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Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +00001.. highlightlang:: c
2
3
4.. _exceptionhandling:
5
6******************
7Exception Handling
8******************
9
10The functions described in this chapter will let you handle and raise Python
11exceptions. It is important to understand some of the basics of Python
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +000012exception handling. It works somewhat like the Unix :c:data:`errno` variable:
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000013there is a global indicator (per thread) of the last error that occurred. Most
14functions don't clear this on success, but will set it to indicate the cause of
15the error on failure. Most functions also return an error indicator, usually
16*NULL* if they are supposed to return a pointer, or ``-1`` if they return an
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +000017integer (exception: the :c:func:`PyArg_\*` functions return ``1`` for success and
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000018``0`` for failure).
19
20When a function must fail because some function it called failed, it generally
21doesn't set the error indicator; the function it called already set it. It is
22responsible for either handling the error and clearing the exception or
23returning after cleaning up any resources it holds (such as object references or
24memory allocations); it should *not* continue normally if it is not prepared to
25handle the error. If returning due to an error, it is important to indicate to
26the caller that an error has been set. If the error is not handled or carefully
27propagated, additional calls into the Python/C API may not behave as intended
28and may fail in mysterious ways.
29
30The error indicator consists of three Python objects corresponding to the result
31of ``sys.exc_info()``. API functions exist to interact with the error indicator
32in various ways. There is a separate error indicator for each thread.
33
Christian Heimes5b5e81c2007-12-31 16:14:33 +000034.. XXX Order of these should be more thoughtful.
35 Either alphabetical or some kind of structure.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000036
37
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +000038.. c:function:: void PyErr_PrintEx(int set_sys_last_vars)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000039
40 Print a standard traceback to ``sys.stderr`` and clear the error indicator.
41 Call this function only when the error indicator is set. (Otherwise it will
42 cause a fatal error!)
43
Georg Brandl115fb352009-02-05 10:56:37 +000044 If *set_sys_last_vars* is nonzero, the variables :data:`sys.last_type`,
45 :data:`sys.last_value` and :data:`sys.last_traceback` will be set to the
46 type, value and traceback of the printed exception, respectively.
47
48
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +000049.. c:function:: void PyErr_Print()
Georg Brandl115fb352009-02-05 10:56:37 +000050
51 Alias for ``PyErr_PrintEx(1)``.
52
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000053
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +000054.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_Occurred()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000055
56 Test whether the error indicator is set. If set, return the exception *type*
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +000057 (the first argument to the last call to one of the :c:func:`PyErr_Set\*`
58 functions or to :c:func:`PyErr_Restore`). If not set, return *NULL*. You do not
59 own a reference to the return value, so you do not need to :c:func:`Py_DECREF`
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000060 it.
61
62 .. note::
63
64 Do not compare the return value to a specific exception; use
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +000065 :c:func:`PyErr_ExceptionMatches` instead, shown below. (The comparison could
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000066 easily fail since the exception may be an instance instead of a class, in the
67 case of a class exception, or it may the a subclass of the expected exception.)
68
69
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +000070.. c:function:: int PyErr_ExceptionMatches(PyObject *exc)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000071
72 Equivalent to ``PyErr_GivenExceptionMatches(PyErr_Occurred(), exc)``. This
73 should only be called when an exception is actually set; a memory access
74 violation will occur if no exception has been raised.
75
76
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +000077.. c:function:: int PyErr_GivenExceptionMatches(PyObject *given, PyObject *exc)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000078
Benjamin Petersonda10d3b2009-01-01 00:23:30 +000079 Return true if the *given* exception matches the exception in *exc*. If
80 *exc* is a class object, this also returns true when *given* is an instance
81 of a subclass. If *exc* is a tuple, all exceptions in the tuple (and
82 recursively in subtuples) are searched for a match.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000083
84
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +000085.. c:function:: void PyErr_NormalizeException(PyObject**exc, PyObject**val, PyObject**tb)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000086
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +000087 Under certain circumstances, the values returned by :c:func:`PyErr_Fetch` below
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000088 can be "unnormalized", meaning that ``*exc`` is a class object but ``*val`` is
89 not an instance of the same class. This function can be used to instantiate
90 the class in that case. If the values are already normalized, nothing happens.
