of the object being created; the args and kwds arguments represent posi-
tional and keyword arguments of the call to the type. Note that subtype doesn’t have to equal the type whose
tp_new function is called; it may be a subtype of that type (but not an unrelated type).
The tp_new function should call subtype->tp_alloc(subtype, nitems) to allocate space for
the object, and then do only as much further initialization as is absolutely necessary. Initialization that can
safely be ignored or repeated should be placed in the tp_init handler. A good rule of thumb is that for
immutable types, all initialization should take place in tp_new, while for mutable types, most initialization
should be deferred to tp_init.
This field is inherited by subtypes, except it is not inherited by static types whose tp_base is NULL or
&PyBaseObject_Type. The latter exception is a precaution so that old extension types don’t become
callable simply by being linked with Python 2.2.
destructor PyTypeObject.tp_free
An optional pointer to an instance deallocation function.
The signature of this function has changed slightly: in Python 2.2 and 2.2.1, its signature is destructor:
void tp_free(PyObject *)
In Python 2.3 and beyond, its signature is freefunc:
void tp_free(void *)
The only initializer that is compatible with both versions is _PyObject_Del, whose definition has suit-
ably adapted in Python 2.3.
This field is inherited by static subtypes, but not by dynamic subtypes (subtypes created by a class state-
ment); in the latter, this field is set to a deallocator suitable to match PyType_GenericAlloc() and the
value of the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC flag bit.
inquiry PyTypeObject.tp_is_gc
An optional pointer to a function called by the garbage collector.
The garbage collector needs to know whether a particular object is collectible or not. Normally, it is suf-
ficient to look at the object’s type’s tp_flags field, and check the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC flag bit.
But some types have a mixture of statically and dynamically allocated instances, and the statically allocated
instances are not collectible. Such types should define this function; it should return 1 for a collectible
instance, and 0 for a non-collectible instance. The signature is

int tp_is_gc(PyObject *self)
(The only example of this are types themselves. The metatype, PyType_Type, defines this function to
distinguish between statically and dynamically allocated types.)
This field is inherited by subtypes. (VERSION NOTE: in Python 2.2, it was not inherited. It is inherited in
2.2.1 and later versions.)
PyObject* PyTypeObject.tp_bases
Tuple of base types.
This is set for types created by a class statement. It should be NULL for statically defined types.
This field is not inherited.
PyObject* PyTypeObject.tp_mro
Tuple containing the expanded set of base types, starting with the type itself and ending with object, in
Method Resolution Order.
This field is not inherited; it is calculated fresh by PyType_Ready().
PyObject* PyTypeObject.tp_cache
Unused. Not inherited. Internal use only.
PyObject* PyTypeObject.tp_subclasses
List of weak references to subclasses. Not inherited. Internal use only.
PyObject* PyTypeObject.tp_weaklist
Weak reference list head, for weak references to this type object. Not inherited. Internal use only.
The remaining fields are only defined if the feature test macro COUNT_ALLOCS is defined, and are for internal
use only. They are documented here for completeness. None of these fields are inherited by subtypes.
Py_ssize_t PyTypeObject.tp_allocs
Number of allocations.
Py_ssize_t PyTypeObject.tp_frees
Number of frees.
Py_ssize_t PyTypeObject.tp_maxalloc
Maximum simultaneously allocated objects.
PyTypeObject* PyTypeObject.tp_next
Pointer to the next type object with a non-zero tp_allocs field.
Also, note that, in a garbage collected Python, tp_dealloc may be called from any Python thread, not just the thread
which created the object (if the object becomes part of a refcount cycle, that cycle might be collected by a garbage
collection on any thread). This is not a problem for Python API calls, since the thread on which tp_dealloc is
called will own the Global Interpreter Lock (GIL). However, if the object being destroyed in turn destroys objects
from some other C or C++ library, care should be taken to ensure that destroying those objects on the thread which
called tp_dealloc will not violate any assumptions of the library.
10.4 Number Object Structures

PyNumberMethods
This structure holds pointers to the functions which an object uses to implement the number protocol.
Almost every function below is used by the function of similar name documented in the Number Protocol
section.
Here is the structure definition:
typedef struct {
binaryfunc nb_add;
binaryfunc nb_subtract;
10.4. Number Object Structures 139

binaryfunc nb_multiply;
binaryfunc nb_divide;
binaryfunc nb_remainder;
binaryfunc nb_divmod;
ternaryfunc nb_power;
unaryfunc nb_negative;
unaryfunc nb_positive;
unaryfunc nb_absolute;
inquiry nb_nonzero; /* Used by PyObject_IsTrue */
unaryfunc nb_invert;
binaryfunc nb_lshift;
binaryfunc nb_rshift;
binaryfunc nb_and;
binaryfunc nb_xor;
binaryfunc nb_or;
coercion nb_coerce; /* Used by the coerce() function */
unaryfunc nb_int;
unaryfunc nb_long;
unaryfunc nb_float;
unaryfunc nb_oct;
unaryfunc nb_hex;

binaryfunc nb_inplace_add;
binaryfunc nb_inplace_subtract;
binaryfunc nb_inplace_multiply;
binaryfunc nb_inplace_divide;
binaryfunc nb_inplace_remainder;
ternaryfunc nb_inplace_power;
binaryfunc nb_inplace_lshift;
binaryfunc nb_inplace_rshift;
binaryfunc nb_inplace_and;
binaryfunc nb_inplace_xor;
binaryfunc nb_inplace_or;

binaryfunc nb_floor_divide;
binaryfunc nb_true_divide;
binaryfunc nb_inplace_floor_divide;
binaryfunc nb_inplace_true_divide;

unaryfunc nb_index;
} PyNumberMethods;
Binary and ternary functions may receive different kinds of arguments, depending on the flag bit
Py_TPFLAGS_CHECKTYPES:
• If Py_TPFLAGS_CHECKTYPES is not set, the function arguments are guaranteed to be of the object’s
type; the caller is responsible for calling the coercion method specified by the nb_coerce member to
convert the arguments:
coercion PyNumberMethods.nb_coerce
This function is used by PyNumber_CoerceEx() and has the same signature. The first argument
is always a pointer to an object of the defined type. If the conversion to a common “larger” type is
possible, the function replaces the pointers with new references to the converted objects and returns 0.
If the conversion is not possible, the function returns 1. If an error condition is set, it will return -1.
• If the Py_TPFLAGS_CHECKTYPES flag is set, binary and ternary functions must check the type of all
their operands, and implement the necessary conversions (at least one of the operands is an instance of the

defined type). This is the recommended way; with Python 3 coercion will disappear completely.
If the operation is not defined for the given operands, binary and ternary functions must return
Py_NotImplemented, if another error occurred they must return NULL and set an exception.
10.5 Mapping Object Structures
PyMappingMethods
This structure holds pointers to the functions which an object uses to implement the mapping protocol. It
has three members:
lenfunc PyMappingMethods.mp_length
This function is used by PyMapping_Length() and PyObject_Size(), and has the same signature.
This slot may be set to NULL if the object has no defined length.
binaryfunc PyMappingMethods.mp_subscript
This function is used by PyObject_GetItem() and has the same signature. This slot must be filled for
the PyMapping_Check() function to return 1, it can be NULL otherwise.
objobjargproc PyMappingMethods.mp_ass_subscript
This function is used by PyObject_SetItem() and has the same signature. If this slot is NULL, the
object does not support item assignment.
10.6 Sequence Object Structures

PySequenceMethods
This structure holds pointers to the functions which an object uses to implement the sequence protocol.
lenfunc PySequenceMethods.sq_length
This function is used by PySequence_Size() and PyObject_Size(), and has the same signature.
binaryfunc PySequenceMethods.sq_concat
This function is used by PySequence_Concat() and has the same signature. It is also used by the +
operator, after trying the numeric addition via the nb_add slot.
ssizeargfunc PySequenceMethods.sq_repeat
This function is used by PySequence_Repeat() and has the same signature. It is also used by the *
operator, after trying numeric multiplication via the nb_multiply slot.
ssizeargfunc PySequenceMethods.sq_item
This function is used by PySequence_GetItem() and has the same signature. This slot must be filled
for the PySequence_Check() function to return 1, it can be NULL otherwise.
Negative indexes are handled as follows: if the sq_length slot is filled, it is called and the sequence
length is used to compute a positive index which is passed to sq_item. If sq_length is NULL, the
index is passed as is to the function.
ssizeobjargproc PySequenceMethods.sq_ass_item
This function is used by PySequence_SetItem() and has the same signature. This slot may be left to
NULL if the object does not support item assignment.
objobjproc PySequenceMethods.sq_contains
This function may be used by PySequence_Contains() and has the same signature. This slot may
be left to NULL, in this case PySequence_Contains() simply traverses the sequence until it finds a
match.
binaryfunc PySequenceMethods.sq_inplace_concat
This function is used by PySequence_InPlaceConcat() and has the same signature. It should mod-
ify its first operand, and return it.
10.5. Mapping Object Structures 141

ssizeargfunc PySequenceMethods.sq_inplace_repeat
This function is used by PySequence_InPlaceRepeat() and has the same signature. It should mod-
ify its first operand, and return it.
10.7 Buffer Object Structures
The buffer interface exports a model where an object can expose its internal data as a set of chunks of data,
where each chunk is specified as a pointer/length pair. These chunks are called segments and are presumed to be
non-contiguous in memory.
If an object does not export the buffer interface, then its tp_as_buffer member in the PyTypeObject
structure should be NULL. Otherwise, the tp_as_buffer will point to a PyBufferProcs structure.
Note: It is very important that your PyTypeObject structure uses Py_TPFLAGS_DEFAULT for the value
of the tp_flags member rather than 0. This tells the Python runtime that your PyBufferProcs structure
contains the bf_getcharbuffer slot. Older versions of Python did not have this member, so a new Python
interpreter using an old extension needs to be able to test for its presence before using it.
PyBufferProcs
Structure used to hold the function pointers which define an implementation of the buffer protocol.
The first slot is bf_getreadbuffer, of type getreadbufferproc. If this slot is NULL, then the
object does not support reading from the internal data. This is non-sensical, so implementors should fill this
in, but callers should test that the slot contains a non-NULL value.
The next slot is bf_getwritebuffer having type getwritebufferproc. This slot may be NULL
if the object does not allow writing into its returned buffers.
The third slot is bf_getsegcount, with type getsegcountproc. This slot must not be NULL and is
used to inform the caller how many segments the object contains. Simple objects such as PyString_Type
and PyBuffer_Type objects contain a single segment.
The last slot is bf_getcharbuffer, of type getcharbufferproc. This slot will only be present
if the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GETCHARBUFFER flag is present in the tp_flags field of the object’s
PyTypeObject. Before using this slot, the caller should test whether it is present by using the
PyType_HasFeature() function. If the flag is present, bf_getcharbuffer may be NULL, in-
dicating that the object’s contents cannot be used as 8-bit characters. The slot function may also raise
an error if the object’s contents cannot be interpreted as 8-bit characters. For example, if the object is an
array which is configured to hold floating point values, an exception may be raised if a caller attempts to
use bf_getcharbuffer to fetch a sequence of 8-bit characters. This notion of exporting the internal
buffers as “text” is used to distinguish between objects that are binary in nature, and those which have
character-based content.
Note: The current policy seems to state that these characters may be multi-byte characters. This implies
that a buffer size of N does not mean there are N characters present.
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GETCHARBUFFER
Flag bit set in the type structure to indicate that the bf_getcharbuffer slot is known. This being set
does not indicate that the object supports the buffer interface or that the bf_getcharbuffer slot is
non-NULL.
Py_ssize_t (*readbufferproc)(PyObject *self, Py_ssize_t segment, void **ptrptr)
Return a pointer to a readable segment of the buffer in *ptrptr. This function is allowed to raise an
exception, in which case it must return -1. The segment which is specified must be zero or positive, and
strictly less than the number of segments returned by the bf_getsegcount slot function. On success, it
returns the length of the segment, and sets *ptrptr to a pointer to that memory.
Py_ssize_t (*writebufferproc)(PyObject *self, Py_ssize_t segment, void **ptrptr)
Return a pointer to a writable memory buffer in *ptrptr, and the length of that segment as the function
return value. The memory buffer must correspond to buffer segment segment. Must return -1 and set

an exception on error. TypeError should be raised if the object only supports read-only buffers, and
SystemError should be raised when segment specifies a segment that doesn’t exist.
Py_ssize_t (*segcountproc)(PyObject *self, Py_ssize_t *lenp)
Return the number of memory segments which comprise the buffer. If lenp is not NULL, the implementation
must report the sum of the sizes (in bytes) of all segments in *lenp. The function cannot fail.
Py_ssize_t (*charbufferproc)(PyObject *self, Py_ssize_t segment, const char **ptrptr)
Return the size of the segment segment that ptrptr is set to. *ptrptr is set to the memory buffer. Returns
-1 on error.
10.8 Supporting Cyclic Garbage Collection
Python’s support for detecting and collecting garbage which involves circular references requires support from
object types which are “containers” for other objects which may also be containers. Types which do not store
references to other objects, or which only store references to atomic types (such as numbers or strings), do not
need to provide any explicit support for garbage collection.
To create a container type, the tp_flags field of the type object must include the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC
and provide an implementation of the tp_traverse handler. If instances of the type are mutable, a tp_clear
implementation must also be provided.
Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC
Objects with a type with this flag set must conform with the rules documented here. For convenience these
objects will be referred to as container objects.
Constructors for container types must conform to two rules:
1. The memory for the object must be allocated using PyObject_GC_New() or
PyObject_GC_NewVar().
2. Once all the fields which may contain references to other containers are initialized, it must call
PyObject_GC_Track().
TYPE* PyObject_GC_New(TYPE, PyTypeObject *type)
Analogous to PyObject_New() but for container objects with the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC flag set.
TYPE* PyObject_GC_NewVar(TYPE, PyTypeObject *type, Py_ssize_t size)
Analogous to PyObject_NewVar() but for container objects with the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC flag
set.
TYPE* PyObject_GC_Resize(TYPE, PyVarObject *op, Py_ssize_t newsize)
Resize an object allocated by PyObject_NewVar(). Returns the resized object or NULL on failure.
void PyObject_GC_Track(PyObject *op)
Adds the object op to the set of container objects tracked by the collector. The collector can run at unex-
pected times so objects must be valid while being tracked. This should be called once all the fields followed
by the tp_traverse handler become valid, usually near the end of the constructor.
void _PyObject_GC_TRACK(PyObject *op)
A macro version of PyObject_GC_Track(). It should not be used for extension modules.
Similarly, the deallocator for the object must conform to a similar pair of rules:
1. Before fields which refer to other containers are invalidated, PyObject_GC_UnTrack() must be called.
2. The object’s memory must be deallocated using PyObject_GC_Del().
10.8. Supporting Cyclic Garbage Collection 143

void PyObject_GC_Del(void *op)

Releases memory allocated to an object using PyObject_GC_New() or PyObject_GC_NewVar().
void PyObject_GC_UnTrack(void *op)
Remove the object op from the set of container objects tracked by the collector. Note that
PyObject_GC_Track() can be called again on this object to add it back to the set of tracked objects.
The deallocator (tp_dealloc handler) should call this for the object before any of the fields used by the
tp_traverse handler become invalid.
void _PyObject_GC_UNTRACK(PyObject *op)
A macro version of PyObject_GC_UnTrack(). It should not be used for extension modules.
The tp_traverse handler accepts a function parameter of this type:
int (*visitproc)(PyObject *object, void *arg)
Type of the visitor function passed to the tp_traverse handler. The function should be called with an
object to traverse as object and the third parameter to the tp_traverse handler as arg. The Python core
uses several visitor functions to implement cyclic garbage detection; it’s not expected that users will need
to write their own visitor functions.
The tp_traverse handler must have the following type:
int (*traverseproc)(PyObject *self, visitproc visit, void *arg)
Traversal function for a container object. Implementations must call the visit function for each object
directly contained by self, with the parameters to visit being the contained object and the arg value passed to
the handler. The visit function must not be called with a NULL object argument. If visit returns a non-zero
value that value should be returned immediately.
To simplify writing tp_traverse handlers, a Py_VISIT() macro is provided. In order to use this macro, the
tp_traverse implementation must name its arguments exactly visit and arg:
void Py_VISIT(PyObject *o)
Call the visit callback, with arguments o and arg. If visit returns a non-zero value, then return it. Using this
macro, tp_traverse handlers look like:
static int
my_traverse(Noddy *self, visitproc visit, void *arg)
{
Py_VISIT(self->foo);
Py_VISIT(self->bar);
return 0;
}
New in version 2.4.

