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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.
Victor Stinner257d38f2010-10-09 10:12:11 +0000137 The second argument is an error message; it is decoded from ``'utf-8``'.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000138
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
Antoine Pitroua66e0292010-11-27 20:40:43 +0000148 This function sets the error indicator and returns *NULL*. *exception*
149 should be a Python exception class. The *format* and subsequent
150 parameters help format the error message; they have the same meaning and
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000151 values as in :c:func:`PyUnicode_FromFormat`. *format* is an ASCII-encoding
152 string.
Mark Dickinson6ce4a9a2009-11-16 17:00:11 +0000153
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000154
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000155.. c:function:: void PyErr_SetNone(PyObject *type)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000156
157 This is a shorthand for ``PyErr_SetObject(type, Py_None)``.
158
159
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000160.. c:function:: int PyErr_BadArgument()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000161
162 This is a shorthand for ``PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, message)``, where
163 *message* indicates that a built-in operation was invoked with an illegal
164 argument. It is mostly for internal use.
165
166
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000167.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_NoMemory()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000168
169 This is a shorthand for ``PyErr_SetNone(PyExc_MemoryError)``; it returns *NULL*
170 so an object allocation function can write ``return PyErr_NoMemory();`` when it
171 runs out of memory.
172
173
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000174.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetFromErrno(PyObject *type)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000175
176 .. index:: single: strerror()
177
178 This is a convenience function to raise an exception when a C library function
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000179 has returned an error and set the C variable :c:data:`errno`. It constructs a
180 tuple object whose first item is the integer :c:data:`errno` value and whose
181 second item is the corresponding error message (gotten from :c:func:`strerror`),
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000182 and then calls ``PyErr_SetObject(type, object)``. On Unix, when the
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000183 :c:data:`errno` value is :const:`EINTR`, indicating an interrupted system call,
184 this calls :c:func:`PyErr_CheckSignals`, and if that set the error indicator,
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000185 leaves it set to that. The function always returns *NULL*, so a wrapper
186 function around a system call can write ``return PyErr_SetFromErrno(type);``
187 when the system call returns an error.
188
189
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000190.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetFromErrnoWithFilename(PyObject *type, const char *filename)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000191
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000192 Similar to :c:func:`PyErr_SetFromErrno`, with the additional behavior that if
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000193 *filename* is not *NULL*, it is passed to the constructor of *type* as a third
194 parameter. In the case of exceptions such as :exc:`IOError` and :exc:`OSError`,
195 this is used to define the :attr:`filename` attribute of the exception instance.
Victor Stinner257d38f2010-10-09 10:12:11 +0000196 *filename* is decoded from the filesystem encoding
197 (:func:`sys.getfilesystemencoding`).
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000198
199
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000200.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr(int ierr)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000201
202 This is a convenience function to raise :exc:`WindowsError`. If called with
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000203 *ierr* of :c:data:`0`, the error code returned by a call to :c:func:`GetLastError`
204 is used instead. It calls the Win32 function :c:func:`FormatMessage` to retrieve
205 the Windows description of error code given by *ierr* or :c:func:`GetLastError`,
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000206 then it constructs a tuple object whose first item is the *ierr* value and whose
207 second item is the corresponding error message (gotten from
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000208 :c:func:`FormatMessage`), and then calls ``PyErr_SetObject(PyExc_WindowsError,
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000209 object)``. This function always returns *NULL*. Availability: Windows.
210
211
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000212.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetExcFromWindowsErr(PyObject *type, int ierr)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000213
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000214 Similar to :c:func:`PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr`, with an additional parameter
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000215 specifying the exception type to be raised. Availability: Windows.
216
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000217
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000218.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetFromWindowsErrWithFilename(int ierr, const char *filename)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000219
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000220 Similar to :c:func:`PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr`, with the additional behavior that
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000221 if *filename* is not *NULL*, it is passed to the constructor of
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000222 :exc:`WindowsError` as a third parameter. *filename* is decoded from UTF-8.
223 Availability: Windows.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000224
225
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000226.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetExcFromWindowsErrWithFilename(PyObject *type, int ierr, char *filename)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000227
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000228 Similar to :c:func:`PyErr_SetFromWindowsErrWithFilename`, with an additional
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000229 parameter specifying the exception type to be raised. Availability: Windows.