91 The delayed normalization is implemented to improve performance.
92
93
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +000094.. c:function:: void PyErr_Clear()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +000095
96 Clear the error indicator. If the error indicator is not set, there is no
97 effect.
98
99
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000100.. c:function:: void PyErr_Fetch(PyObject **ptype, PyObject **pvalue, PyObject **ptraceback)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000101
102 Retrieve the error indicator into three variables whose addresses are passed.
103 If the error indicator is not set, set all three variables to *NULL*. If it is
104 set, it will be cleared and you own a reference to each object retrieved. The
105 value and traceback object may be *NULL* even when the type object is not.
106
107 .. note::
108
109 This function is normally only used by code that needs to handle exceptions or
110 by code that needs to save and restore the error indicator temporarily.
111
112
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000113.. c:function:: void PyErr_Restore(PyObject *type, PyObject *value, PyObject *traceback)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000114
115 Set the error indicator from the three objects. If the error indicator is
116 already set, it is cleared first. If the objects are *NULL*, the error
117 indicator is cleared. Do not pass a *NULL* type and non-*NULL* value or
118 traceback. The exception type should be a class. Do not pass an invalid
119 exception type or value. (Violating these rules will cause subtle problems
120 later.) This call takes away a reference to each object: you must own a
121 reference to each object before the call and after the call you no longer own
122 these references. (If you don't understand this, don't use this function. I
123 warned you.)
124
125 .. note::
126
127 This function is normally only used by code that needs to save and restore the
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000128 error indicator temporarily; use :c:func:`PyErr_Fetch` to save the current
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000129 exception state.
130
131
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000132.. c:function:: void PyErr_SetString(PyObject *type, const char *message)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000133
134 This is the most common way to set the error indicator. The first argument
135 specifies the exception type; it is normally one of the standard exceptions,
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000136 e.g. :c:data:`PyExc_RuntimeError`. You need not increment its reference count.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000137 The second argument is an error message; it is converted to a string object.
138
139
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000140.. c:function:: void PyErr_SetObject(PyObject *type, PyObject *value)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000141
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000142 This function is similar to :c:func:`PyErr_SetString` but lets you specify an
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000143 arbitrary Python object for the "value" of the exception.
144
145
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000146.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_Format(PyObject *exception, const char *format, ...)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000147
148 This function sets the error indicator and returns *NULL*. *exception* should be
Victor Stinner1205f272010-09-11 00:54:47 +0000149 a Python exception (class, not an instance). *format* should be an ASCII-encoded string,
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000150 containing format codes, similar to :c:func:`printf`. The ``width.precision``
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000151 before a format code is parsed, but the width part is ignored.
152
153 .. % This should be exactly the same as the table in PyString_FromFormat.
154 .. % One should just refer to the other.
155 .. % The descriptions for %zd and %zu are wrong, but the truth is complicated
156 .. % because not all compilers support the %z width modifier -- we fake it
157 .. % when necessary via interpolating PY_FORMAT_SIZE_T.