The tp_clear handler must be of the inquiry type, or NULL if the object is immutable.
int (*inquiry)(PyObject *self )
Drop references that may have created reference cycles. Immutable objects do not have to define this method
since they can never directly create reference cycles. Note that the object must still be valid after calling
this method (don’t just call Py_DECREF() on a reference). The collector will call this method if it detects
that this object is involved in a reference cycle.

APPENDIX
GLOSSARY
>>> The default Python prompt of the interactive shell. Often seen for code examples which can be executed
interactively in the interpreter.
... The default Python prompt of the interactive shell when entering code for an indented code block or within
a pair of matching left and right delimiters (parentheses, square brackets or curly braces).
2to3 A tool that tries to convert Python 2.x code to Python 3.x code by handling most of the incompatibilities
which can be detected by parsing the source and traversing the parse tree.
2to3 is available in the standard library as lib2to3; a standalone entry point is provided as
Tools/scripts/2to3. See 2to3-reference.
abstract base class Abstract base classes complement duck-typing by providing a way to define interfaces when
other techniques like hasattr() would be clumsy or subtly wrong (for example with magic methods).
ABCs introduce virtual subclasses, which are classes that don’t inherit from a class but are still recognized
by isinstance() and issubclass(); see the abc module documentation. Python comes with many
built-in ABCs for data structures (in the collections module), numbers (in the numbers module), and
streams (in the io module). You can create your own ABCs with the abc module.
argument A value passed to a function (or method) when calling the function. There are two types of arguments:
• keyword argument: an argument preceded by an identifier (e.g. name=) in a function call or passed
as a value in a dictionary preceded by **. For example, 3 and 5 are both keyword arguments in the
following calls to complex():
complex(real=3, imag=5)
complex(**{'real': 3, 'imag': 5})
• positional argument: an argument that is not a keyword argument. Positional arguments can appear
at the beginning of an argument list and/or be passed as elements of an iterable preceded by *. For
example, 3 and 5 are both positional arguments in the following calls:
complex(3, 5)
complex(*(3, 5))
Arguments are assigned to the named local variables in a function body. See the calls section for the rules
governing this assignment. Syntactically, any expression can be used to represent an argument; the evaluated
value is assigned to the local variable.
See also the parameter glossary entry and the FAQ question on the difference between arguments and
parameters.
attribute A value associated with an object which is referenced by name using dotted expressions. For example,
if an object o has an attribute a it would be referenced as o.a.
BDFL Benevolent Dictator For Life, a.k.a. Guido van Rossum, Python’s creator.
bytes-like object An object that supports the buffer protocol, like str, bytearray or memoryview. Bytes-
like objects can be used for various operations that expect binary data, such as compression, saving to a
binary file or sending over a socket. Some operations need the binary data to be mutable, in which case not
all bytes-like objects can apply.
145
bytecode Python source code is compiled into bytecode, the internal representation of a Python program in
the CPython interpreter. The bytecode is also cached in .pyc and .pyo files so that executing the same
file is faster the second time (recompilation from source to bytecode can be avoided). This “intermediate
language” is said to run on a virtual machine that executes the machine code corresponding to each bytecode.
Do note that bytecodes are not expected to work between different Python virtual machines, nor to be stable
between Python releases.
A list of bytecode instructions can be found in the documentation for the dis module.
class A template for creating user-defined objects. Class definitions normally contain method definitions which
operate on instances of the class.
classic class Any class which does not inherit from object. See new-style class. Classic classes have been
removed in Python 3.
coercion The implicit conversion of an instance of one type to another during an operation which involves
two arguments of the same type. For example, int(3.15) converts the floating point number to the
integer 3, but in 3+4.5, each argument is of a different type (one int, one float), and both must be
converted to the same type before they can be added or it will raise a TypeError. Coercion between
two operands can be performed with the coerce built-in function; thus, 3+4.5 is equivalent to call-
ing operator.add(*coerce(3, 4.5)) and results in operator.add(3.0, 4.5). Without
coercion, all arguments of even compatible types would have to be normalized to the same value by the
programmer, e.g., float(3)+4.5 rather than just 3+4.5.
complex number An extension of the familiar real number system in which all numbers are expressed as a sum
of a real part and an imaginary part. Imaginary numbers are real multiples of the imaginary unit (the square
root of -1), often written i in mathematics or j in engineering. Python has built-in support for complex
numbers, which are written with this latter notation; the imaginary part is written with a j suffix, e.g., 3+1j.
To get access to complex equivalents of the math module, use cmath. Use of complex numbers is a fairly
advanced mathematical feature. If you’re not aware of a need for them, it’s almost certain you can safely
ignore them.
context manager An object which controls the environment seen in a with statement by defining
__enter__() and __exit__() methods. See PEP 343.
CPython The canonical implementation of the Python programming language, as distributed on python.org. The
term “CPython” is used when necessary to distinguish this implementation from others such as Jython or
IronPython.
decorator A function returning another function, usually applied as a function transformation using the
@wrapper syntax. Common examples for decorators are classmethod() and staticmethod().
The decorator syntax is merely syntactic sugar, the following two function definitions are semantically
equivalent:
def f(...):
...
f = staticmethod(f)
@staticmethod
def f(...):
...
The same concept exists for classes, but is less commonly used there. See the documentation for function
definitions and class definitions for more about decorators.
descriptor Any new-style object which defines the methods __get__(), __set__(), or __delete__().
When a class attribute is a descriptor, its special binding behavior is triggered upon attribute lookup. Nor-
mally, using a.b to get, set or delete an attribute looks up the object named b in the class dictionary for a,
but if b is a descriptor, the respective descriptor method gets called. Understanding descriptors is a key to
a deep understanding of Python because they are the basis for many features including functions, methods,
properties, class methods, static methods, and reference to super classes.
For more information about descriptors’ methods, see descriptors.
146 Appendix A. Glossary

dictionary An associative array, where arbitrary keys are mapped to values. The keys can be any object with
__hash__() and __eq__() methods. Called a hash in Perl.
dictionary view The objects returned from dict.viewkeys(), dict.viewvalues(), and
dict.viewitems() are called dictionary views. They provide a dynamic view on the dictio-
nary’s entries, which means that when the dictionary changes, the view reflects these changes. To force the
dictionary view to become a full list use list(dictview). See dict-views.
docstring A string literal which appears as the first expression in a class, function or module. While ignored
when the suite is executed, it is recognized by the compiler and put into the __doc__ attribute of the
enclosing class, function or module. Since it is available via introspection, it is the canonical place for
documentation of the object.
duck-typing A programming style which does not look at an object’s type to determine if it has the right in-
terface; instead, the method or attribute is simply called or used (“If it looks like a duck and quacks like
a duck, it must be a duck.”) By emphasizing interfaces rather than specific types, well-designed code im-
proves its flexibility by allowing polymorphic substitution. Duck-typing avoids tests using type() or
isinstance(). (Note, however, that duck-typing can be complemented with abstract base classes.)
Instead, it typically employs hasattr() tests or EAFP programming.
EAFP Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. This common Python coding style assumes the existence
of valid keys or attributes and catches exceptions if the assumption proves false. This clean and fast style
is characterized by the presence of many try and except statements. The technique contrasts with the
LBYL style common to many other languages such as C.
expression A piece of syntax which can be evaluated to some value. In other words, an expression is an ac-
cumulation of expression elements like literals, names, attribute access, operators or function calls which
all return a value. In contrast to many other languages, not all language constructs are expressions. There
are also statements which cannot be used as expressions, such as print or if. Assignments are also
statements, not expressions.
extension module A module written in C or C++, using Python’s C API to interact with the core and with user
code.
file object An object exposing a file-oriented API (with methods such as read() or write()) to an underlying
resource. Depending on the way it was created, a file object can mediate access to a real on-disk file or to
another type of storage or communication device (for example standard input/output, in-memory buffers,
sockets, pipes, etc.). File objects are also called file-like objects or streams.
There are actually three categories of file objects: raw binary files, buffered binary files and text files. Their
interfaces are defined in the io module. The canonical way to create a file object is by using the open()
function.
file-like object A synonym for file object.
finder An object that tries to find the loader for a module. It must implement a method named
find_module(). See PEP 302 for details.
floor division Mathematical division that rounds down to nearest integer. The floor division operator is //. For
example, the expression 11 // 4 evaluates to 2 in contrast to the 2.75 returned by float true division.
Note that (-11) // 4 is -3 because that is -2.75 rounded downward. See PEP 238.
function A series of statements which returns some value to a caller. It can also be passed zero or more arguments
which may be used in the execution of the body. See also parameter, method, and the function section.
__future__ A pseudo-module which programmers can use to enable new language features which are not com-
patible with the current interpreter. For example, the expression 11/4 currently evaluates to 2. If the
module in which it is executed had enabled true division by executing:
from __future__ import division
the expression 11/4 would evaluate to 2.75. By importing the __future__ module and evaluating its
variables, you can see when a new feature was first added to the language and when it will become the
default:
147
>>> import __future__

>>> __future__.division
_Feature((2, 2, 0, 'alpha', 2), (3, 0, 0, 'alpha', 0), 8192)
garbage collection The process of freeing memory when it is not used anymore. Python performs garbage
collection via reference counting and a cyclic garbage collector that is able to detect and break reference
cycles.
generator A function which returns an iterator. It looks like a normal function except that it contains yield
statements for producing a series of values usable in a for-loop or that can be retrieved one at a time with
the next() function. Each yield temporarily suspends processing, remembering the location execution
state (including local variables and pending try-statements). When the generator resumes, it picks-up where
it left-off (in contrast to functions which start fresh on every invocation).
generator expression An expression that returns an iterator. It looks like a normal expression followed by a
for expression defining a loop variable, range, and an optional if expression. The combined expression
generates values for an enclosing function:
>>> sum(i*i for i in range(10)) # sum of squares 0, 1, 4, ... 81
285
GIL See global interpreter lock.
global interpreter lock The mechanism used by the CPython interpreter to assure that only one thread executes
Python bytecode at a time. This simplifies the CPython implementation by making the object model (in-
cluding critical built-in types such as dict) implicitly safe against concurrent access. Locking the entire
interpreter makes it easier for the interpreter to be multi-threaded, at the expense of much of the parallelism
afforded by multi-processor machines.
However, some extension modules, either standard or third-party, are designed so as to release the GIL when
doing computationally-intensive tasks such as compression or hashing. Also, the GIL is always released
when doing I/O.
Past efforts to create a “free-threaded” interpreter (one which locks shared data at a much finer granular-
ity) have not been successful because performance suffered in the common single-processor case. It is
believed that overcoming this performance issue would make the implementation much more complicated
and therefore costlier to maintain.
hashable An object is hashable if it has a hash value which never changes during its lifetime (it needs a
__hash__() method), and can be compared to other objects (it needs an __eq__() or __cmp__()
method). Hashable objects which compare equal must have the same hash value.
Hashability makes an object usable as a dictionary key and a set member, because these data structures use
the hash value internally.
All of Python’s immutable built-in objects are hashable, while no mutable containers (such as lists or dic-
tionaries) are. Objects which are instances of user-defined classes are hashable by default; they all compare
unequal (except with themselves), and their hash value is derived from their id().
IDLE An Integrated Development Environment for Python. IDLE is a basic editor and interpreter environment
which ships with the standard distribution of Python.
immutable An object with a fixed value. Immutable objects include numbers, strings and tuples. Such an object
cannot be altered. A new object has to be created if a different value has to be stored. They play an important
role in places where a constant hash value is needed, for example as a key in a dictionary.
integer division Mathematical division discarding any remainder. For example, the expression 11/4 currently
evaluates to 2 in contrast to the 2.75 returned by float division. Also called floor division. When dividing
two integers the outcome will always be another integer (having the floor function applied to it). However,
if one of the operands is another numeric type (such as a float), the result will be coerced (see coercion)
to a common type. For example, an integer divided by a float will result in a float value, possibly with a
decimal fraction. Integer division can be forced by using the // operator instead of the / operator. See also
__future__.
importing The process by which Python code in one module is made available to Python code in another module.