230
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000231
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000232.. c:function:: void PyErr_SyntaxLocationEx(char *filename, int lineno, int col_offset)
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000233
234 Set file, line, and offset information for the current exception. If the
235 current exception is not a :exc:`SyntaxError`, then it sets additional
236 attributes, which make the exception printing subsystem think the exception
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000237 is a :exc:`SyntaxError`. *filename* is decoded from the filesystem encoding
238 (:func:`sys.getfilesystemencoding`).
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000239
Benjamin Petersonb5d23b42010-09-21 21:29:26 +0000240.. versionadded:: 3.2
241
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000242
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000243.. c:function:: void PyErr_SyntaxLocation(char *filename, int lineno)
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000244
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000245 Like :c:func:`PyErr_SyntaxLocationExc`, but the col_offset parameter is
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000246 omitted.
247
248
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000249.. c:function:: void PyErr_BadInternalCall()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000250
Benjamin Peterson5c6d7872009-02-06 02:40:07 +0000251 This is a shorthand for ``PyErr_SetString(PyExc_SystemError, message)``,
252 where *message* indicates that an internal operation (e.g. a Python/C API
253 function) was invoked with an illegal argument. It is mostly for internal
254 use.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000255
256
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000257.. c:function:: int PyErr_WarnEx(PyObject *category, char *message, int stack_level)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000258
259 Issue a warning message. The *category* argument is a warning category (see
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000260 below) or *NULL*; the *message* argument is an UTF-8 encoded string. *stack_level* is a
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000261 positive number giving a number of stack frames; the warning will be issued from
Victor Stinner4a2b7a12010-08-13 14:03:48 +0000262 the currently executing line of code in that stack frame. A *stack_level* of 1
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000263 is the function calling :c:func:`PyErr_WarnEx`, 2 is the function above that,
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000264 and so forth.
265
266 This function normally prints a warning message to *sys.stderr*; however, it is
267 also possible that the user has specified that warnings are to be turned into
268 errors, and in that case this will raise an exception. It is also possible that
269 the function raises an exception because of a problem with the warning machinery
270 (the implementation imports the :mod:`warnings` module to do the heavy lifting).
271 The return value is ``0`` if no exception is raised, or ``-1`` if an exception
272 is raised. (It is not possible to determine whether a warning message is
273 actually printed, nor what the reason is for the exception; this is
274 intentional.) If an exception is raised, the caller should do its normal
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000275 exception handling (for example, :c:func:`Py_DECREF` owned references and return
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000276 an error value).
277
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000278 Warning categories must be subclasses of :c:data:`Warning`; the default warning
279 category is :c:data:`RuntimeWarning`. The standard Python warning categories are
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000280 available as global variables whose names are ``PyExc_`` followed by the Python
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000281 exception name. These have the type :c:type:`PyObject\*`; they are all class
282 objects. Their names are :c:data:`PyExc_Warning`, :c:data:`PyExc_UserWarning`,
283 :c:data:`PyExc_UnicodeWarning`, :c:data:`PyExc_DeprecationWarning`,
284 :c:data:`PyExc_SyntaxWarning`, :c:data:`PyExc_RuntimeWarning`, and
285 :c:data:`PyExc_FutureWarning`. :c:data:`PyExc_Warning` is a subclass of
286 :c:data:`PyExc_Exception`; the other warning categories are subclasses of
287 :c:data:`PyExc_Warning`.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000288
289 For information about warning control, see the documentation for the
290 :mod:`warnings` module and the :option:`-W` option in the command line
291 documentation. There is no C API for warning control.
292
293
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000294.. 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 +0000295
296 Issue a warning message with explicit control over all warning attributes. This
297 is a straightforward wrapper around the Python function
298 :func:`warnings.warn_explicit`, see there for more information. The *module*
299 and *registry* arguments may be set to *NULL* to get the default effect
Victor Stinnercb428f02010-12-27 20:10:36 +0000300 described there. *message* and *module* are UTF-8 encoded strings,
301 *filename* is decoded from the filesystem encoding
302 (:func:`sys.getfilesystemencoding`).