Mark Dickinson6ce4a9a2009-11-16 17:00:11 +0000158 .. % Similar comments apply to the %ll width modifier and
159 .. % PY_FORMAT_LONG_LONG.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000160
161 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
162 | Format Characters | Type | Comment |
163 +===================+===============+================================+
164 | :attr:`%%` | *n/a* | The literal % character. |
165 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
166 | :attr:`%c` | int | A single character, |
167 | | | represented as an C int. |
168 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
169 | :attr:`%d` | int | Exactly equivalent to |
170 | | | ``printf("%d")``. |
171 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
172 | :attr:`%u` | unsigned int | Exactly equivalent to |
173 | | | ``printf("%u")``. |
174 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
175 | :attr:`%ld` | long | Exactly equivalent to |
176 | | | ``printf("%ld")``. |
177 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
178 | :attr:`%lu` | unsigned long | Exactly equivalent to |
179 | | | ``printf("%lu")``. |
180 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
Mark Dickinson6ce4a9a2009-11-16 17:00:11 +0000181 | :attr:`%lld` | long long | Exactly equivalent to |
182 | | | ``printf("%lld")``. |
183 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
184 | :attr:`%llu` | unsigned | Exactly equivalent to |
185 | | long long | ``printf("%llu")``. |
186 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000187 | :attr:`%zd` | Py_ssize_t | Exactly equivalent to |
188 | | | ``printf("%zd")``. |
189 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
190 | :attr:`%zu` | size_t | Exactly equivalent to |
191 | | | ``printf("%zu")``. |
192 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
193 | :attr:`%i` | int | Exactly equivalent to |
194 | | | ``printf("%i")``. |
195 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
196 | :attr:`%x` | int | Exactly equivalent to |
197 | | | ``printf("%x")``. |
198 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
199 | :attr:`%s` | char\* | A null-terminated C character |
200 | | | array. |
201 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
202 | :attr:`%p` | void\* | The hex representation of a C |
203 | | | pointer. Mostly equivalent to |
204 | | | ``printf("%p")`` except that |
205 | | | it is guaranteed to start with |
206 | | | the literal ``0x`` regardless |
207 | | | of what the platform's |
208 | | | ``printf`` yields. |
209 +-------------------+---------------+--------------------------------+
210
211 An unrecognized format character causes all the rest of the format string to be
212 copied as-is to the result string, and any extra arguments discarded.
213
Mark Dickinson6ce4a9a2009-11-16 17:00:11 +0000214 .. note::
215
216 The `"%lld"` and `"%llu"` format specifiers are only available
Georg Brandlef871f62010-03-12 10:06:40 +0000217 when :const:`HAVE_LONG_LONG` is defined.
Mark Dickinson6ce4a9a2009-11-16 17:00:11 +0000218
219 .. versionchanged:: 3.2
220 Support for `"%lld"` and `"%llu"` added.
221
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000222
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000223.. c:function:: void PyErr_SetNone(PyObject *type)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000224
225 This is a shorthand for ``PyErr_SetObject(type, Py_None)``.
226
227
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000228.. c:function:: int PyErr_BadArgument()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000229
230 This is a shorthand for ``PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, message)``, where
231 *message* indicates that a built-in operation was invoked with an illegal
232 argument. It is mostly for internal use.
233
234
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000235.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_NoMemory()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000236
237 This is a shorthand for ``PyErr_SetNone(PyExc_MemoryError)``; it returns *NULL*
238 so an object allocation function can write ``return PyErr_NoMemory();`` when it
239 runs out of memory.
240
241
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000242.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetFromErrno(PyObject *type)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000243
244 .. index:: single: strerror()
245
246 This is a convenience function to raise an exception when a C library function
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000247 has returned an error and set the C variable :c:data:`errno`. It constructs a
248 tuple object whose first item is the integer :c:data:`errno` value and whose
249 second item is the corresponding error message (gotten from :c:func:`strerror`),
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000250 and then calls ``PyErr_SetObject(type, object)``. On Unix, when the
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000251 :c:data:`errno` value is :const:`EINTR`, indicating an interrupted system call,
252 this calls :c:func:`PyErr_CheckSignals`, and if that set the error indicator,
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000253 leaves it set to that. The function always returns *NULL*, so a wrapper
254 function around a system call can write ``return PyErr_SetFromErrno(type);``
255 when the system call returns an error.
256
257
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000258.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetFromErrnoWithFilename(PyObject *type, const char *filename)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000259
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000260 Similar to :c:func:`PyErr_SetFromErrno`, with the additional behavior that if
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000261 *filename* is not *NULL*, it is passed to the constructor of *type* as a third
262 parameter. In the case of exceptions such as :exc:`IOError` and :exc:`OSError`,
263 this is used to define the :attr:`filename` attribute of the exception instance.
264
265
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000266.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr(int ierr)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000267
268 This is a convenience function to raise :exc:`WindowsError`. If called with
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000269 *ierr* of :c:data:`0`, the error code returned by a call to :c:func:`GetLastError`
270 is used instead. It calls the Win32 function :c:func:`FormatMessage` to retrieve
271 the Windows description of error code given by *ierr* or :c:func:`GetLastError`,
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000272 then it constructs a tuple object whose first item is the *ierr* value and whose
273 second item is the corresponding error message (gotten from
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000274 :c:func:`FormatMessage`), and then calls ``PyErr_SetObject(PyExc_WindowsError,
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000275 object)``. This function always returns *NULL*. Availability: Windows.