importer An object that both finds and loads a module; both a finder and loader object.
interactive Python has an interactive interpreter which means you can enter statements and expressions at the
interpreter prompt, immediately execute them and see their results. Just launch python with no arguments
(possibly by selecting it from your computer’s main menu). It is a very powerful way to test out new ideas
or inspect modules and packages (remember help(x)).
interpreted Python is an interpreted language, as opposed to a compiled one, though the distinction can be
blurry because of the presence of the bytecode compiler. This means that source files can be run directly
without explicitly creating an executable which is then run. Interpreted languages typically have a shorter
development/debug cycle than compiled ones, though their programs generally also run more slowly. See
also interactive.
iterable An object capable of returning its members one at a time. Examples of iterables include all sequence
types (such as list, str, and tuple) and some non-sequence types like dict and file and objects
of any classes you define with an __iter__() or __getitem__() method. Iterables can be used in
a for loop and in many other places where a sequence is needed (zip(), map(), ...). When an iterable
object is passed as an argument to the built-in function iter(), it returns an iterator for the object. This
iterator is good for one pass over the set of values. When using iterables, it is usually not necessary to call
iter() or deal with iterator objects yourself. The for statement does that automatically for you, creating
a temporary unnamed variable to hold the iterator for the duration of the loop. See also iterator, sequence,
and generator.
iterator An object representing a stream of data. Repeated calls to the iterator’s next() method return suc-
cessive items in the stream. When no more data are available a StopIteration exception is raised
instead. At this point, the iterator object is exhausted and any further calls to its next() method just raise
StopIteration again. Iterators are required to have an __iter__() method that returns the iterator
object itself so every iterator is also iterable and may be used in most places where other iterables are ac-
cepted. One notable exception is code which attempts multiple iteration passes. A container object (such
as a list) produces a fresh new iterator each time you pass it to the iter() function or use it in a for
loop. Attempting this with an iterator will just return the same exhausted iterator object used in the previous
iteration pass, making it appear like an empty container.
More information can be found in typeiter.
key function A key function or collation function is a callable that returns a value used for sorting or ordering.
For example, locale.strxfrm() is used to produce a sort key that is aware of locale specific sort
conventions.
A number of tools in Python accept key functions to control how elements are ordered or grouped. They in-
clude min(), max(), sorted(), list.sort(), heapq.nsmallest(), heapq.nlargest(),
and itertools.groupby().
There are several ways to create a key function. For example. the str.lower() method can serve as a
key function for case insensitive sorts. Alternatively, an ad-hoc key function can be built from a lambda
expression such as lambda r: (r[0], r[2]). Also, the operator module provides three key
function constructors: attrgetter(), itemgetter(), and methodcaller(). See the Sorting
HOW TO for examples of how to create and use key functions.
keyword argument See argument.
lambda An anonymous inline function consisting of a single expression which is evaluated when the function is
called. The syntax to create a lambda function is lambda [arguments]: expression
LBYL Look before you leap. This coding style explicitly tests for pre-conditions before making calls or lookups.
This style contrasts with the EAFP approach and is characterized by the presence of many if statements.
In a multi-threaded environment, the LBYL approach can risk introducing a race condition be-
tween “the looking” and “the leaping”. For example, the code, if key in mapping: return
mapping[key] can fail if another thread removes key from mapping after the test, but before the lookup.
This issue can be solved with locks or by using the EAFP approach.
list A built-in Python sequence. Despite its name it is more akin to an array in other languages than to a linked
list since access to elements are O(1).
149
list comprehension A compact way to process all or part of the elements in a sequence and return a list with
the results. result = ["0x%02x" % x for x in range(256) if x % 2 == 0] generates
a list of strings containing even hex numbers (0x..) in the range from 0 to 255. The if clause is optional. If
omitted, all elements in range(256) are processed.
loader An object that loads a module. It must define a method named load_module(). A loader is typically
returned by a finder. See PEP 302 for details.
mapping A container object that supports arbitrary key lookups and implements the methods spec-
ified in the Mapping or MutableMapping abstract base classes. Examples include dict,
collections.defaultdict, collections.OrderedDict and collections.Counter.
metaclass The class of a class. Class definitions create a class name, a class dictionary, and a list of base classes.
The metaclass is responsible for taking those three arguments and creating the class. Most object oriented
programming languages provide a default implementation. What makes Python special is that it is possible
to create custom metaclasses. Most users never need this tool, but when the need arises, metaclasses can
provide powerful, elegant solutions. They have been used for logging attribute access, adding thread-safety,
tracking object creation, implementing singletons, and many other tasks.
More information can be found in metaclasses.
method A function which is defined inside a class body. If called as an attribute of an instance of that class, the
method will get the instance object as its first argument (which is usually called self). See function and
nested scope.
method resolution order Method Resolution Order is the order in which base classes are searched for a member
during lookup. See The Python 2.3 Method Resolution Order for details of the algorithm used by the Python
interpreter since the 2.3 release.
module An object that serves as an organizational unit of Python code. Modules have a namespace containing
arbitrary Python objects. Modules are loaded into Python by the process of importing.
See also package.
MRO See method resolution order.
mutable Mutable objects can change their value but keep their id(). See also immutable.
named tuple Any tuple-like class whose indexable elements are also accessible using named attributes (for
example, time.localtime() returns a tuple-like object where the year is accessible either with an
index such as t[0] or with a named attribute like t.tm_year).
A named tuple can be a built-in type such as time.struct_time, or it can be created with a
regular class definition. A full featured named tuple can also be created with the factory function
collections.namedtuple(). The latter approach automatically provides extra features such as a
self-documenting representation like Employee(name=’jones’, title=’programmer’).
namespace The place where a variable is stored. Namespaces are implemented as dictionaries. There are the
local, global and built-in namespaces as well as nested namespaces in objects (in methods). Namespaces
support modularity by preventing naming conflicts. For instance, the functions __builtin__.open()
and os.open() are distinguished by their namespaces. Namespaces also aid readability and maintain-
ability by making it clear which module implements a function. For instance, writing random.seed()
or itertools.izip() makes it clear that those functions are implemented by the random and
itertools modules, respectively.
nested scope The ability to refer to a variable in an enclosing definition. For instance, a function defined inside
another function can refer to variables in the outer function. Note that nested scopes work only for reference
and not for assignment which will always write to the innermost scope. In contrast, local variables both read
and write in the innermost scope. Likewise, global variables read and write to the global namespace.
new-style class Any class which inherits from object. This includes all built-in types like list and dict.
Only new-style classes can use Python’s newer, versatile features like __slots__, descriptors, properties,
and __getattribute__().
More information can be found in newstyle.

object Any data with state (attributes or value) and defined behavior (methods). Also the ultimate base class of
any new-style class.
package A Python module which can contain submodules or recursively, subpackages. Technically, a package
is a Python module with an __path__ attribute.
parameter A named entity in a function (or method) definition that specifies an argument (or in some cases,
arguments) that the function can accept. There are four types of parameters:
• positional-or-keyword: specifies an argument that can be passed either positionally or as a keyword
argument. This is the default kind of parameter, for example foo and bar in the following:
def func(foo, bar=None): ...
• positional-only: specifies an argument that can be supplied only by position. Python has no syntax for
defining positional-only parameters. However, some built-in functions have positional-only parame-
ters (e.g. abs()).
• var-positional: specifies that an arbitrary sequence of positional arguments can be provided (in ad-
dition to any positional arguments already accepted by other parameters). Such a parameter can be
defined by prepending the parameter name with *, for example args in the following:
def func(*args, **kwargs): ...
• var-keyword: specifies that arbitrarily many keyword arguments can be provided (in addition to any
keyword arguments already accepted by other parameters). Such a parameter can be defined by
prepending the parameter name with **, for example kwargs in the example above.
Parameters can specify both optional and required arguments, as well as default values for some optional
arguments.
See also the argument glossary entry, the FAQ question on the difference between arguments and parame-
ters, and the function section.
positional argument See argument.
Python 3000 Nickname for the Python 3.x release line (coined long ago when the release of version 3 was
something in the distant future.) This is also abbreviated “Py3k”.
Pythonic An idea or piece of code which closely follows the most common idioms of the Python language,
rather than implementing code using concepts common to other languages. For example, a common idiom
in Python is to loop over all elements of an iterable using a for statement. Many other languages don’t
have this type of construct, so people unfamiliar with Python sometimes use a numerical counter instead:
for i in range(len(food)):
print food[i]
As opposed to the cleaner, Pythonic method:
for piece in food:
print piece
reference count The number of references to an object. When the reference count of an object drops to zero,
it is deallocated. Reference counting is generally not visible to Python code, but it is a key element of the
CPython implementation. The sys module defines a getrefcount() function that programmers can
call to return the reference count for a particular object.
__slots__ A declaration inside a new-style class that saves memory by pre-declaring space for instance attributes
and eliminating instance dictionaries. Though popular, the technique is somewhat tricky to get right and is
best reserved for rare cases where there are large numbers of instances in a memory-critical application.
sequence An iterable which supports efficient element access using integer indices via the __getitem__()
special method and defines a len() method that returns the length of the sequence. Some built-in se-
quence types are list, str, tuple, and unicode. Note that dict also supports __getitem__()
and __len__(), but is considered a mapping rather than a sequence because the lookups use arbitrary
immutable keys rather than integers.
151
slice An object usually containing a portion of a sequence. A slice is created using the subscript notation,
[] with colons between numbers when several are given, such as in variable_name[1:3:5]. The
bracket (subscript) notation uses slice objects internally (or in older versions, __getslice__() and
__setslice__()).
special method A method that is called implicitly by Python to execute a certain operation on a type, such as
addition. Such methods have names starting and ending with double underscores. Special methods are
documented in specialnames.
statement A statement is part of a suite (a “block” of code). A statement is either an expression or one of several
constructs with a keyword, such as if, while or for.
struct sequence A tuple with named elements. Struct sequences expose an interface similiar to named tuple
in that elements can either be accessed either by index or as an attribute. However, they do not have
any of the named tuple methods like _make() or _asdict(). Examples of struct sequences include
sys.float_info and the return value of os.stat().
triple-quoted string A string which is bound by three instances of either a quotation mark (”) or an apostrophe
(‘). While they don’t provide any functionality not available with single-quoted strings, they are useful for a
number of reasons. They allow you to include unescaped single and double quotes within a string and they
can span multiple lines without the use of the continuation character, making them especially useful when
writing docstrings.
type The type of a Python object determines what kind of object it is; every object has a type. An object’s type
is accessible as its __class__ attribute or can be retrieved with type(obj).
universal newlines A manner of interpreting text streams in which all of the following are recognized as ending
a line: the Unix end-of-line convention ’\n’, the Windows convention ’\r\n’, and the old Macintosh
convention ’\r’. See PEP 278 and PEP 3116, as well as str.splitlines() for an additional use.
virtual environment A cooperatively isolated runtime environment that allows Python users and applications
to install and upgrade Python distribution packages without interfering with the behaviour of other Python
applications running on the same system.
virtual machine A computer defined entirely in software. Python’s virtual machine executes the bytecode emit-
ted by the bytecode compiler.
Zen of Python Listing of Python design principles and philosophies that are helpful in understanding and using
the language. The listing can be found by typing “import this” at the interactive prompt.

APPENDIX
ABOUT THESE DOCUMENTS
These documents are generated from reStructuredText sources by Sphinx, a document processor specifically writ-
ten for the Python documentation.
Development of the documentation and its toolchain is an entirely volunteer effort, just like Python itself. If you
want to contribute, please take a look at the reporting-bugs page for information on how to do so. New volunteers
are always welcome!
Many thanks go to:
• Fred L. Drake, Jr., the creator of the original Python documentation toolset and writer of much of the
content;
• the Docutils project for creating reStructuredText and the Docutils suite;
• Fredrik Lundh for his Alternative Python Reference project from which Sphinx got many good ideas.
B.1 Contributors to the Python Documentation
Many people have contributed to the Python language, the Python standard library, and the Python documentation.
See Misc/ACKS in the Python source distribution for a partial list of contributors.
It is only with the input and contributions of the Python community that Python has such wonderful documentation
– Thank You!
153
154 Appendix B. About these documents

APPENDIX
HISTORY AND LICENSE
C.1 History of the software
Python was created in the early 1990s by Guido van Rossum at Stichting Mathematisch Centrum (CWI, see
http://www.cwi.nl/) in the Netherlands as a successor of a language called ABC. Guido remains Python’s principal
author, although it includes many contributions from others.
In 1995, Guido continued his work on Python at the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI, see
http://www.cnri.reston.va.us/) in Reston, Virginia where he released several versions of the software.
In May 2000, Guido and the Python core development team moved to BeOpen.com to form the BeOpen Python-
Labs team. In October of the same year, the PythonLabs team moved to Digital Creations (now Zope Corporation;
see http://www.zope.com/). In 2001, the Python Software Foundation (PSF, see https://www.python.org/psf/) was
formed, a non-profit organization created specifically to own Python-related Intellectual Property. Zope Corpora-
tion is a sponsoring member of the PSF.
All Python releases are Open Source (see http://opensource.org/ for the Open Source Definition). Historically,
most, but not all, Python releases have also been GPL-compatible; the table below summarizes the various releases.
Release Derived from Year Owner GPL compatible?
0.9.0 thru 1.2 n/a 1991-1995 CWI yes
1.3 thru 1.5.2 1.2 1995-1999 CNRI yes
1.6 1.5.2 2000 CNRI no
2.0 1.6 2000 BeOpen.com no
1.6.1 1.6 2001 CNRI no
2.1 2.0+1.6.1 2001 PSF no
2.0.1 2.0+1.6.1 2001 PSF yes
2.1.1 2.1+2.0.1 2001 PSF yes
2.1.2 2.1.1 2002 PSF yes
2.1.3 2.1.2 2002 PSF yes
2.2 and above 2.1.1 2001-now PSF yes
Note: GPL-compatible doesn’t mean that we’re distributing Python under the GPL. All Python licenses, unlike
the GPL, let you distribute a modified version without making your changes open source. The GPL-compatible
licenses make it possible to combine Python with other software that is released under the GPL; the others don’t.
Thanks to the many outside volunteers who have worked under Guido’s direction to make these releases possible.
C.2 Terms and conditions for accessing or otherwise using Python
C.2.1 PSF LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR PYTHON 2.7.11
1. This LICENSE AGREEMENT is between the Python Software Foundation (``PSF''), and
the Individual or Organization (``Licensee'') accessing and otherwise using Python
2.7.11 software in source or binary form and its associated documentation.
155
2. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License Agreement, PSF hereby
grants Licensee a nonexclusive, royalty-free, world-wide license to reproduce,
analyze, test, perform and/or display publicly, prepare derivative works,
distribute, and otherwise use Python 2.7.11 alone or in any derivative
version, provided, however, that PSF's License Agreement and PSF's notice of
copyright, i.e., ``Copyright © 2001-2016 Python Software Foundation; All Rights
Reserved'' are retained in Python 2.7.11 alone or in any derivative version
prepared by Licensee.
3. In the event Licensee prepares a derivative work that is based on or

incorporates Python 2.7.11 or any part thereof, and wants to make the
derivative work available to others as provided herein, then Licensee hereby
agrees to include in any such work a brief summary of the changes made to Python
2.7.11.
4. PSF is making Python 2.7.11 available to Licensee on an `ÀS IS'' basis.

PSF MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. BY WAY OF
EXAMPLE, BUT NOT LIMITATION, PSF MAKES NO AND DISCLAIMS ANY REPRESENTATION OR
WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR THAT THE
USE OF PYTHON 2.7.11 WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.
5. PSF SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO LICENSEE OR ANY OTHER USERS OF PYTHON 2.7.11
FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOSS AS A RESULT OF
MODIFYING, DISTRIBUTING, OR OTHERWISE USING PYTHON 2.7.11, OR ANY DERIVATIVE
THEREOF, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF.
6. This License Agreement will automatically terminate upon a material breach of

its terms and conditions.
7. Nothing in this License Agreement shall be deemed to create any relationship

of agency, partnership, or joint venture between PSF and Licensee. This License
Agreement does not grant permission to use PSF trademarks or trade name in a
trademark sense to endorse or promote products or services of Licensee, or any
third party.
8. By copying, installing or otherwise using Python 2.7.11, Licensee agrees

to be bound by the terms and conditions of this License Agreement.
C.2.2 BEOPEN.COM LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR PYTHON 2.0
BEOPEN PYTHON OPEN SOURCE LICENSE AGREEMENT VERSION 1

1. This LICENSE AGREEMENT is between BeOpen.com ("BeOpen"), having an office at
160 Saratoga Avenue, Santa Clara, CA 95051, and the Individual or Organization
("Licensee") accessing and otherwise using this software in source or binary
form and its associated documentation ("the Software").
2. Subject to the terms and conditions of this BeOpen Python License Agreement,
BeOpen hereby grants Licensee a non-exclusive, royalty-free, world-wide license
to reproduce, analyze, test, perform and/or display publicly, prepare derivative
works, distribute, and otherwise use the Software alone or in any derivative
version, provided, however, that the BeOpen Python License is retained in the
Software, alone or in any derivative version prepared by Licensee.
3. BeOpen is making the Software available to Licensee on an "AS IS" basis.