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000303
304
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000305.. c:function:: int PyErr_WarnFormat(PyObject *category, Py_ssize_t stack_level, const char *format, ...)
Victor Stinner4a2b7a12010-08-13 14:03:48 +0000306
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000307 Function similar to :c:func:`PyErr_WarnEx`, but use
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000308 :c:func:`PyUnicode_FromFormat` to format the warning message. *format* is
309 an ASCII-encoded string.
Victor Stinner4a2b7a12010-08-13 14:03:48 +0000310
311 .. versionadded:: 3.2
312
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000313.. c:function:: int PyErr_CheckSignals()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000314
315 .. index::
316 module: signal
317 single: SIGINT
318 single: KeyboardInterrupt (built-in exception)
319
320 This function interacts with Python's signal handling. It checks whether a
321 signal has been sent to the processes and if so, invokes the corresponding
322 signal handler. If the :mod:`signal` module is supported, this can invoke a
323 signal handler written in Python. In all cases, the default effect for
324 :const:`SIGINT` is to raise the :exc:`KeyboardInterrupt` exception. If an
325 exception is raised the error indicator is set and the function returns ``-1``;
326 otherwise the function returns ``0``. The error indicator may or may not be
327 cleared if it was previously set.
328
329
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000330.. c:function:: void PyErr_SetInterrupt()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000331
332 .. index::
333 single: SIGINT
334 single: KeyboardInterrupt (built-in exception)
335
336 This function simulates the effect of a :const:`SIGINT` signal arriving --- the
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000337 next time :c:func:`PyErr_CheckSignals` is called, :exc:`KeyboardInterrupt` will
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000338 be raised. It may be called without holding the interpreter lock.
339
340 .. % XXX This was described as obsolete, but is used in
Georg Brandl2067bfd2008-05-25 13:05:15 +0000341 .. % _thread.interrupt_main() (used from IDLE), so it's still needed.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000342
343
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000344.. c:function:: int PySignal_SetWakeupFd(int fd)
Christian Heimes5fb7c2a2007-12-24 08:52:31 +0000345
346 This utility function specifies a file descriptor to which a ``'\0'`` byte will
347 be written whenever a signal is received. It returns the previous such file
348 descriptor. The value ``-1`` disables the feature; this is the initial state.
349 This is equivalent to :func:`signal.set_wakeup_fd` in Python, but without any
350 error checking. *fd* should be a valid file descriptor. The function should
351 only be called from the main thread.
352
353
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000354.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_NewException(char *name, PyObject *base, PyObject *dict)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000355
356 This utility function creates and returns a new exception object. The *name*
357 argument must be the name of the new exception, a C string of the form
358 ``module.class``. The *base* and *dict* arguments are normally *NULL*. This
359 creates a class object derived from :exc:`Exception` (accessible in C as
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000360 :c:data:`PyExc_Exception`).
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000361
362 The :attr:`__module__` attribute of the new class is set to the first part (up
363 to the last dot) of the *name* argument, and the class name is set to the last
364 part (after the last dot). The *base* argument can be used to specify alternate
365 base classes; it can either be only one class or a tuple of classes. The *dict*
366 argument can be used to specify a dictionary of class variables and methods.
367
368
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000369.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_NewExceptionWithDoc(char *name, char *doc, PyObject *base, PyObject *dict)
Georg Brandl1e28a272009-12-28 08:41:01 +0000370
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000371 Same as :c:func:`PyErr_NewException`, except that the new exception class can
Georg Brandl1e28a272009-12-28 08:41:01 +0000372 easily be given a docstring: If *doc* is non-*NULL*, it will be used as the
373 docstring for the exception class.
374
375 .. versionadded:: 3.2
376
377
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000378.. c:function:: void PyErr_WriteUnraisable(PyObject *obj)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000379
380 This utility function prints a warning message to ``sys.stderr`` when an
381 exception has been set but it is impossible for the interpreter to actually
382 raise the exception. It is used, for example, when an exception occurs in an
383 :meth:`__del__` method.
384
385 The function is called with a single argument *obj* that identifies the context
386 in which the unraisable exception occurred. The repr of *obj* will be printed in
387 the warning message.