276
277
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000278.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetExcFromWindowsErr(PyObject *type, int ierr)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000279
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000280 Similar to :c:func:`PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr`, with an additional parameter
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000281 specifying the exception type to be raised. Availability: Windows.
282
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000283
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000284.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetFromWindowsErrWithFilename(int ierr, const char *filename)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000285
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000286 Similar to :c:func:`PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr`, with the additional behavior that
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000287 if *filename* is not *NULL*, it is passed to the constructor of
288 :exc:`WindowsError` as a third parameter. Availability: Windows.
289
290
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000291.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetExcFromWindowsErrWithFilename(PyObject *type, int ierr, char *filename)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000292
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000293 Similar to :c:func:`PyErr_SetFromWindowsErrWithFilename`, with an additional
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000294 parameter specifying the exception type to be raised. Availability: Windows.
295
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000296
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000297.. c:function:: void PyErr_SyntaxLocationEx(char *filename, int lineno, int col_offset)
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000298
299 Set file, line, and offset information for the current exception. If the
300 current exception is not a :exc:`SyntaxError`, then it sets additional
301 attributes, which make the exception printing subsystem think the exception
302 is a :exc:`SyntaxError`.
303
Benjamin Petersonb5d23b42010-09-21 21:29:26 +0000304.. versionadded:: 3.2
305
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000306
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000307.. c:function:: void PyErr_SyntaxLocation(char *filename, int lineno)
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000308
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000309 Like :c:func:`PyErr_SyntaxLocationExc`, but the col_offset parameter is
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000310 omitted.
311
312
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000313.. c:function:: void PyErr_BadInternalCall()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000314
Benjamin Peterson5c6d7872009-02-06 02:40:07 +0000315 This is a shorthand for ``PyErr_SetString(PyExc_SystemError, message)``,
316 where *message* indicates that an internal operation (e.g. a Python/C API
317 function) was invoked with an illegal argument. It is mostly for internal
318 use.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000319
320
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000321.. c:function:: int PyErr_WarnEx(PyObject *category, char *message, int stack_level)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000322
323 Issue a warning message. The *category* argument is a warning category (see
Victor Stinner4a2b7a12010-08-13 14:03:48 +0000324 below) or *NULL*; the *message* argument is a message string. *stack_level* is a
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000325 positive number giving a number of stack frames; the warning will be issued from
Victor Stinner4a2b7a12010-08-13 14:03:48 +0000326 the currently executing line of code in that stack frame. A *stack_level* of 1
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000327 is the function calling :c:func:`PyErr_WarnEx`, 2 is the function above that,
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000328 and so forth.
329
330 This function normally prints a warning message to *sys.stderr*; however, it is
331 also possible that the user has specified that warnings are to be turned into
332 errors, and in that case this will raise an exception. It is also possible that
333 the function raises an exception because of a problem with the warning machinery
334 (the implementation imports the :mod:`warnings` module to do the heavy lifting).
335 The return value is ``0`` if no exception is raised, or ``-1`` if an exception
336 is raised. (It is not possible to determine whether a warning message is
337 actually printed, nor what the reason is for the exception; this is
338 intentional.) If an exception is raised, the caller should do its normal
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000339 exception handling (for example, :c:func:`Py_DECREF` owned references and return
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000340 an error value).
341
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000342 Warning categories must be subclasses of :c:data:`Warning`; the default warning
343 category is :c:data:`RuntimeWarning`. The standard Python warning categories are
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000344 available as global variables whose names are ``PyExc_`` followed by the Python
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000345 exception name. These have the type :c:type:`PyObject\*`; they are all class
346 objects. Their names are :c:data:`PyExc_Warning`, :c:data:`PyExc_UserWarning`,
347 :c:data:`PyExc_UnicodeWarning`, :c:data:`PyExc_DeprecationWarning`,
348 :c:data:`PyExc_SyntaxWarning`, :c:data:`PyExc_RuntimeWarning`, and
349 :c:data:`PyExc_FutureWarning`. :c:data:`PyExc_Warning` is a subclass of
350 :c:data:`PyExc_Exception`; the other warning categories are subclasses of
351 :c:data:`PyExc_Warning`.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000352
353 For information about warning control, see the documentation for the
354 :mod:`warnings` module and the :option:`-W` option in the command line
355 documentation. There is no C API for warning control.