BEOPEN MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. BY WAY OF
EXAMPLE, BUT NOT LIMITATION, BEOPEN MAKES NO AND DISCLAIMS ANY REPRESENTATION OR
156 Appendix C. History and License

WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR THAT THE

USE OF THE SOFTWARE WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.
4. BEOPEN SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO LICENSEE OR ANY OTHER USERS OF THE SOFTWARE FOR
ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOSS AS A RESULT OF USING,
MODIFYING OR DISTRIBUTING THE SOFTWARE, OR ANY DERIVATIVE THEREOF, EVEN IF
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF.

6. This License Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in all respects

by the law of the State of California, excluding conflict of law provisions.
Nothing in this License Agreement shall be deemed to create any relationship of
agency, partnership, or joint venture between BeOpen and Licensee. This License
Agreement does not grant permission to use BeOpen trademarks or trade names in a
trademark sense to endorse or promote products or services of Licensee, or any
third party. As an exception, the "BeOpen Python" logos available at
http://www.pythonlabs.com/logos.html may be used according to the permissions
granted on that web page.
7. By copying, installing or otherwise using the software, Licensee agrees to be

bound by the terms and conditions of this License Agreement.
C.2.3 CNRI LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR PYTHON 1.6.1
1. This LICENSE AGREEMENT is between the Corporation for National Research

Initiatives, having an office at 1895 Preston White Drive, Reston, VA 20191
("CNRI"), and the Individual or Organization ("Licensee") accessing and
otherwise using Python 1.6.1 software in source or binary form and its
associated documentation.
2. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License Agreement, CNRI hereby
grants Licensee a nonexclusive, royalty-free, world-wide license to reproduce,
analyze, test, perform and/or display publicly, prepare derivative works,
distribute, and otherwise use Python 1.6.1 alone or in any derivative version,
provided, however, that CNRI's License Agreement and CNRI's notice of copyright,
i.e., "Copyright © 1995-2001 Corporation for National Research Initiatives; All
Rights Reserved" are retained in Python 1.6.1 alone or in any derivative version
prepared by Licensee. Alternately, in lieu of CNRI's License Agreement,
Licensee may substitute the following text (omitting the quotes): "Python 1.6.1
is made available subject to the terms and conditions in CNRI's License
Agreement. This Agreement together with Python 1.6.1 may be located on the
Internet using the following unique, persistent identifier (known as a handle):
1895.22/1013. This Agreement may also be obtained from a proxy server on the
Internet using the following URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1895.22/1013."
3. In the event Licensee prepares a derivative work that is based on or

incorporates Python 1.6.1 or any part thereof, and wants to make the derivative
work available to others as provided herein, then Licensee hereby agrees to
include in any such work a brief summary of the changes made to Python 1.6.1.
4. CNRI is making Python 1.6.1 available to Licensee on an "AS IS" basis. CNRI
MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. BY WAY OF EXAMPLE,
BUT NOT LIMITATION, CNRI MAKES NO AND DISCLAIMS ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY
OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR THAT THE USE OF
PYTHON 1.6.1 WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.
C.2. Terms and conditions for accessing or otherwise using Python 157
5. CNRI SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO LICENSEE OR ANY OTHER USERS OF PYTHON 1.6.1 FOR
ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOSS AS A RESULT OF
MODIFYING, DISTRIBUTING, OR OTHERWISE USING PYTHON 1.6.1, OR ANY DERIVATIVE
THEREOF, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF.

7. This License Agreement shall be governed by the federal intellectual property

law of the United States, including without limitation the federal copyright
law, and, to the extent such U.S. federal law does not apply, by the law of the
Commonwealth of Virginia, excluding Virginia's conflict of law provisions.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, with regard to derivative works based on Python
1.6.1 that incorporate non-separable material that was previously distributed
under the GNU General Public License (GPL), the law of the Commonwealth of
Virginia shall govern this License Agreement only as to issues arising under or
with respect to Paragraphs 4, 5, and 7 of this License Agreement. Nothing in
this License Agreement shall be deemed to create any relationship of agency,
partnership, or joint venture between CNRI and Licensee. This License Agreement
does not grant permission to use CNRI trademarks or trade name in a trademark
sense to endorse or promote products or services of Licensee, or any third
party.
8. By clicking on the "ACCEPT" button where indicated, or by copying, installing

or otherwise using Python 1.6.1, Licensee agrees to be bound by the terms and
conditions of this License Agreement.
C.2.4 CWI LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR PYTHON 0.9.0 THROUGH 1.2
Copyright © 1991 - 1995, Stichting Mathematisch Centrum Amsterdam, The

Netherlands. All rights reserved.
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that
the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright
notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation, and that
the name of Stichting Mathematisch Centrum or CWI not be used in advertising or
publicity pertaining to distribution of the software without specific, written
prior permission.
STICHTING MATHEMATISCH CENTRUM DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS

SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS, IN NO
EVENT SHALL STICHTING MATHEMATISCH CENTRUM BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT
OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE,
DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS
ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS
SOFTWARE.
C.3 Licenses and Acknowledgements for Incorporated Software
This section is an incomplete, but growing list of licenses and acknowledgements for third-party software incor-
porated in the Python distribution.

C.3.1 Mersenne Twister
The _random module includes code based on a download from http://www.math.sci.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/~m-

mat/MT/MT2002/emt19937ar.html. The following are the verbatim comments from the original code:
A C-program for MT19937, with initialization improved 2002/1/26.
Coded by Takuji Nishimura and Makoto Matsumoto.
Before using, initialize the state by using init_genrand(seed)

or init_by_array(init_key, key_length).
Copyright (C) 1997 - 2002, Makoto Matsumoto and Takuji Nishimura,

All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without

modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
are met:
1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright

notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright

notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
3. The names of its contributors may not be used to endorse or promote

products derived from this software without specific prior written
permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS

"AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR
CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR
PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING
NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
Any feedback is very welcome.

http://www.math.sci.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/~m-mat/MT/emt.html
email: m-mat @ math.sci.hiroshima-u.ac.jp (remove space)
C.3.2 Sockets
The socket module uses the functions, getaddrinfo(), and getnameinfo(), which are coded in separate
source files from the WIDE Project, http://www.wide.ad.jp/.
Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 WIDE Project.

are met:
C.3. Licenses and Acknowledgements for Incorporated Software 159


3. Neither the name of the project nor the names of its contributors
may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
without specific prior written permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE PROJECT AND CONTRIBUTORS `ÀS IS'' AND
ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE PROJECT OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH DAMAGE.
C.3.3 Floating point exception control
The source for the fpectl module includes the following notice:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
/ Copyright (c) 1996. \
| The Regents of the University of California. |
| All rights reserved. |
| |
| Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for |
| any purpose without fee is hereby granted, provided that this en- |
| tire notice is included in all copies of any software which is or |
| includes a copy or modification of this software and in all |
| copies of the supporting documentation for such software. |
| |
| This work was produced at the University of California, Lawrence |
| Livermore National Laboratory under contract no. W-7405-ENG-48 |
| between the U.S. Department of Energy and The Regents of the |
| University of California for the operation of UC LLNL. |
| |
| DISCLAIMER |
| |
| This software was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an |
| agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States |
| Government nor the University of California nor any of their em- |
| ployees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any |
| liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or |
| usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process |
| disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe |
| privately-owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commer- |
| cial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, |
| manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or |
| imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United |
| States Government or the University of California. The views and |
| opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or |
| reflect those of the United States Government or the University |
| of California, and shall not be used for advertising or product |
\ endorsement purposes. /

---------------------------------------------------------------------
C.3.4 MD5 message digest algorithm
The source code for the md5 module contains the following notice:
Copyright (C) 1999, 2002 Aladdin Enterprises. All rights reserved.
This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied

warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages
arising from the use of this software.
Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose,

including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it
freely, subject to the following restrictions:
1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not
claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software
in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be
appreciated but is not required.
2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be
misrepresented as being the original software.
3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source distribution.
L. Peter Deutsch
ghost@aladdin.com
Independent implementation of MD5 (RFC 1321).
This code implements the MD5 Algorithm defined in RFC 1321, whose
text is available at
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1321.txt
The code is derived from the text of the RFC, including the test suite
(section A.5) but excluding the rest of Appendix A. It does not include
any code or documentation that is identified in the RFC as being
copyrighted.
The original and principal author of md5.h is L. Peter Deutsch

<ghost@aladdin.com>. Other authors are noted in the change history
that follows (in reverse chronological order):
2002-04-13 lpd Removed support for non-ANSI compilers; removed

references to Ghostscript; clarified derivation from RFC 1321;
now handles byte order either statically or dynamically.
1999-11-04 lpd Edited comments slightly for automatic TOC extraction.
1999-10-18 lpd Fixed typo in header comment (ansi2knr rather than md5);
added conditionalization for C++ compilation from Martin
Purschke <purschke@bnl.gov>.
1999-05-03 lpd Original version.
C.3.5 Asynchronous socket services
The asynchat and asyncore modules contain the following notice:

Copyright 1996 by Sam Rushing
All Rights Reserved

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and

its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby
granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all
copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission
notice appear in supporting documentation, and that the name of Sam
Rushing not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to
distribution of the software without specific, written prior
permission.
SAM RUSHING DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE,

INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS, IN
NO EVENT SHALL SAM RUSHING BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS
OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT,
NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN
CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
C.3.6 Cookie management
The Cookie module contains the following notice:

Copyright 2000 by Timothy O'Malley <timo@alum.mit.edu>
All Rights Reserved
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software

and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby
granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all
copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission
notice appear in supporting documentation, and that the name of
Timothy O'Malley not be used in advertising or publicity
pertaining to distribution of the software without specific, written
prior permission.
Timothy O'Malley DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS

SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY
AND FITNESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL Timothy O'Malley BE LIABLE FOR
ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS,
WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS
ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR
PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
C.3.7 Execution tracing
The trace module contains the following notice:

portions copyright 2001, Autonomous Zones Industries, Inc., all rights...
err... reserved and offered to the public under the terms of the
Python 2.2 license.
Author: Zooko O'Whielacronx
http://zooko.com/
mailto:zooko@zooko.com
Copyright 2000, Mojam Media, Inc., all rights reserved.

Author: Skip Montanaro

Copyright 1999, Bioreason, Inc., all rights reserved.

Author: Andrew Dalke
Copyright 1995-1997, Automatrix, Inc., all rights reserved.

Author: Skip Montanaro
Copyright 1991-1995, Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, all rights reserved.
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this Python software and
its associated documentation for any purpose without fee is hereby
granted, provided that the above copyright notice appears in all copies,
and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in
supporting documentation, and that the name of neither Automatrix,
Bioreason or Mojam Media be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to
distribution of the software without specific, written prior permission.
C.3.8 UUencode and UUdecode functions
The uu module contains the following notice:

Copyright 1994 by Lance Ellinghouse
Cathedral City, California Republic, United States of America.
All Rights Reserved
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted,
provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that
both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in
supporting documentation, and that the name of Lance Ellinghouse
not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution
of the software without specific, written prior permission.
LANCE ELLINGHOUSE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO
THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
FITNESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL LANCE ELLINGHOUSE CENTRUM BE LIABLE
FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT
OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
Modified by Jack Jansen, CWI, July 1995:

- Use binascii module to do the actual line-by-line conversion
between ascii and binary. This results in a 1000-fold speedup. The C
version is still 5 times faster, though.
- Arguments more compliant with Python standard
C.3.9 XML Remote Procedure Calls
The xmlrpclib module contains the following notice:

The XML-RPC client interface is
Copyright (c) 1999-2002 by Secret Labs AB

Copyright (c) 1999-2002 by Fredrik Lundh
By obtaining, using, and/or copying this software and/or its

associated documentation, you agree that you have read, understood,

and will comply with the following terms and conditions:
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and

its associated documentation for any purpose and without fee is
hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appears in
all copies, and that both that copyright notice and this permission
notice appear in supporting documentation, and that the name of
Secret Labs AB or the author not be used in advertising or publicity
pertaining to distribution of the software without specific, written
prior permission.
SECRET LABS AB AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD
TO THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT-
ABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL SECRET LABS AB OR THE AUTHOR
BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY
DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS,
WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS
ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE
OF THIS SOFTWARE.
C.3.10 test_epoll
The test_epoll contains the following notice:

Copyright (c) 2001-2006 Twisted Matrix Laboratories.
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining

a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the
"Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to
the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be

included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,

EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE
LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION
OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
C.3.11 Select kqueue
The select and contains the following notice for the kqueue interface:
Copyright (c) 2000 Doug White, 2006 James Knight, 2007 Christian Heimes

are met:


THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR AND CONTRIBUTORS `ÀS IS'' AND
ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH DAMAGE.
C.3.12 strtod and dtoa
The file Python/dtoa.c, which supplies C functions dtoa and strtod for conversion of C doubles to
and from strings, is derived from the file of the same name by David M. Gay, currently available from
http://www.netlib.org/fp/. The original file, as retrieved on March 16, 2009, contains the following copyright
and licensing notice:
/****************************************************************
*
* The author of this software is David M. Gay.
*
* Copyright (c) 1991, 2000, 2001 by Lucent Technologies.
*
* Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
* purpose without fee is hereby granted, provided that this entire notice
* is included in all copies of any software which is or includes a copy
* or modification of this software and in all copies of the supporting
* documentation for such software.
*
* THIS SOFTWARE IS BEING PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
* WARRANTY. IN PARTICULAR, NEITHER THE AUTHOR NOR LUCENT MAKES ANY
* REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND CONCERNING THE MERCHANTABILITY
* OF THIS SOFTWARE OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
*
***************************************************************/
C.3.13 OpenSSL
The modules hashlib, posix, ssl, crypt use the OpenSSL library for added performance if made available
by the operating system. Additionally, the Windows and Mac OS X installers for Python may include a copy of
the OpenSSL libraries, so we include a copy of the OpenSSL license here:
LICENSE ISSUES
==============
The OpenSSL toolkit stays under a dual license, i.e. both the conditions of
the OpenSSL License and the original SSLeay license apply to the toolkit.
See below for the actual license texts. Actually both licenses are BSD-style
Open Source licenses. In case of any license issues related to OpenSSL
please contact openssl-core@openssl.org.