388
389
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000390Exception Objects
391=================
392
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000393.. c:function:: PyObject* PyException_GetTraceback(PyObject *ex)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000394
395 Return the traceback associated with the exception as a new reference, as
396 accessible from Python through :attr:`__traceback__`. If there is no
397 traceback associated, this returns *NULL*.
398
399
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000400.. c:function:: int PyException_SetTraceback(PyObject *ex, PyObject *tb)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000401
402 Set the traceback associated with the exception to *tb*. Use ``Py_None`` to
403 clear it.
404
405
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000406.. c:function:: PyObject* PyException_GetContext(PyObject *ex)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000407
408 Return the context (another exception instance during whose handling *ex* was
409 raised) associated with the exception as a new reference, as accessible from
410 Python through :attr:`__context__`. If there is no context associated, this
411 returns *NULL*.
412
413
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000414.. c:function:: void PyException_SetContext(PyObject *ex, PyObject *ctx)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000415
416 Set the context associated with the exception to *ctx*. Use *NULL* to clear
417 it. There is no type check to make sure that *ctx* is an exception instance.
418 This steals a reference to *ctx*.
419
420
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000421.. c:function:: PyObject* PyException_GetCause(PyObject *ex)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000422
423 Return the cause (another exception instance set by ``raise ... from ...``)
424 associated with the exception as a new reference, as accessible from Python
425 through :attr:`__cause__`. If there is no cause associated, this returns
426 *NULL*.
427
428
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000429.. c:function:: void PyException_SetCause(PyObject *ex, PyObject *ctx)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000430
431 Set the cause associated with the exception to *ctx*. Use *NULL* to clear
432 it. There is no type check to make sure that *ctx* is an exception instance.
433 This steals a reference to *ctx*.
434
435
Georg Brandl5a932652010-11-23 07:54:19 +0000436.. _unicodeexceptions:
437
438Unicode Exception Objects
439=========================
440
441The following functions are used to create and modify Unicode exceptions from C.
442
443.. c:function:: PyObject* PyUnicodeDecodeError_Create(const char *encoding, const char *object, Py_ssize_t length, Py_ssize_t start, Py_ssize_t end, const char *reason)
444
445 Create a :class:`UnicodeDecodeError` object with the attributes *encoding*,
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000446 *object*, *length*, *start*, *end* and *reason*. *encoding* and *reason* are
447 UTF-8 encoded strings.
Georg Brandl5a932652010-11-23 07:54:19 +0000448
449.. c:function:: 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)
450
451 Create a :class:`UnicodeEncodeError` object with the attributes *encoding*,
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000452 *object*, *length*, *start*, *end* and *reason*. *encoding* and *reason* are
453 UTF-8 encoded strings.
Georg Brandl5a932652010-11-23 07:54:19 +0000454
455.. c:function:: PyObject* PyUnicodeTranslateError_Create(const Py_UNICODE *object, Py_ssize_t length, Py_ssize_t start, Py_ssize_t end, const char *reason)
456
457 Create a :class:`UnicodeTranslateError` object with the attributes *object*,
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000458 *length*, *start*, *end* and *reason*. *reason* is an UTF-8 encoded string.
Georg Brandl5a932652010-11-23 07:54:19 +0000459
460.. c:function:: PyObject* PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetEncoding(PyObject *exc)
461 PyObject* PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetEncoding(PyObject *exc)
462
463 Return the *encoding* attribute of the given exception object.
464
465.. c:function:: PyObject* PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetObject(PyObject *exc)
466 PyObject* PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetObject(PyObject *exc)
467 PyObject* PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetObject(PyObject *exc)
468
469 Return the *object* attribute of the given exception object.
470
471.. c:function:: int PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *start)
472 int PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *start)
473 int PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *start)
474
475 Get the *start* attribute of the given exception object and place it into
476 *\*start*. *start* must not be *NULL*. Return ``0`` on success, ``-1`` on
477 failure.
478
479.. c:function:: int PyUnicodeDecodeError_SetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t start)
480 int PyUnicodeEncodeError_SetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t start)
481 int PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t start)
482
483 Set the *start* attribute of the given exception object to *start*. Return
484 ``0`` on success, ``-1`` on failure.
485
486.. c:function:: int PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *end)
487 int PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *end)
488 int PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *end)
489
490 Get the *end* attribute of the given exception object and place it into
491 *\*end*. *end* must not be *NULL*. Return ``0`` on success, ``-1`` on
492 failure.