356
357
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000358.. c:function:: int PyErr_WarnExplicit(PyObject *category, const char *message, const char *filename, int lineno, const char *module, PyObject *registry)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000359
360 Issue a warning message with explicit control over all warning attributes. This
361 is a straightforward wrapper around the Python function
362 :func:`warnings.warn_explicit`, see there for more information. The *module*
363 and *registry* arguments may be set to *NULL* to get the default effect
364 described there.
365
366
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000367.. c:function:: int PyErr_WarnFormat(PyObject *category, Py_ssize_t stack_level, const char *format, ...)
Victor Stinner4a2b7a12010-08-13 14:03:48 +0000368
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000369 Function similar to :c:func:`PyErr_WarnEx`, but use
370 :c:func:`PyUnicode_FromFormatV` to format the warning message.
Victor Stinner4a2b7a12010-08-13 14:03:48 +0000371
372 .. versionadded:: 3.2
373
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000374.. c:function:: int PyErr_CheckSignals()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000375
376 .. index::
377 module: signal
378 single: SIGINT
379 single: KeyboardInterrupt (built-in exception)
380
381 This function interacts with Python's signal handling. It checks whether a
382 signal has been sent to the processes and if so, invokes the corresponding
383 signal handler. If the :mod:`signal` module is supported, this can invoke a
384 signal handler written in Python. In all cases, the default effect for
385 :const:`SIGINT` is to raise the :exc:`KeyboardInterrupt` exception. If an
386 exception is raised the error indicator is set and the function returns ``-1``;
387 otherwise the function returns ``0``. The error indicator may or may not be
388 cleared if it was previously set.
389
390
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000391.. c:function:: void PyErr_SetInterrupt()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000392
393 .. index::
394 single: SIGINT
395 single: KeyboardInterrupt (built-in exception)
396
397 This function simulates the effect of a :const:`SIGINT` signal arriving --- the
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000398 next time :c:func:`PyErr_CheckSignals` is called, :exc:`KeyboardInterrupt` will
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000399 be raised. It may be called without holding the interpreter lock.
400
401 .. % XXX This was described as obsolete, but is used in
Georg Brandl2067bfd2008-05-25 13:05:15 +0000402 .. % _thread.interrupt_main() (used from IDLE), so it's still needed.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000403
404
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000405.. c:function:: int PySignal_SetWakeupFd(int fd)
Christian Heimes5fb7c2a2007-12-24 08:52:31 +0000406
407 This utility function specifies a file descriptor to which a ``'\0'`` byte will
408 be written whenever a signal is received. It returns the previous such file
409 descriptor. The value ``-1`` disables the feature; this is the initial state.
410 This is equivalent to :func:`signal.set_wakeup_fd` in Python, but without any
411 error checking. *fd* should be a valid file descriptor. The function should
412 only be called from the main thread.
413
414
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000415.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_NewException(char *name, PyObject *base, PyObject *dict)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000416
417 This utility function creates and returns a new exception object. The *name*
418 argument must be the name of the new exception, a C string of the form
419 ``module.class``. The *base* and *dict* arguments are normally *NULL*. This
420 creates a class object derived from :exc:`Exception` (accessible in C as
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000421 :c:data:`PyExc_Exception`).
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000422
423 The :attr:`__module__` attribute of the new class is set to the first part (up
424 to the last dot) of the *name* argument, and the class name is set to the last
425 part (after the last dot). The *base* argument can be used to specify alternate
426 base classes; it can either be only one class or a tuple of classes. The *dict*
427 argument can be used to specify a dictionary of class variables and methods.