OpenSSL License
---------------
/* ====================================================================
* Copyright (c) 1998-2008 The OpenSSL Project. All rights reserved.
*
* Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
* modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
* are met:
*
* 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
*
* 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in
* the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
* distribution.
*
* 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this
* software must display the following acknowledgment:
* "This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project
* for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit. (http://www.openssl.org/)"
*
* 4. The names "OpenSSL Toolkit" and "OpenSSL Project" must not be used to
* endorse or promote products derived from this software without
* prior written permission. For written permission, please contact
* openssl-core@openssl.org.
*
* 5. Products derived from this software may not be called "OpenSSL"
* nor may "OpenSSL" appear in their names without prior written
* permission of the OpenSSL Project.
*
* 6. Redistributions of any form whatsoever must retain the following
* acknowledgment:
* "This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project
* for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit (http://www.openssl.org/)"
*
* THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE OpenSSL PROJECT `ÀS IS'' AND ANY
* EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
* IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
* PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE OpenSSL PROJECT OR
* ITS CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
* SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
* NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
* LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
* HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,
* STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
* ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED
* OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
* ====================================================================
*
* This product includes cryptographic software written by Eric Young
* (eay@cryptsoft.com). This product includes software written by Tim
* Hudson (tjh@cryptsoft.com).
*
*/
Original SSLeay License

-----------------------
/* Copyright (C) 1995-1998 Eric Young (eay@cryptsoft.com)

* All rights reserved.
*
* This package is an SSL implementation written
* by Eric Young (eay@cryptsoft.com).
* The implementation was written so as to conform with Netscapes SSL.
*
* This library is free for commercial and non-commercial use as long as
* the following conditions are aheared to. The following conditions
* apply to all code found in this distribution, be it the RC4, RSA,
* lhash, DES, etc., code; not just the SSL code. The SSL documentation
* included with this distribution is covered by the same copyright terms
* except that the holder is Tim Hudson (tjh@cryptsoft.com).
*
* Copyright remains Eric Young's, and as such any Copyright notices in
* the code are not to be removed.
* If this package is used in a product, Eric Young should be given attribution
* as the author of the parts of the library used.
* This can be in the form of a textual message at program startup or
* in documentation (online or textual) provided with the package.
*
* Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
* modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
* are met:
* 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
* 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
* documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
* 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software
* must display the following acknowledgement:
* "This product includes cryptographic software written by
* Eric Young (eay@cryptsoft.com)"
* The word 'cryptographic' can be left out if the rouines from the library
* being used are not cryptographic related :-).
* 4. If you include any Windows specific code (or a derivative thereof) from
* the apps directory (application code) you must include an acknowledgement:
* "This product includes software written by Tim Hudson (tjh@cryptsoft.com)"
*
* THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY ERIC YOUNG `ÀS IS'' AND
* ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
* IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
* ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
* FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
* DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
* OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
* HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
* LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
* OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
* SUCH DAMAGE.
*
* The licence and distribution terms for any publically available version or
* derivative of this code cannot be changed. i.e. this code cannot simply be
* copied and put under another distribution licence
* [including the GNU Public Licence.]
*/

C.3.14 expat
The pyexpat extension is built using an included copy of the expat sources unless the build is configured
--with-system-expat:
Copyright (c) 1998, 1999, 2000 Thai Open Source Software Center Ltd
and Clark Cooper

"Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included
in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,

MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT,
TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE
SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
C.3.15 libffi
The _ctypes extension is built using an included copy of the libffi sources unless the build is configured
--with-system-libffi:
Copyright (c) 1996-2008 Red Hat, Inc and others.

``Software''), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included
in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED `ÀS IS'', WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,

MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT
HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY,
WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

C.3.16 zlib
The zlib extension is built using an included copy of the zlib sources if the zlib version found on the system is
too old to be used for the build:
Copyright (C) 1995-2010 Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler
This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied

warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages
arising from the use of this software.
Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose,

including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it
freely, subject to the following restrictions:
1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not
claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software
in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be
appreciated but is not required.
2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be
misrepresented as being the original software.
3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source distribution.
Jean-loup Gailly Mark Adler

jloup@gzip.org madler@alumni.caltech.edu


APPENDIX
COPYRIGHT
Python and this documentation is:

Copyright © 2001-2016 Python Software Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2000 BeOpen.com. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2000 Corporation for National Research Initiatives. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1991-1995 Stichting Mathematisch Centrum. All rights reserved.
See History and License for complete license and permissions information.
171
172 Appendix D. Copyright

INDEX
Symbols argv (in module sys), 107

..., 145 attribute, 145
_PyImport_FindExtension (C function), 28
_PyImport_Fini (C function), 28
B
_PyImport_FixupExtension (C function), 28 BDFL, 145
_PyImport_Init (C function), 28 buffer
_PyObject_Del (C function), 121 object, 77
_PyObject_GC_TRACK (C function), 143 buffer interface, 77
_PyObject_GC_UNTRACK (C function), 144 BufferType (in module types), 81
_PyObject_New (C function), 121 built-in function
_PyObject_NewVar (C function), 121 __import__, 27
_PyString_Resize (C function), 64 abs, 46
_PyTuple_Resize (C function), 84 apply, 43
_Py_NoneStruct (C variable), 122 bytes, 42
_Py_c_diff (C function), 60 classmethod, 124
_Py_c_neg (C function), 60 cmp, 42
_Py_c_pow (C function), 60 coerce, 47
_Py_c_prod (C function), 60 compile, 28
_Py_c_quot (C function), 60 divmod, 45
_Py_c_sum (C function), 60 float, 47
__all__ (package variable), 26 hash, 44, 130
__builtin__ int, 47
module, 9, 105 len, 44, 48, 50, 84, 87, 102
__dict__ (module attribute), 92 long, 47
__doc__ (module attribute), 92 pow, 45, 46
__file__ (module attribute), 92 reload, 27
__future__, 147 repr, 42, 130
__import__ staticmethod, 124
built-in function, 27 str, 42
__main__ tuple, 49, 86
module, 9, 105, 113 type, 44
__name__ (module attribute), 92 unicode, 42
__slots__, 151 builtins
_frozen (C type), 28 module, 113
_inittab (C type), 29 bytearray
>>>, 145 object, 61
2to3, 145 bytecode, 146
bytes
A built-in function, 42
abort(), 26 bytes-like object, 145
abs
built-in function, 46
C
abstract base class, 145 calloc(), 117
apply Capsule
built-in function, 43 object, 95
argument, 145 charbufferproc (C type), 143
class, 146
173
object, 88 extension module, 147

classic class, 146
classmethod F
built-in function, 124 file
ClassType (in module types), 88 object, 90
cleanup functions, 26 file object, 147
close() (in module os), 113 file-like object, 147
cmp FileType (in module types), 90
built-in function, 42 finder, 147
CO_FUTURE_DIVISION (C variable), 14 float
CObject built-in function, 47
object, 97 floating point
code object, 58
object, 103 FloatType (in modules types), 58
coerce floor division, 147
built-in function, 47 fopen(), 90
coercion, 146 free(), 117
compile freeze utility, 28
built-in function, 28 frozenset
complex number, 146 object, 101
object, 59 function, 147
context manager, 146 object, 89
copyright (in module sys), 107
CPython, 146 G
garbage collection, 148
D generator, 148, 148
decorator, 146 generator expression, 148, 148
descriptor, 146 GIL, 108, 148
dictionary, 147 global interpreter lock, 108, 148
object, 86
dictionary view, 147 H
DictionaryType (in module types), 86 hash
DictType (in module types), 86 built-in function, 44, 130
divmod hashable, 148
docstring, 147 I
duck-typing, 147 IDLE, 148
ihooks
E module, 27
EAFP, 147 immutable, 148
environment variable importer, 149
exec_prefix, 3 importing, 148
PATH, 9 incr_item(), 8
prefix, 3 inquiry (C type), 144
PYTHONDUMPREFS, 127 instance
PYTHONHOME, 9, 108 object, 88
PYTHONPATH, 9 int
EOFError (built-in exception), 91 built-in function, 47
exc_info() (in module sys), 7 integer
exc_traceback (in module sys), 7, 17 object, 54
exc_type (in module sys), 7, 17 integer division, 148
exc_value (in module sys), 7, 17 interactive, 149
exceptions interpreted, 149
module, 9 interpreter lock, 108
exec_prefix, 3 IntType (in modules types), 54
executable (in module sys), 106 iterable, 149
exit(), 26 iterator, 149
expression, 147
174 Index
K N
key function, 149 named tuple, 150
KeyboardInterrupt (built-in exception), 20 namespace, 150
keyword argument, 149 nested scope, 150
new-style class, 150
L None
lambda, 149 object, 54
LBYL, 149 numeric
len object, 54
built-in function, 44, 48, 50, 84, 87, 102
list, 149 O
object, 84 object, 151
list comprehension, 150 buffer, 77
loader, 150 bytearray, 61
lock, interpreter, 108 Capsule, 95
long class, 88
built-in function, 47 CObject, 97
long integer code, 103
object, 56 complex number, 59
LONG_MAX, 55, 57 dictionary, 86
LongType (in modules types), 56 file, 90
floating point, 58
M frozenset, 101
main(), 106, 107 function, 89
malloc(), 117 instance, 88
mapping, 150 integer, 54
object, 86 list, 84
metaclass, 150 long integer, 56
METH_CLASS (built-in variable), 124 mapping, 86
METH_COEXIST (built-in variable), 125 method, 89
METH_KEYWORDS (built-in variable), 124 module, 92
METH_NOARGS (built-in variable), 124 None, 54
METH_O (built-in variable), 124 numeric, 54
METH_OLDARGS (built-in variable), 124 sequence, 61
METH_STATIC (built-in variable), 124 set, 101
METH_VARARGS (built-in variable), 124 string, 62
method, 150 tuple, 82
object, 89 type, 4, 53
method resolution order, 150 OverflowError (built-in exception), 57, 58
MethodType (in module types), 89
module, 150 P
__builtin__, 9, 105 package, 151
__main__, 9, 105, 113 package variable
builtins, 113 __all__, 26
exceptions, 9 parameter, 151
ihooks, 27 PATH, 9
object, 92 path
rexec, 27 module search, 9, 105, 106
search path, 9, 105, 106 path (in module sys), 9, 105, 106
signal, 20 platform (in module sys), 107
sys, 9, 105, 113 positional argument, 151
thread, 110 pow
modules (in module sys), 26, 105 built-in function, 45, 46
ModuleType (in module types), 92 prefix, 3
MRO, 150 Py_AddPendingCall (C function), 114
mutable, 150 Py_AddPendingCall(), 114
Py_AtExit (C function), 26
Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS, 108
Index 175
Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS (C macro), 111 Py_IsInitialized(), 9

Py_BLOCK_THREADS (C macro), 111 Py_LeaveRecursiveCall (C function), 22
Py_buffer (C type), 78 Py_Main (C function), 11
Py_buffer.buf (C member), 78 Py_NewInterpreter (C function), 113
Py_buffer.internal (C member), 78 Py_None (C variable), 54
Py_buffer.itemsize (C member), 78 Py_PRINT_RAW, 92
Py_buffer.ndim (C member), 78 Py_REFCNT (C macro), 123
Py_buffer.readonly (C member), 78 Py_RETURN_FALSE (C macro), 56
Py_buffer.shape (C member), 78 Py_RETURN_NONE (C macro), 54
Py_buffer.strides (C member), 78 Py_RETURN_TRUE (C macro), 56
Py_buffer.suboffsets (C member), 78 Py_SetProgramName (C function), 106
Py_BuildValue (C function), 35 Py_SetProgramName(), 9, 105, 106
Py_CLEAR (C function), 15 Py_SetPythonHome (C function), 108
Py_CompileString (C function), 13 Py_single_input (C variable), 14
Py_CompileString(), 13, 14 Py_SIZE (C macro), 123
Py_CompileStringFlags (C function), 13 PY_SSIZE_T_MAX, 58
Py_complex (C type), 59 Py_TPFLAGS_BASETYPE (built-in variable), 132
Py_DECREF (C function), 15 Py_TPFLAGS_CHECKTYPES (built-in variable), 132
Py_DECREF(), 4 Py_TPFLAGS_DEFAULT (built-in variable), 133
Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS, 108 Py_TPFLAGS_GC (built-in variable), 132
Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS (C macro), 111 Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_CLASS (built-in variable), 132
Py_END_OF_BUFFER (C variable), 81 Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC (built-in variable), 132
Py_EndInterpreter (C function), 113 Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GETCHARBUFFER (built-in
Py_EnterRecursiveCall (C function), 22 variable), 131, 142
Py_eval_input (C variable), 13 Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_INPLACEOPS (built-in vari-
Py_Exit (C function), 26 able), 132
Py_False (C variable), 56 Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_ITER (built-in variable), 132
Py_FatalError (C function), 26 Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_RICHCOMPARE (built-in vari-
Py_FatalError(), 107 able), 132
Py_FdIsInteractive (C function), 25 Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_SEQUENCE_IN (built-in vari-
Py_file_input (C variable), 13 able), 132
Py_Finalize (C function), 105 Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_WEAKREFS (built-in vari-
Py_Finalize(), 26, 105, 113 able), 132
Py_FindMethod (C function), 125 Py_TPFLAGS_HEAPTYPE (built-in variable), 132
Py_GetBuildInfo (C function), 107 Py_TPFLAGS_READY (built-in variable), 132
Py_GetCompiler (C function), 107 Py_TPFLAGS_READYING (built-in variable), 132
Py_GetCopyright (C function), 107 Py_tracefunc (C type), 114
Py_GetExecPrefix (C function), 106 Py_True (C variable), 56
Py_GetExecPrefix(), 9 Py_TYPE (C macro), 123
Py_GetPath (C function), 106 Py_UNBLOCK_THREADS (C macro), 111
Py_GetPath(), 9, 106 Py_UNICODE (C type), 65
Py_GetPlatform (C function), 107 Py_UNICODE_ISALNUM (C function), 67
Py_GetPrefix (C function), 106 Py_UNICODE_ISALPHA (C function), 67
Py_GetPrefix(), 9 Py_UNICODE_ISDECIMAL (C function), 66
Py_GetProgramFullPath (C function), 106 Py_UNICODE_ISDIGIT (C function), 66
Py_GetProgramFullPath(), 9 Py_UNICODE_ISLINEBREAK (C function), 66
Py_GetProgramName (C function), 106 Py_UNICODE_ISLOWER (C function), 66
Py_GetPythonHome (C function), 108 Py_UNICODE_ISNUMERIC (C function), 67
Py_GetVersion (C function), 107 Py_UNICODE_ISSPACE (C function), 66
Py_INCREF (C function), 15 Py_UNICODE_ISTITLE (C function), 66
Py_INCREF(), 4 Py_UNICODE_ISUPPER (C function), 66
Py_Initialize (C function), 105 Py_UNICODE_TODECIMAL (C function), 67
Py_Initialize(), 9, 106, 110, 113 Py_UNICODE_TODIGIT (C function), 67
Py_InitializeEx (C function), 105 Py_UNICODE_TOLOWER (C function), 67
Py_InitModule (C function), 121 Py_UNICODE_TONUMERIC (C function), 67
Py_InitModule3 (C function), 122 Py_UNICODE_TOTITLE (C function), 67
Py_InitModule4 (C function), 122 Py_UNICODE_TOUPPER (C function), 67
Py_IsInitialized (C function), 105 Py_VaBuildValue (C function), 36
176 Index
Py_VISIT (C function), 144 PyCapsule_SetPointer (C function), 97