493
494.. c:function:: int PyUnicodeDecodeError_SetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t end)
495 int PyUnicodeEncodeError_SetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t end)
496 int PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t end)
497
498 Set the *end* attribute of the given exception object to *end*. Return ``0``
499 on success, ``-1`` on failure.
500
501.. c:function:: PyObject* PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetReason(PyObject *exc)
502 PyObject* PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetReason(PyObject *exc)
503 PyObject* PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetReason(PyObject *exc)
504
505 Return the *reason* attribute of the given exception object.
506
507.. c:function:: int PyUnicodeDecodeError_SetReason(PyObject *exc, const char *reason)
508 int PyUnicodeEncodeError_SetReason(PyObject *exc, const char *reason)
509 int PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetReason(PyObject *exc, const char *reason)
510
511 Set the *reason* attribute of the given exception object to *reason*. Return
512 ``0`` on success, ``-1`` on failure.
513
514
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000515Recursion Control
516=================
517
518These two functions provide a way to perform safe recursive calls at the C
519level, both in the core and in extension modules. They are needed if the
520recursive code does not necessarily invoke Python code (which tracks its
521recursion depth automatically).
522
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000523.. c:function:: int Py_EnterRecursiveCall(char *where)
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000524
525 Marks a point where a recursive C-level call is about to be performed.
526
527 If :const:`USE_STACKCHECK` is defined, this function checks if the the OS
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000528 stack overflowed using :c:func:`PyOS_CheckStack`. In this is the case, it
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000529 sets a :exc:`MemoryError` and returns a nonzero value.
530
531 The function then checks if the recursion limit is reached. If this is the
532 case, a :exc:`RuntimeError` is set and a nonzero value is returned.
533 Otherwise, zero is returned.
534
535 *where* should be a string such as ``" in instance check"`` to be
536 concatenated to the :exc:`RuntimeError` message caused by the recursion depth
537 limit.
538
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000539.. c:function:: void Py_LeaveRecursiveCall()
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000540
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000541 Ends a :c:func:`Py_EnterRecursiveCall`. Must be called once for each
542 *successful* invocation of :c:func:`Py_EnterRecursiveCall`.
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000543
Daniel Stutzbach7cb30512010-12-17 16:31:32 +0000544Properly implementing :attr:`tp_repr` for container types requires
545special recursion handling. In addition to protecting the stack,
546:attr:`tp_repr` also needs to track objects to prevent cycles. The
547following two functions facilitate this functionality. Effectively,
548these are the C equivalent to :func:`reprlib.recursive_repr`.
549
Daniel Stutzbachc5895dc2010-12-17 22:28:07 +0000550.. c:function:: int Py_ReprEnter(PyObject *object)
Daniel Stutzbach7cb30512010-12-17 16:31:32 +0000551
552 Called at the beginning of the :attr:`tp_repr` implementation to
553 detect cycles.
554
555 If the object has already been processed, the function returns a
556 positive integer. In that case the :attr:`tp_repr` implementation
557 should return a string object indicating a cycle. As examples,
558 :class:`dict` objects return ``{...}`` and :class:`list` objects
559 return ``[...]``.
560
561 The function will return a negative integer if the recursion limit
562 is reached. In that case the :attr:`tp_repr` implementation should
563 typically return ``NULL``.
564
565 Otherwise, the function returns zero and the :attr:`tp_repr`
566 implementation can continue normally.
567
568.. c:function:: void Py_ReprLeave(PyObject *object)
569
Daniel Stutzbachc5895dc2010-12-17 22:28:07 +0000570 Ends a :c:func:`Py_ReprEnter`. Must be called once for each
571 invocation of :c:func:`Py_ReprEnter` that returns zero.