428
429
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000430.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_NewExceptionWithDoc(char *name, char *doc, PyObject *base, PyObject *dict)
Georg Brandl1e28a272009-12-28 08:41:01 +0000431
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000432 Same as :c:func:`PyErr_NewException`, except that the new exception class can
Georg Brandl1e28a272009-12-28 08:41:01 +0000433 easily be given a docstring: If *doc* is non-*NULL*, it will be used as the
434 docstring for the exception class.
435
436 .. versionadded:: 3.2
437
438
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000439.. c:function:: void PyErr_WriteUnraisable(PyObject *obj)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000440
441 This utility function prints a warning message to ``sys.stderr`` when an
442 exception has been set but it is impossible for the interpreter to actually
443 raise the exception. It is used, for example, when an exception occurs in an
444 :meth:`__del__` method.
445
446 The function is called with a single argument *obj* that identifies the context
447 in which the unraisable exception occurred. The repr of *obj* will be printed in
448 the warning message.
449
450
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000451Exception Objects
452=================
453
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000454.. c:function:: PyObject* PyException_GetTraceback(PyObject *ex)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000455
456 Return the traceback associated with the exception as a new reference, as
457 accessible from Python through :attr:`__traceback__`. If there is no
458 traceback associated, this returns *NULL*.
459
460
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000461.. c:function:: int PyException_SetTraceback(PyObject *ex, PyObject *tb)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000462
463 Set the traceback associated with the exception to *tb*. Use ``Py_None`` to
464 clear it.
465
466
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000467.. c:function:: PyObject* PyException_GetContext(PyObject *ex)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000468
469 Return the context (another exception instance during whose handling *ex* was
470 raised) associated with the exception as a new reference, as accessible from
471 Python through :attr:`__context__`. If there is no context associated, this
472 returns *NULL*.
473
474
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000475.. c:function:: void PyException_SetContext(PyObject *ex, PyObject *ctx)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000476
477 Set the context associated with the exception to *ctx*. Use *NULL* to clear
478 it. There is no type check to make sure that *ctx* is an exception instance.
479 This steals a reference to *ctx*.
480
481
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000482.. c:function:: PyObject* PyException_GetCause(PyObject *ex)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000483
484 Return the cause (another exception instance set by ``raise ... from ...``)
485 associated with the exception as a new reference, as accessible from Python
486 through :attr:`__cause__`. If there is no cause associated, this returns
487 *NULL*.
488
489
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000490.. c:function:: void PyException_SetCause(PyObject *ex, PyObject *ctx)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000491
492 Set the cause associated with the exception to *ctx*. Use *NULL* to clear
493 it. There is no type check to make sure that *ctx* is an exception instance.
494 This steals a reference to *ctx*.
495
496
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000497Recursion Control
498=================
499
500These two functions provide a way to perform safe recursive calls at the C
501level, both in the core and in extension modules. They are needed if the
502recursive code does not necessarily invoke Python code (which tracks its
503recursion depth automatically).
504
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000505.. c:function:: int Py_EnterRecursiveCall(char *where)
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000506
507 Marks a point where a recursive C-level call is about to be performed.
508
509 If :const:`USE_STACKCHECK` is defined, this function checks if the the OS
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000510 stack overflowed using :c:func:`PyOS_CheckStack`. In this is the case, it
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000511 sets a :exc:`MemoryError` and returns a nonzero value.
512
513 The function then checks if the recursion limit is reached. If this is the
514 case, a :exc:`RuntimeError` is set and a nonzero value is returned.
515 Otherwise, zero is returned.
516
517 *where* should be a string such as ``" in instance check"`` to be
518 concatenated to the :exc:`RuntimeError` message caused by the recursion depth
519 limit.
520
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000521.. c:function:: void Py_LeaveRecursiveCall()
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000522
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000523 Ends a :c:func:`Py_EnterRecursiveCall`. Must be called once for each
524 *successful* invocation of :c:func:`Py_EnterRecursiveCall`.