Py_XDECREF (C function), 15 PyCell_Check (C function), 98
Py_XDECREF(), 8 PyCell_GET (C function), 98
Py_XINCREF (C function), 15 PyCell_Get (C function), 98
PyAnySet_Check (C function), 101 PyCell_New (C function), 98
PyAnySet_CheckExact (C function), 101 PyCell_SET (C function), 98
PyArg_Parse (C function), 34 PyCell_Set (C function), 98
PyArg_ParseTuple (C function), 34 PyCell_Type (C variable), 98
PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords (C function), 34 PyCellObject (C type), 98
PyArg_UnpackTuple (C function), 34 PyCFunction (C type), 123
PyArg_VaParse (C function), 34 PyClass_Check (C function), 88
PyArg_VaParseTupleAndKeywords (C function), 34 PyClass_IsSubclass (C function), 88
PyBool_Check (C function), 56 PyClass_Type (C variable), 88
PyBool_FromLong (C function), 56 PyClassObject (C type), 88
PyBuffer_Check (C function), 82 PyCObject (C type), 97
PyBuffer_FillContiguousStrides (C function), 80 PyCObject_AsVoidPtr (C function), 97
PyBuffer_FillInfo (C function), 81 PyCObject_Check (C function), 97
PyBuffer_FromMemory (C function), 82 PyCObject_FromVoidPtr (C function), 97
PyBuffer_FromObject (C function), 82 PyCObject_FromVoidPtrAndDesc (C function), 97
PyBuffer_FromReadWriteMemory (C function), 82 PyCObject_GetDesc (C function), 97
PyBuffer_FromReadWriteObject (C function), 82 PyCObject_SetVoidPtr (C function), 97
PyBuffer_IsContiguous (C function), 80 PyCode_Check (C function), 103
PyBuffer_New (C function), 82 PyCode_GetNumFree (C function), 103
PyBuffer_Release (C function), 80 PyCode_New (C function), 103
PyBuffer_SizeFromFormat (C function), 80 PyCode_NewEmpty (C function), 103
PyBuffer_Type (C variable), 81 PyCode_Type (C variable), 103
PyBufferObject (C type), 81 PyCodec_BackslashReplaceErrors (C function), 40
PyBufferProcs, 81 PyCodec_Decode (C function), 39
PyBufferProcs (C type), 142 PyCodec_Decoder (C function), 39
PyByteArray_AS_STRING (C function), 61 PyCodec_Encode (C function), 39
PyByteArray_AsString (C function), 61 PyCodec_Encoder (C function), 39
PyByteArray_Check (C function), 61 PyCodec_IgnoreErrors (C function), 40
PyByteArray_CheckExact (C function), 61 PyCodec_IncrementalDecoder (C function), 39
PyByteArray_Concat (C function), 61 PyCodec_IncrementalEncoder (C function), 39
PyByteArray_FromObject (C function), 61 PyCodec_KnownEncoding (C function), 39
PyByteArray_FromStringAndSize (C function), 61 PyCodec_LookupError (C function), 40
PyByteArray_GET_SIZE (C function), 61 PyCodec_Register (C function), 39
PyByteArray_Resize (C function), 61 PyCodec_RegisterError (C function), 40
PyByteArray_Size (C function), 61 PyCodec_ReplaceErrors (C function), 40
PyByteArray_Type (C variable), 61 PyCodec_StreamReader (C function), 39
PyByteArrayObject (C type), 61 PyCodec_StreamWriter (C function), 39
PyCallable_Check (C function), 43 PyCodec_StrictErrors (C function), 40
PyCallIter_Check (C function), 93 PyCodec_XMLCharRefReplaceErrors (C function), 40
PyCallIter_New (C function), 93 PyCodeObject (C type), 103
PyCallIter_Type (C variable), 93 PyCompilerFlags (C type), 14
PyCapsule (C type), 95 PyComplex_AsCComplex (C function), 60
PyCapsule_CheckExact (C function), 96 PyComplex_Check (C function), 60
PyCapsule_Destructor (C type), 96 PyComplex_CheckExact (C function), 60
PyCapsule_GetContext (C function), 96 PyComplex_FromCComplex (C function), 60
PyCapsule_GetDestructor (C function), 96 PyComplex_FromDoubles (C function), 60
PyCapsule_GetName (C function), 96 PyComplex_ImagAsDouble (C function), 60
PyCapsule_GetPointer (C function), 96 PyComplex_RealAsDouble (C function), 60
PyCapsule_Import (C function), 96 PyComplex_Type (C variable), 60
PyCapsule_IsValid (C function), 96 PyComplexObject (C type), 60
PyCapsule_New (C function), 96 PyDate_Check (C function), 99
PyCapsule_SetContext (C function), 97 PyDate_CheckExact (C function), 99
PyCapsule_SetDestructor (C function), 97 PyDate_FromDate (C function), 99
PyCapsule_SetName (C function), 97 PyDate_FromTimestamp (C function), 101
Index 177
PyDateTime_Check (C function), 99 PyErr_GivenExceptionMatches (C function), 17

PyDateTime_CheckExact (C function), 99 PyErr_NewException (C function), 20
PyDateTime_DATE_GET_HOUR (C function), 100 PyErr_NewExceptionWithDoc (C function), 20
PyDateTime_DATE_GET_MICROSECOND (C func- PyErr_NoMemory (C function), 18
tion), 100 PyErr_NormalizeException (C function), 17
PyDateTime_DATE_GET_MINUTE (C function), 100 PyErr_Occurred (C function), 17
PyDateTime_DATE_GET_SECOND (C function), 100 PyErr_Occurred(), 7
PyDateTime_FromDateAndTime (C function), 99 PyErr_Print (C function), 17
PyDateTime_FromTimestamp (C function), 101 PyErr_PrintEx (C function), 17
PyDateTime_GET_DAY (C function), 100 PyErr_Restore (C function), 18
PyDateTime_GET_MONTH (C function), 100 PyErr_SetExcFromWindowsErr (C function), 19
PyDateTime_GET_YEAR (C function), 100 PyErr_SetExcFromWindowsErrWithFilename (C func-
PyDateTime_TIME_GET_HOUR (C function), 100 tion), 19
PyDateTime_TIME_GET_MICROSECOND (C func- PyErr_SetExcFromWindowsErrWithFilenameObject
tion), 101 (C function), 19
PyDateTime_TIME_GET_MINUTE (C function), 100 PyErr_SetFromErrno (C function), 18
PyDateTime_TIME_GET_SECOND (C function), 100 PyErr_SetFromErrnoWithFilename (C function), 19
PyDelta_Check (C function), 99 PyErr_SetFromErrnoWithFilenameObject (C func-
PyDelta_CheckExact (C function), 99 tion), 18
PyDelta_FromDSU (C function), 100 PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr (C function), 19
PyDescr_IsData (C function), 94 PyErr_SetFromWindowsErrWithFilename (C func-
PyDescr_NewClassMethod (C function), 94 tion), 19
PyDescr_NewGetSet (C function), 93 PyErr_SetFromWindowsErrWithFilenameObject (C
PyDescr_NewMember (C function), 93 function), 19
PyDescr_NewMethod (C function), 94 PyErr_SetInterrupt (C function), 20
PyDescr_NewWrapper (C function), 94 PyErr_SetNone (C function), 18
PyDict_Check (C function), 86 PyErr_SetObject (C function), 18
PyDict_CheckExact (C function), 86 PyErr_SetString (C function), 18
PyDict_Clear (C function), 86 PyErr_SetString(), 7
PyDict_Contains (C function), 86 PyErr_Warn (C function), 20
PyDict_Copy (C function), 86 PyErr_WarnEx (C function), 19
PyDict_DelItem (C function), 86 PyErr_WarnExplicit (C function), 20
PyDict_DelItemString (C function), 86 PyErr_WarnPy3k (C function), 20
PyDict_GetItem (C function), 86 PyErr_WriteUnraisable (C function), 21
PyDict_GetItemString (C function), 87 PyEval_AcquireLock (C function), 112
PyDict_Items (C function), 87 PyEval_AcquireLock(), 105
PyDict_Keys (C function), 87 PyEval_AcquireThread (C function), 112
PyDict_Merge (C function), 88 PyEval_EvalCode (C function), 13
PyDict_MergeFromSeq2 (C function), 88 PyEval_EvalCodeEx (C function), 13
PyDict_New (C function), 86 PyEval_EvalFrame (C function), 13
PyDict_Next (C function), 87 PyEval_EvalFrameEx (C function), 13
PyDict_SetItem (C function), 86 PyEval_GetBuiltins (C function), 38
PyDict_SetItemString (C function), 86 PyEval_GetCallStats (C function), 115
PyDict_Size (C function), 87 PyEval_GetFrame (C function), 38
PyDict_Type (C variable), 86 PyEval_GetFuncDesc (C function), 39
PyDict_Update (C function), 88 PyEval_GetFuncName (C function), 39
PyDict_Values (C function), 87 PyEval_GetGlobals (C function), 38
PyDictObject (C type), 86 PyEval_GetLocals (C function), 38
PyDictProxy_New (C function), 86 PyEval_GetRestricted (C function), 39
PyErr_BadArgument (C function), 18 PyEval_InitThreads (C function), 110
PyErr_BadInternalCall (C function), 19 PyEval_InitThreads(), 105
PyErr_CheckSignals (C function), 20 PyEval_MergeCompilerFlags (C function), 13
PyErr_Clear (C function), 18 PyEval_ReInitThreads (C function), 111
PyErr_Clear(), 7, 8 PyEval_ReleaseLock (C function), 113
PyErr_ExceptionMatches (C function), 17 PyEval_ReleaseLock(), 105, 110
PyErr_ExceptionMatches(), 8 PyEval_ReleaseThread (C function), 112
PyErr_Fetch (C function), 18 PyEval_ReleaseThread(), 110
PyErr_Format (C function), 18 PyEval_RestoreThread (C function), 110
178 Index
PyEval_RestoreThread(), 109, 110 PyFloat_ClearFreeList (C function), 59

PyEval_SaveThread (C function), 110 PyFloat_FromDouble (C function), 59
PyEval_SaveThread(), 109, 110 PyFloat_FromString (C function), 59
PyEval_SetProfile (C function), 115 PyFloat_GetInfo (C function), 59
PyEval_SetTrace (C function), 115 PyFloat_GetMax (C function), 59
PyEval_ThreadsInitialized (C function), 110 PyFloat_GetMin (C function), 59
PyExc_ArithmeticError, 23 PyFloat_Type (C variable), 58
PyExc_AssertionError, 23 PyFloatObject (C type), 58
PyExc_AttributeError, 23 PyFrame_GetLineNumber (C function), 38
PyExc_BaseException, 23 PyFrozenSet_Check (C function), 101
PyExc_EnvironmentError, 23 PyFrozenSet_CheckExact (C function), 101
PyExc_EOFError, 23 PyFrozenSet_New (C function), 102
PyExc_Exception, 23 PyFrozenSet_Type (C variable), 101
PyExc_FloatingPointError, 23 PyFunction_Check (C function), 89
PyExc_ImportError, 23 PyFunction_GetClosure (C function), 89
PyExc_IndexError, 23 PyFunction_GetCode (C function), 89
PyExc_IOError, 23 PyFunction_GetDefaults (C function), 89
PyExc_KeyboardInterrupt, 23 PyFunction_GetGlobals (C function), 89
PyExc_KeyError, 23 PyFunction_GetModule (C function), 89
PyExc_LookupError, 23 PyFunction_New (C function), 89
PyExc_MemoryError, 23 PyFunction_SetClosure (C function), 89
PyExc_NameError, 23 PyFunction_SetDefaults (C function), 89
PyExc_NotImplementedError, 23 PyFunction_Type (C variable), 89
PyExc_OSError, 23 PyFunctionObject (C type), 89
PyExc_OverflowError, 23 PyGen_Check (C function), 98
PyExc_ReferenceError, 23 PyGen_CheckExact (C function), 98
PyExc_RuntimeError, 23 PyGen_New (C function), 98
PyExc_StandardError, 23 PyGen_Type (C variable), 98
PyExc_SyntaxError, 23 PyGenObject (C type), 98
PyExc_SystemError, 23 PyGILState_Ensure (C function), 111
PyExc_SystemExit, 23 PyGILState_GetThisThreadState (C function), 111
PyExc_TypeError, 23 PyGILState_Release (C function), 111
PyExc_ValueError, 23 PyImport_AddModule (C function), 27
PyExc_WindowsError, 23 PyImport_AppendInittab (C function), 29
PyExc_ZeroDivisionError, 23 PyImport_Cleanup (C function), 28
PyFile_AsFile (C function), 90 PyImport_ExecCodeModule (C function), 27
PyFile_Check (C function), 90 PyImport_ExecCodeModuleEx (C function), 28
PyFile_CheckExact (C function), 90 PyImport_ExtendInittab (C function), 29
PyFile_DecUseCount (C function), 91 PyImport_FrozenModules (C variable), 29
PyFile_FromFile (C function), 90 PyImport_GetImporter (C function), 28
PyFile_FromString (C function), 90 PyImport_GetMagicNumber (C function), 28
PyFile_GetLine (C function), 91 PyImport_GetModuleDict (C function), 28
PyFile_IncUseCount (C function), 91 PyImport_Import (C function), 27
PyFile_Name (C function), 91 PyImport_ImportFrozenModule (C function), 28
PyFile_SetBufSize (C function), 91 PyImport_ImportModule (C function), 26
PyFile_SetEncoding (C function), 91 PyImport_ImportModuleEx (C function), 27
PyFile_SetEncodingAndErrors (C function), 91 PyImport_ImportModuleLevel (C function), 27
PyFile_SoftSpace (C function), 91 PyImport_ImportModuleNoBlock (C function), 27
PyFile_Type (C variable), 90 PyImport_ReloadModule (C function), 27
PyFile_WriteObject (C function), 92 PyIndex_Check (C function), 48
PyFile_WriteString (C function), 92 PyInstance_Check (C function), 88
PyFileObject (C type), 90 PyInstance_New (C function), 88
PyFloat_AS_DOUBLE (C function), 59 PyInstance_NewRaw (C function), 88
PyFloat_AsDouble (C function), 59 PyInstance_Type (C variable), 88
PyFloat_AsReprString (C function), 59 PyInt_AS_LONG (C function), 55
PyFloat_AsString (C function), 59 PyInt_AsLong (C function), 55
PyFloat_Check (C function), 58 PyInt_AsSsize_t (C function), 55
PyFloat_CheckExact (C function), 58 PyInt_AsUnsignedLongLongMask (C function), 55
Index 179
PyInt_AsUnsignedLongMask (C function), 55 PyLong_FromString (C function), 57