Daniel Stutzbach7cb30512010-12-17 16:31:32 +0000572
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000573
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000574.. _standardexceptions:
575
576Standard Exceptions
577===================
578
579All standard Python exceptions are available as global variables whose names are
580``PyExc_`` followed by the Python exception name. These have the type
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000581:c:type:`PyObject\*`; they are all class objects. For completeness, here are all
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000582the variables:
583
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000584+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
585| C Name | Python Name | Notes |
586+=====================================+============================+==========+
587| :c:data:`PyExc_BaseException` | :exc:`BaseException` | \(1) |
588+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
589| :c:data:`PyExc_Exception` | :exc:`Exception` | \(1) |
590+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
591| :c:data:`PyExc_ArithmeticError` | :exc:`ArithmeticError` | \(1) |
592+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
593| :c:data:`PyExc_LookupError` | :exc:`LookupError` | \(1) |
594+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
595| :c:data:`PyExc_AssertionError` | :exc:`AssertionError` | |
596+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
597| :c:data:`PyExc_AttributeError` | :exc:`AttributeError` | |
598+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
599| :c:data:`PyExc_EOFError` | :exc:`EOFError` | |
600+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
601| :c:data:`PyExc_EnvironmentError` | :exc:`EnvironmentError` | \(1) |
602+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
603| :c:data:`PyExc_FloatingPointError` | :exc:`FloatingPointError` | |
604+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
605| :c:data:`PyExc_IOError` | :exc:`IOError` | |
606+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
607| :c:data:`PyExc_ImportError` | :exc:`ImportError` | |
608+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
609| :c:data:`PyExc_IndexError` | :exc:`IndexError` | |
610+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
611| :c:data:`PyExc_KeyError` | :exc:`KeyError` | |
612+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
613| :c:data:`PyExc_KeyboardInterrupt` | :exc:`KeyboardInterrupt` | |
614+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
615| :c:data:`PyExc_MemoryError` | :exc:`MemoryError` | |
616+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
617| :c:data:`PyExc_NameError` | :exc:`NameError` | |
618+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
619| :c:data:`PyExc_NotImplementedError` | :exc:`NotImplementedError` | |
620+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
621| :c:data:`PyExc_OSError` | :exc:`OSError` | |
622+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
623| :c:data:`PyExc_OverflowError` | :exc:`OverflowError` | |
624+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
625| :c:data:`PyExc_ReferenceError` | :exc:`ReferenceError` | \(2) |
626+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
627| :c:data:`PyExc_RuntimeError` | :exc:`RuntimeError` | |
628+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
629| :c:data:`PyExc_SyntaxError` | :exc:`SyntaxError` | |
630+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
631| :c:data:`PyExc_SystemError` | :exc:`SystemError` | |
632+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
633| :c:data:`PyExc_SystemExit` | :exc:`SystemExit` | |
634+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
635| :c:data:`PyExc_TypeError` | :exc:`TypeError` | |
636+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
637| :c:data:`PyExc_ValueError` | :exc:`ValueError` | |
638+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
639| :c:data:`PyExc_WindowsError` | :exc:`WindowsError` | \(3) |
640+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
641| :c:data:`PyExc_ZeroDivisionError` | :exc:`ZeroDivisionError` | |
642+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000643
644.. index::
645 single: PyExc_BaseException
646 single: PyExc_Exception
647 single: PyExc_ArithmeticError
648 single: PyExc_LookupError
649 single: PyExc_AssertionError
650 single: PyExc_AttributeError
651 single: PyExc_EOFError
652 single: PyExc_EnvironmentError
653 single: PyExc_FloatingPointError
654 single: PyExc_IOError
655 single: PyExc_ImportError
656 single: PyExc_IndexError
657 single: PyExc_KeyError
658 single: PyExc_KeyboardInterrupt
659 single: PyExc_MemoryError
660 single: PyExc_NameError
661 single: PyExc_NotImplementedError
662 single: PyExc_OSError
663 single: PyExc_OverflowError
664 single: PyExc_ReferenceError
665 single: PyExc_RuntimeError
666 single: PyExc_SyntaxError
667 single: PyExc_SystemError
668 single: PyExc_SystemExit
669 single: PyExc_TypeError
670 single: PyExc_ValueError
671 single: PyExc_WindowsError
672 single: PyExc_ZeroDivisionError
673
674Notes:
675
676(1)
677 This is a base class for other standard exceptions.
678
679(2)
680 This is the same as :exc:`weakref.ReferenceError`.
681
682(3)
683 Only defined on Windows; protect code that uses this by testing that the
684 preprocessor macro ``MS_WINDOWS`` is defined.