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000525
526
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000527.. _standardexceptions:
528
529Standard Exceptions
530===================
531
532All standard Python exceptions are available as global variables whose names are
533``PyExc_`` followed by the Python exception name. These have the type
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000534:c:type:`PyObject\*`; they are all class objects. For completeness, here are all
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000535the variables:
536
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000537+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
538| C Name | Python Name | Notes |
539+=====================================+============================+==========+
540| :c:data:`PyExc_BaseException` | :exc:`BaseException` | \(1) |
541+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
542| :c:data:`PyExc_Exception` | :exc:`Exception` | \(1) |
543+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
544| :c:data:`PyExc_ArithmeticError` | :exc:`ArithmeticError` | \(1) |
545+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
546| :c:data:`PyExc_LookupError` | :exc:`LookupError` | \(1) |
547+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
548| :c:data:`PyExc_AssertionError` | :exc:`AssertionError` | |
549+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
550| :c:data:`PyExc_AttributeError` | :exc:`AttributeError` | |
551+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
552| :c:data:`PyExc_EOFError` | :exc:`EOFError` | |
553+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
554| :c:data:`PyExc_EnvironmentError` | :exc:`EnvironmentError` | \(1) |
555+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
556| :c:data:`PyExc_FloatingPointError` | :exc:`FloatingPointError` | |
557+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
558| :c:data:`PyExc_IOError` | :exc:`IOError` | |
559+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
560| :c:data:`PyExc_ImportError` | :exc:`ImportError` | |
561+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
562| :c:data:`PyExc_IndexError` | :exc:`IndexError` | |
563+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
564| :c:data:`PyExc_KeyError` | :exc:`KeyError` | |
565+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
566| :c:data:`PyExc_KeyboardInterrupt` | :exc:`KeyboardInterrupt` | |
567+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
568| :c:data:`PyExc_MemoryError` | :exc:`MemoryError` | |
569+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
570| :c:data:`PyExc_NameError` | :exc:`NameError` | |
571+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
572| :c:data:`PyExc_NotImplementedError` | :exc:`NotImplementedError` | |
573+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
574| :c:data:`PyExc_OSError` | :exc:`OSError` | |
575+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
576| :c:data:`PyExc_OverflowError` | :exc:`OverflowError` | |
577+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
578| :c:data:`PyExc_ReferenceError` | :exc:`ReferenceError` | \(2) |
579+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
580| :c:data:`PyExc_RuntimeError` | :exc:`RuntimeError` | |
581+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
582| :c:data:`PyExc_SyntaxError` | :exc:`SyntaxError` | |
583+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
584| :c:data:`PyExc_SystemError` | :exc:`SystemError` | |
585+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
586| :c:data:`PyExc_SystemExit` | :exc:`SystemExit` | |
587+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
588| :c:data:`PyExc_TypeError` | :exc:`TypeError` | |
589+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
590| :c:data:`PyExc_ValueError` | :exc:`ValueError` | |
591+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
592| :c:data:`PyExc_WindowsError` | :exc:`WindowsError` | \(3) |
593+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
594| :c:data:`PyExc_ZeroDivisionError` | :exc:`ZeroDivisionError` | |
595+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000596
597.. index::
598 single: PyExc_BaseException
599 single: PyExc_Exception
600 single: PyExc_ArithmeticError
601 single: PyExc_LookupError
602 single: PyExc_AssertionError
603 single: PyExc_AttributeError
604 single: PyExc_EOFError
605 single: PyExc_EnvironmentError
606 single: PyExc_FloatingPointError
607 single: PyExc_IOError
608 single: PyExc_ImportError
609 single: PyExc_IndexError
610 single: PyExc_KeyError
611 single: PyExc_KeyboardInterrupt
612 single: PyExc_MemoryError
613 single: PyExc_NameError
614 single: PyExc_NotImplementedError
615 single: PyExc_OSError
616 single: PyExc_OverflowError
617 single: PyExc_ReferenceError
618 single: PyExc_RuntimeError
619 single: PyExc_SyntaxError
620 single: PyExc_SystemError
621 single: PyExc_SystemExit
622 single: PyExc_TypeError
623 single: PyExc_ValueError
624 single: PyExc_WindowsError
625 single: PyExc_ZeroDivisionError
626
627Notes:
628
629(1)
630 This is a base class for other standard exceptions.
631
632(2)
633 This is the same as :exc:`weakref.ReferenceError`.
634
635(3)
636 Only defined on Windows; protect code that uses this by testing that the
637 preprocessor macro ``MS_WINDOWS`` is defined.