PyInt_Check (C function), 54 PyLong_FromUnicode (C function), 57
PyInt_CheckExact (C function), 54 PyLong_FromUnsignedLong (C function), 56
PyInt_ClearFreeList (C function), 55 PyLong_FromUnsignedLongLong (C function), 57
PyInt_FromLong (C function), 55 PyLong_FromVoidPtr (C function), 57
PyInt_FromSize_t (C function), 55 PyLong_Type (C variable), 56
PyInt_FromSsize_t (C function), 55 PyLongObject (C type), 56
PyInt_FromString (C function), 55 PyMapping_Check (C function), 50
PyInt_GetMax (C function), 55 PyMapping_DelItem (C function), 50
PyInt_Type (C variable), 54 PyMapping_DelItemString (C function), 50
PyInterpreterState (C type), 110 PyMapping_GetItemString (C function), 51
PyInterpreterState_Clear (C function), 112 PyMapping_HasKey (C function), 50
PyInterpreterState_Delete (C function), 112 PyMapping_HasKeyString (C function), 50
PyInterpreterState_Head (C function), 116 PyMapping_Items (C function), 50
PyInterpreterState_New (C function), 112 PyMapping_Keys (C function), 50
PyInterpreterState_Next (C function), 116 PyMapping_Length (C function), 50
PyInterpreterState_ThreadHead (C function), 116 PyMapping_SetItemString (C function), 51
PyIntObject (C type), 54 PyMapping_Size (C function), 50
PyIter_Check (C function), 51 PyMapping_Values (C function), 50
PyIter_Next (C function), 51 PyMappingMethods (C type), 141
PyList_Append (C function), 85 PyMappingMethods.mp_ass_subscript (C member),
PyList_AsTuple (C function), 85 141
PyList_Check (C function), 84 PyMappingMethods.mp_length (C member), 141
PyList_CheckExact (C function), 84 PyMappingMethods.mp_subscript (C member), 141
PyList_GET_ITEM (C function), 85 PyMarshal_ReadLastObjectFromFile (C function), 30
PyList_GET_SIZE (C function), 84 PyMarshal_ReadLongFromFile (C function), 30
PyList_GetItem (C function), 84 PyMarshal_ReadObjectFromFile (C function), 30
PyList_GetItem(), 6 PyMarshal_ReadObjectFromString (C function), 30
PyList_GetSlice (C function), 85 PyMarshal_ReadShortFromFile (C function), 30
PyList_Insert (C function), 85 PyMarshal_WriteLongToFile (C function), 29
PyList_New (C function), 84 PyMarshal_WriteObjectToFile (C function), 29
PyList_Reverse (C function), 85 PyMarshal_WriteObjectToString (C function), 29
PyList_SET_ITEM (C function), 85 PyMem_Del (C function), 118
PyList_SetItem (C function), 85 PyMem_Free (C function), 118
PyList_SetItem(), 5 PyMem_Malloc (C function), 118
PyList_SetSlice (C function), 85 PyMem_New (C function), 118
PyList_Size (C function), 84 PyMem_Realloc (C function), 118
PyList_Sort (C function), 85 PyMem_Resize (C function), 118
PyList_Type (C variable), 84 PyMemberDef (C type), 125
PyListObject (C type), 84 PyMemoryView_Check (C function), 81
PyLong_AsDouble (C function), 58 PyMemoryView_FromBuffer (C function), 81
PyLong_AsLong (C function), 57 PyMemoryView_FromObject (C function), 81
PyLong_AsLongAndOverflow (C function), 57 PyMemoryView_GET_BUFFER (C function), 81
PyLong_AsLongLong (C function), 58 PyMemoryView_GetContiguous (C function), 81
PyLong_AsLongLongAndOverflow (C function), 57 PyMethod_Check (C function), 89
PyLong_AsSsize_t (C function), 58 PyMethod_Class (C function), 90
PyLong_AsUnsignedLong (C function), 58 PyMethod_ClearFreeList (C function), 90
PyLong_AsUnsignedLongLong (C function), 58 PyMethod_Function (C function), 90
PyLong_AsUnsignedLongLongMask (C function), 58 PyMethod_GET_CLASS (C function), 90
PyLong_AsUnsignedLongMask (C function), 58 PyMethod_GET_FUNCTION (C function), 90
PyLong_AsVoidPtr (C function), 58 PyMethod_GET_SELF (C function), 90
PyLong_Check (C function), 56 PyMethod_New (C function), 89
PyLong_CheckExact (C function), 56 PyMethod_Self (C function), 90
PyLong_FromDouble (C function), 57 PyMethod_Type (C variable), 89
PyLong_FromLong (C function), 56 PyMethodDef (C type), 123
PyLong_FromLongLong (C function), 57 PyModule_AddIntConstant (C function), 92
PyLong_FromSize_t (C function), 57 PyModule_AddIntMacro (C function), 92
PyLong_FromSsize_t (C function), 56 PyModule_AddObject (C function), 92
180 Index
PyModule_AddStringConstant (C function), 92 PyObject_AsReadBuffer (C function), 52

PyModule_AddStringMacro (C function), 93 PyObject_AsWriteBuffer (C function), 52
PyModule_Check (C function), 92 PyObject_Bytes (C function), 42
PyModule_CheckExact (C function), 92 PyObject_Call (C function), 43
PyModule_GetDict (C function), 92 PyObject_CallFunction (C function), 43
PyModule_GetFilename (C function), 92 PyObject_CallFunctionObjArgs (C function), 43
PyModule_GetName (C function), 92 PyObject_CallMethod (C function), 43
PyModule_New (C function), 92 PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs (C function), 43
PyModule_Type (C variable), 92 PyObject_CallObject (C function), 43
PyNumber_Absolute (C function), 45 PyObject_CheckBuffer (C function), 79
PyNumber_Add (C function), 45 PyObject_CheckReadBuffer (C function), 52
PyNumber_And (C function), 46 PyObject_Cmp (C function), 42
PyNumber_AsSsize_t (C function), 47 PyObject_Compare (C function), 42
PyNumber_Check (C function), 45 PyObject_Del (C function), 121
PyNumber_Coerce (C function), 47 PyObject_DelAttr (C function), 42
PyNumber_CoerceEx (C function), 47 PyObject_DelAttrString (C function), 42
PyNumber_Divide (C function), 45 PyObject_DelItem (C function), 44
PyNumber_Divmod (C function), 45 PyObject_Dir (C function), 44
PyNumber_Float (C function), 47 PyObject_GC_Del (C function), 143
PyNumber_FloorDivide (C function), 45 PyObject_GC_New (C function), 143
PyNumber_Index (C function), 47 PyObject_GC_NewVar (C function), 143
PyNumber_InPlaceAdd (C function), 46 PyObject_GC_Resize (C function), 143
PyNumber_InPlaceAnd (C function), 47 PyObject_GC_Track (C function), 143
PyNumber_InPlaceDivide (C function), 46 PyObject_GC_UnTrack (C function), 144
PyNumber_InPlaceFloorDivide (C function), 46 PyObject_GenericGetAttr (C function), 41
PyNumber_InPlaceLshift (C function), 47 PyObject_GenericSetAttr (C function), 41
PyNumber_InPlaceMultiply (C function), 46 PyObject_GetAttr (C function), 41
PyNumber_InPlaceOr (C function), 47 PyObject_GetAttrString (C function), 41
PyNumber_InPlacePower (C function), 46 PyObject_GetBuffer (C function), 79
PyNumber_InPlaceRemainder (C function), 46 PyObject_GetItem (C function), 44
PyNumber_InPlaceRshift (C function), 47 PyObject_GetIter (C function), 44
PyNumber_InPlaceSubtract (C function), 46 PyObject_HasAttr (C function), 41
PyNumber_InPlaceTrueDivide (C function), 46 PyObject_HasAttrString (C function), 41
PyNumber_InPlaceXor (C function), 47 PyObject_Hash (C function), 44
PyNumber_Int (C function), 47 PyObject_HashNotImplemented (C function), 44
PyNumber_Invert (C function), 46 PyObject_HEAD (C macro), 122
PyNumber_Long (C function), 47 PyObject_HEAD_INIT (C macro), 123
PyNumber_Lshift (C function), 46 PyObject_Init (C function), 121
PyNumber_Multiply (C function), 45 PyObject_InitVar (C function), 121
PyNumber_Negative (C function), 45 PyObject_IsInstance (C function), 42
PyNumber_Or (C function), 46 PyObject_IsSubclass (C function), 43
PyNumber_Positive (C function), 45 PyObject_IsTrue (C function), 44
PyNumber_Power (C function), 45 PyObject_Length (C function), 44
PyNumber_Remainder (C function), 45 PyObject_New (C function), 121
PyNumber_Rshift (C function), 46 PyObject_NewVar (C function), 121
PyNumber_Subtract (C function), 45 PyObject_Not (C function), 44
PyNumber_ToBase (C function), 47 PyObject_Print (C function), 41
PyNumber_TrueDivide (C function), 45 PyObject_Repr (C function), 42
PyNumber_Xor (C function), 46 PyObject_RichCompare (C function), 42
PyNumberMethods (C type), 139 PyObject_RichCompareBool (C function), 42
PyNumberMethods.nb_coerce (C member), 140 PyObject_SetAttr (C function), 41
PyObject (C type), 122 PyObject_SetAttrString (C function), 41
PyObject._ob_next (C member), 127 PyObject_SetItem (C function), 44
PyObject._ob_prev (C member), 127 PyObject_Size (C function), 44
PyObject.ob_refcnt (C member), 127 PyObject_Str (C function), 42
PyObject.ob_type (C member), 128 PyObject_Type (C function), 44
PyObject_AsCharBuffer (C function), 51 PyObject_TypeCheck (C function), 44
PyObject_AsFileDescriptor (C function), 44 PyObject_Unicode (C function), 42
Index 181
PyObject_VAR_HEAD (C macro), 123 PySequence_InPlaceConcat (C function), 48

PyOS_AfterFork (C function), 25 PySequence_InPlaceRepeat (C function), 48
PyOS_ascii_atof (C function), 38 PySequence_ITEM (C function), 50
PyOS_ascii_formatd (C function), 37 PySequence_Length (C function), 48
PyOS_ascii_strtod (C function), 37 PySequence_List (C function), 49
PyOS_CheckStack (C function), 25 PySequence_Repeat (C function), 48
PyOS_double_to_string (C function), 37 PySequence_SetItem (C function), 48
PyOS_getsig (C function), 25 PySequence_SetSlice (C function), 49
PyOS_setsig (C function), 25 PySequence_Size (C function), 48
PyOS_snprintf (C function), 36 PySequence_Tuple (C function), 49
PyOS_stricmp (C function), 38 PySequenceMethods (C type), 141
PyOS_string_to_double (C function), 37 PySequenceMethods.sq_ass_item (C member), 141
PyOS_strnicmp (C function), 38 PySequenceMethods.sq_concat (C member), 141
PyOS_vsnprintf (C function), 36 PySequenceMethods.sq_contains (C member), 141
PyParser_SimpleParseFile (C function), 12 PySequenceMethods.sq_inplace_concat (C member),
PyParser_SimpleParseFileFlags (C function), 12 141
PyParser_SimpleParseString (C function), 12 PySequenceMethods.sq_inplace_repeat (C member),
PyParser_SimpleParseStringFlags (C function), 12 141
PyParser_SimpleParseStringFlagsFilename (C func- PySequenceMethods.sq_item (C member), 141
tion), 12 PySequenceMethods.sq_length (C member), 141
PyProperty_Type (C variable), 93 PySequenceMethods.sq_repeat (C member), 141
PyRun_AnyFile (C function), 11 PySet_Add (C function), 102
PyRun_AnyFileEx (C function), 11 PySet_Check (C function), 101
PyRun_AnyFileExFlags (C function), 11 PySet_Clear (C function), 102
PyRun_AnyFileFlags (C function), 11 PySet_Contains (C function), 102
PyRun_File (C function), 13 PySet_Discard (C function), 102
PyRun_FileEx (C function), 13 PySet_GET_SIZE (C function), 102
PyRun_FileExFlags (C function), 13 PySet_New (C function), 102
PyRun_FileFlags (C function), 13 PySet_Pop (C function), 102
PyRun_InteractiveLoop (C function), 12 PySet_Size (C function), 102
PyRun_InteractiveLoopFlags (C function), 12 PySet_Type (C variable), 101
PyRun_InteractiveOne (C function), 12 PySetObject (C type), 101
PyRun_InteractiveOneFlags (C function), 12 PySignal_SetWakeupFd (C function), 20
PyRun_SimpleFile (C function), 12 PySlice_Check (C function), 94
PyRun_SimpleFileEx (C function), 12 PySlice_GetIndices (C function), 94
PyRun_SimpleFileExFlags (C function), 12 PySlice_GetIndicesEx (C function), 94
PyRun_SimpleFileFlags (C function), 12 PySlice_New (C function), 94
PyRun_SimpleString (C function), 11 PySlice_Type (C variable), 94
PyRun_SimpleStringFlags (C function), 11 PyString_AS_STRING (C function), 63
PyRun_String (C function), 12 PyString_AsDecodedObject (C function), 65
PyRun_StringFlags (C function), 12 PyString_AsEncodedObject (C function), 65
PySeqIter_Check (C function), 93 PyString_AsString (C function), 63
PySeqIter_New (C function), 93 PyString_AsStringAndSize (C function), 63
PySeqIter_Type (C variable), 93 PyString_Check (C function), 62
PySequence_Check (C function), 48 PyString_CheckExact (C function), 62
PySequence_Concat (C function), 48 PyString_Concat (C function), 64
PySequence_Contains (C function), 49 PyString_ConcatAndDel (C function), 64
PySequence_Count (C function), 49 PyString_Decode (C function), 64
PySequence_DelItem (C function), 49 PyString_Encode (C function), 65
PySequence_DelSlice (C function), 49 PyString_Format (C function), 64
PySequence_Fast (C function), 49 PyString_FromFormat (C function), 62
PySequence_Fast_GET_ITEM (C function), 49 PyString_FromFormatV (C function), 63
PySequence_Fast_GET_SIZE (C function), 50 PyString_FromString (C function), 62
PySequence_Fast_ITEMS (C function), 49 PyString_FromString(), 86
PySequence_GetItem (C function), 48 PyString_FromStringAndSize (C function), 62
PySequence_GetItem(), 6 PyString_GET_SIZE (C function), 63
PySequence_GetSlice (C function), 48 PyString_InternFromString (C function), 64
PySequence_Index (C function), 49 PyString_InternInPlace (C function), 64
182 Index
PyString_Size (C function), 63 PyTuple_Size (C function), 83

PyString_Type (C variable), 62 PyTuple_Type (C variable), 82
PyStringObject (C type), 62 PyTupleObject (C type), 82
PySys_AddWarnOption (C function), 26 PyType_Check (C function), 53
PySys_GetFile (C function), 25 PyType_CheckExact (C function), 53
PySys_GetObject (C function), 25 PyType_ClearCache (C function), 53
PySys_ResetWarnOptions (C function), 26 PyType_GenericAlloc (C function), 54
PySys_SetArgv (C function), 108 PyType_GenericNew (C function), 54
PySys_SetArgv(), 105 PyType_HasFeature (C function), 53
PySys_SetArgvEx (C function), 107 PyType_HasFeature(), 142
PySys_SetArgvEx(), 9, 105 PyType_IS_GC (C function), 53
PySys_SetObject (C function), 25 PyType_IsSubtype (C function), 54
PySys_SetPath (C function), 26 PyType_Modified (C function), 53
PySys_WriteStderr (C function), 26 PyType_Ready (C function), 54
PySys_WriteStdout (C function), 26 PyType_Type (C variable), 53
Python 3000, 151 PyTypeObject (C type), 53
Python Enhancement Proposals PyTypeObject.tp_alloc (C member), 137
PEP 238, 14, 147 PyTypeObject.tp_allocs (C member), 139
PEP 278, 152 PyTypeObject.tp_as_buffer (C member), 131
PEP 302, 147, 150 PyTypeObject.tp_base (C member), 136
PEP 3116, 152 PyTypeObject.tp_bases (C member), 139
PEP 343, 146 PyTypeObject.tp_basicsize (C member), 128
PYTHONDUMPREFS, 127 PyTypeObject.tp_cache (C member), 139
PYTHONHOME, 9, 108 PyTypeObject.tp_call (C member), 131
Pythonic, 151 PyTypeObject.tp_clear (C member), 133
PYTHONPATH, 9 PyTypeObject.tp_compare (C member), 130
PyThreadState, 108 PyTypeObject.tp_dealloc (C member), 129
PyThreadState (C type), 110 PyTypeObject.tp_descr_get (C member), 136
PyThreadState_Clear (C function), 112 PyTypeObject.tp_descr_set (C member), 136
PyThreadState_Delete (C function), 112 PyTypeObject.tp_dict (C member), 136
PyThreadState_Get (C function), 110 PyTypeObject.tp_dictoffset (C member), 136
PyThreadState_GetDict (C function), 112 PyTypeObject.tp_doc (C member), 133
PyThreadState_New (C function), 112 PyTypeObject.tp_flags (C member), 131
PyThreadState_Next (C function), 116 PyTypeObject.tp_free (C member), 138
PyThreadState_SetAsyncExc (C function), 112 PyTypeObject.tp_frees (C member), 139
PyThreadState_Swap (C function), 110 PyTypeObject.tp_getattr (C member), 129
PyTime_Check (C function), 99 PyTypeObject.tp_getattro (C member), 131
PyTime_CheckExact (C function), 99 PyTypeObject.tp_getset (C member), 136
PyTime_FromTime (C function), 100 PyTypeObject.tp_hash (C member), 130
PyTrace_C_CALL (C variable), 115 PyTypeObject.tp_init (C member), 137
PyTrace_C_EXCEPTION (C variable), 115 PyTypeObject.tp_is_gc (C member), 138
PyTrace_C_RETURN (C variable), 115 PyTypeObject.tp_itemsize (C member), 128
PyTrace_CALL (C variable), 115 PyTypeObject.tp_iter (C member), 135
PyTrace_EXCEPTION (C variable), 115 PyTypeObject.tp_iternext (C member), 135
PyTrace_LINE (C variable), 115 PyTypeObject.tp_maxalloc (C member), 139
PyTrace_RETURN (C variable), 115 PyTypeObject.tp_members (C member), 135
PyTuple_Check (C function), 82 PyTypeObject.tp_methods (C member), 135
PyTuple_CheckExact (C function), 82 PyTypeObject.tp_mro (C member), 139
PyTuple_ClearFreeList (C function), 84 PyTypeObject.tp_name (C member), 128
PyTuple_GET_ITEM (C function), 83 PyTypeObject.tp_new (C member), 138
PyTuple_GET_SIZE (C function), 83 PyTypeObject.tp_next (C member), 139
PyTuple_GetItem (C function), 83 PyTypeObject.tp_print (C member), 129
PyTuple_GetSlice (C function), 83 PyTypeObject.tp_repr (C member), 130
PyTuple_New (C function), 83 PyTypeObject.tp_richcompare (C member), 134
PyTuple_Pack (C function), 83 PyTypeObject.tp_setattr (C member), 129
PyTuple_SET_ITEM (C function), 83 PyTypeObject.tp_setattro (C member), 131
PyTuple_SetItem (C function), 83 PyTypeObject.tp_str (C member), 131
PyTuple_SetItem(), 5 PyTypeObject.tp_subclasses (C member), 139
Index 183
PyTypeObject.tp_traverse (C member), 133 PyUnicode_FromEncodedObject (C function), 68

PyTypeObject.tp_weaklist (C member), 139 PyUnicode_FromFormat (C function), 67
PyTypeObject.tp_weaklistoffset (C member), 135 PyUnicode_FromFormatV (C function), 68
PyTZInfo_Check (C function), 99 PyUnicode_FromObject (C function), 68
PyTZInfo_CheckExact (C function), 99 PyUnicode_FromString (C function), 67
PyUnicode_AS_DATA (C function), 66 PyUnicode_FromStringAndSize (C function), 67
PyUnicode_AS_UNICODE (C function), 66 PyUnicode_FromUnicode (C function), 67
PyUnicode_AsASCIIString (C function), 74 PyUnicode_FromWideChar (C function), 69
PyUnicode_AsCharmapString (C function), 75 PyUnicode_GET_DATA_SIZE (C function), 66
PyUnicode_AsEncodedString (C function), 70 PyUnicode_GET_SIZE (C function), 66
PyUnicode_AsLatin1String (C function), 74 PyUnicode_GetSize (C function), 68
PyUnicode_AsMBCSString (C function), 75 PyUnicode_Join (C function), 76
PyUnicode_AsRawUnicodeEscapeString (C function), PyUnicode_Replace (C function), 77
73 PyUnicode_RichCompare (C function), 77
PyUnicode_AsUnicode (C function), 68 PyUnicode_Split (C function), 76
PyUnicode_AsUnicodeEscapeString (C function), 73 PyUnicode_Splitlines (C function), 76
PyUnicode_AsUTF16String (C function), 72 PyUnicode_Tailmatch (C function), 76
PyUnicode_AsUTF32String (C function), 71 PyUnicode_Translate (C function), 76
PyUnicode_AsUTF8String (C function), 70 PyUnicode_TranslateCharmap (C function), 75
PyUnicode_AsWideChar (C function), 69 PyUnicode_Type (C variable), 66
PyUnicode_Check (C function), 66 PyUnicodeDecodeError_Create (C function), 21
PyUnicode_CheckExact (C function), 66 PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetEncoding (C function), 21
PyUnicode_ClearFreeList (C function), 66 PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetEnd (C function), 21
PyUnicode_Compare (C function), 77 PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetObject (C function), 21
PyUnicode_Concat (C function), 76 PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetReason (C function), 22
PyUnicode_Contains (C function), 77 PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetStart (C function), 21
PyUnicode_Count (C function), 76 PyUnicodeDecodeError_SetEnd (C function), 21
PyUnicode_Decode (C function), 69 PyUnicodeDecodeError_SetReason (C function), 22
PyUnicode_DecodeASCII (C function), 74 PyUnicodeDecodeError_SetStart (C function), 21
PyUnicode_DecodeCharmap (C function), 74 PyUnicodeEncodeError_Create (C function), 21
PyUnicode_DecodeLatin1 (C function), 73 PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetEncoding (C function), 21
PyUnicode_DecodeMBCS (C function), 75 PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetEnd (C function), 21
PyUnicode_DecodeMBCSStateful (C function), 75 PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetObject (C function), 21
PyUnicode_DecodeRawUnicodeEscape (C function), PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetReason (C function), 22
73 PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetStart (C function), 21
PyUnicode_DecodeUnicodeEscape (C function), 73 PyUnicodeEncodeError_SetEnd (C function), 21
PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16 (C function), 71 PyUnicodeEncodeError_SetReason (C function), 22
PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful (C function), 72 PyUnicodeEncodeError_SetStart (C function), 21
PyUnicode_DecodeUTF32 (C function), 70 PyUnicodeObject (C type), 65
PyUnicode_DecodeUTF32Stateful (C function), 71 PyUnicodeTranslateError_Create (C function), 21
PyUnicode_DecodeUTF7 (C function), 72 PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetEnd (C function), 21
PyUnicode_DecodeUTF7Stateful (C function), 72 PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetObject (C function), 21
PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8 (C function), 70 PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetReason (C function), 22
PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8Stateful (C function), 70 PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetStart (C function), 21
PyUnicode_Encode (C function), 69 PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetEnd (C function), 21
PyUnicode_EncodeASCII (C function), 74 PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetReason (C function), 22
PyUnicode_EncodeCharmap (C function), 75 PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetStart (C function), 21
PyUnicode_EncodeLatin1 (C function), 74 PyVarObject (C type), 122
PyUnicode_EncodeMBCS (C function), 75 PyVarObject.ob_size (C member), 128
PyUnicode_EncodeRawUnicodeEscape (C function), PyVarObject_HEAD_INIT (C macro), 123
73 PyWeakref_Check (C function), 95
PyUnicode_EncodeUnicodeEscape (C function), 73 PyWeakref_CheckProxy (C function), 95
PyUnicode_EncodeUTF16 (C function), 72 PyWeakref_CheckRef (C function), 95
PyUnicode_EncodeUTF32 (C function), 71 PyWeakref_GET_OBJECT (C function), 95
PyUnicode_EncodeUTF7 (C function), 72 PyWeakref_GetObject (C function), 95
PyUnicode_EncodeUTF8 (C function), 70 PyWeakref_NewProxy (C function), 95
PyUnicode_Find (C function), 76 PyWeakref_NewRef (C function), 95
PyUnicode_Format (C function), 77 PyWrapper_New (C function), 94
184 Index
R object, 82
readbufferproc (C type), 142 TupleType (in module types), 82
realloc(), 117 type, 152
reference count, 151 built-in function, 44
reload object, 4, 53
built-in function, 27 TypeType (in module types), 53
repr
built-in function, 42, 130 U
rexec ULONG_MAX, 58
module, 27 unicode
S universal newlines, 152
search
path, module, 9, 105, 106 V
segcountproc (C type), 143 version (in module sys), 107
sequence, 151 virtual environment, 152
object, 61 virtual machine, 152
set visitproc (C type), 144
object, 101
set_all(), 6 W
setcheckinterval() (in module sys), 108 writebufferproc (C type), 142
setvbuf(), 91
SIGINT, 20 Z
signal Zen of Python, 152
module, 20
slice, 152
SliceType (in module types), 94
softspace (file attribute), 91
special method, 152
statement, 152
staticmethod
stderr (in module sys), 113
stdin (in module sys), 113
stdout (in module sys), 113
str
strerror(), 18
string
object, 62
StringType (in module types), 62
struct sequence, 152
sum_list(), 6
sum_sequence(), 7
sys
module, 9, 105, 113
SystemError (built-in exception), 92
T
thread
module, 110
tp_as_mapping (C member), 130
tp_as_number (C member), 130
tp_as_sequence (C member), 130
traverseproc (C type), 144
triple-quoted string, 152
tuple
built-in function, 49, 86
Index 185

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The Python/C API

Guido van Rossum

March 11, 2016

Python Software Foundation

2 The Very High Level Layer 11

6 Abstract Objects Layer 41

7 Concrete Objects Layer 53

8 Initialization, Finalization, and Threads 105

9 Memory Management 117

10 Object Implementation Support 121

B About these documents 153

C History and License 155

1.1 Include Files

1.2 Objects, Types and Reference Counts

1.2.1 Reference Counts

Reference Count Details

tuple = Py_BuildValue("(iis)", 1, 2, "three");

1.2. Objects, Types and Reference Counts 5

PyObject *index = PyInt_FromLong(i);

Py_DECREF(item); /* Discard reference ownership */

def incr_item(dict, key):

item = PyObject_GetItem(dict, key);

/* Clear the error and use zero: */

incremented_item = PyNumber_Add(item, const_one);

if (PyObject_SetItem(dict, key, incremented_item) < 0)

/* Use Py_XDECREF() to ignore NULL references */

return rv; /* -1 for error, 0 for success */

1.4 Embedding Python

1.5 Debugging Builds

1.4. Embedding Python 9

THE VERY HIGH LEVEL LAYER

12 Chapter 2. The Very High Level Layer

14 Chapter 2. The Very High Level Layer

void Py_XDECREF(PyObject *o)

16 Chapter 3. Reference Counting

int PyErr_ExceptionMatches(PyObject *exc)

void PyErr_NormalizeException(PyObject**exc, PyObject**val, PyObject**tb)

void PyErr_Restore(PyObject *type, PyObject *value, PyObject *traceback)

void PyErr_SetString(PyObject *type, const char *message)

18 Chapter 4. Exception Handling

PyObject* PyErr_SetFromErrnoWithFilenameObject(PyObject *type, PyObject *filenameOb-

20 Chapter 4. Exception Handling

PyObject* PyErr_NewExceptionWithDoc(char *name, char *doc, PyObject *base, PyObject *dict)

4.1 Unicode Exception Objects

4.1. Unicode Exception Objects 21

int PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t end)

4.2 Recursion Control

4.3 Standard Exceptions

22 Chapter 4. Exception Handling

C Name Python Name Notes

4.4 String Exceptions

4.4. String Exceptions 23

24 Chapter 4. Exception Handling

5.1 Operating System Utilities

int Py_FdIsInteractive(FILE *fp, const char *filename)

5.2 System Functions

int PySys_SetObject(char *name, PyObject *v)

void PyErr_NormalizeException(PyObjectexc, PyObjectval, PyObject**tb)

void PyErr_Restore(PyObject type, PyObject value, PyObject *traceback)

void PyErr_SetString(PyObject type, const char message)

PyObject* PyErr_SetFromErrnoWithFilenameObject(PyObject type, PyObject filenameOb-

PyObject* PyErr_NewExceptionWithDoc(char name, char doc, PyObject base, PyObject dict)

int Py_FdIsInteractive(FILE fp, const char filename)

int PySys_SetObject(char name, PyObject v)

PyObject* PyImport_ExecCodeModule(char name, PyObject co)

int PyCodec_RegisterError(const char name, PyObject error)

int PyObject_Print(PyObject o, FILE fp, int flags)

int PyObject_Cmp(PyObject o1, PyObject o2, int *result)

int PySequence_SetItem(PyObject o, Py_ssize_t i, PyObject v)