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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 Stinnerb1dbd102010-12-28 11:02:46 +0000151 values as in :c:func:`PyUnicode_FromFormat`. *format* is an ASCII-encoded
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000152 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 Stinner92be9392010-12-28 00:28:21 +0000222 :exc:`WindowsError` as a third parameter. *filename* is decoded from the
223 filesystem encoding (:func:`sys.getfilesystemencoding`). Availability:
224 Windows.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000225
226
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000227.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_SetExcFromWindowsErrWithFilename(PyObject *type, int ierr, char *filename)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000228
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000229 Similar to :c:func:`PyErr_SetFromWindowsErrWithFilename`, with an additional
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000230 parameter specifying the exception type to be raised. Availability: Windows.
231
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000232
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000233.. c:function:: void PyErr_SyntaxLocationEx(char *filename, int lineno, int col_offset)
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000234
235 Set file, line, and offset information for the current exception. If the
236 current exception is not a :exc:`SyntaxError`, then it sets additional
237 attributes, which make the exception printing subsystem think the exception
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000238 is a :exc:`SyntaxError`. *filename* is decoded from the filesystem encoding
239 (:func:`sys.getfilesystemencoding`).
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000240
Benjamin Petersonb5d23b42010-09-21 21:29:26 +0000241.. versionadded:: 3.2
242
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000243
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000244.. c:function:: void PyErr_SyntaxLocation(char *filename, int lineno)
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000245
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000246 Like :c:func:`PyErr_SyntaxLocationExc`, but the col_offset parameter is
Benjamin Peterson2c539712010-09-20 22:42:10 +0000247 omitted.
248
249
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000250.. c:function:: void PyErr_BadInternalCall()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000251
Benjamin Peterson5c6d7872009-02-06 02:40:07 +0000252 This is a shorthand for ``PyErr_SetString(PyExc_SystemError, message)``,
253 where *message* indicates that an internal operation (e.g. a Python/C API
254 function) was invoked with an illegal argument. It is mostly for internal
255 use.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000256
257
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000258.. c:function:: int PyErr_WarnEx(PyObject *category, char *message, int stack_level)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000259
260 Issue a warning message. The *category* argument is a warning category (see
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000261 below) or *NULL*; the *message* argument is an UTF-8 encoded string. *stack_level* is a
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000262 positive number giving a number of stack frames; the warning will be issued from
Victor Stinner4a2b7a12010-08-13 14:03:48 +0000263 the currently executing line of code in that stack frame. A *stack_level* of 1
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000264 is the function calling :c:func:`PyErr_WarnEx`, 2 is the function above that,
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000265 and so forth.
266
267 This function normally prints a warning message to *sys.stderr*; however, it is
268 also possible that the user has specified that warnings are to be turned into
269 errors, and in that case this will raise an exception. It is also possible that
270 the function raises an exception because of a problem with the warning machinery
271 (the implementation imports the :mod:`warnings` module to do the heavy lifting).
272 The return value is ``0`` if no exception is raised, or ``-1`` if an exception
273 is raised. (It is not possible to determine whether a warning message is
274 actually printed, nor what the reason is for the exception; this is
275 intentional.) If an exception is raised, the caller should do its normal
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000276 exception handling (for example, :c:func:`Py_DECREF` owned references and return
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000277 an error value).
278
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000279 Warning categories must be subclasses of :c:data:`Warning`; the default warning
280 category is :c:data:`RuntimeWarning`. The standard Python warning categories are
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000281 available as global variables whose names are ``PyExc_`` followed by the Python
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000282 exception name. These have the type :c:type:`PyObject\*`; they are all class
283 objects. Their names are :c:data:`PyExc_Warning`, :c:data:`PyExc_UserWarning`,
284 :c:data:`PyExc_UnicodeWarning`, :c:data:`PyExc_DeprecationWarning`,
285 :c:data:`PyExc_SyntaxWarning`, :c:data:`PyExc_RuntimeWarning`, and
286 :c:data:`PyExc_FutureWarning`. :c:data:`PyExc_Warning` is a subclass of
287 :c:data:`PyExc_Exception`; the other warning categories are subclasses of
288 :c:data:`PyExc_Warning`.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000289
290 For information about warning control, see the documentation for the
291 :mod:`warnings` module and the :option:`-W` option in the command line
292 documentation. There is no C API for warning control.
293
294
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000295.. 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 +0000296
297 Issue a warning message with explicit control over all warning attributes. This
298 is a straightforward wrapper around the Python function
299 :func:`warnings.warn_explicit`, see there for more information. The *module*
300 and *registry* arguments may be set to *NULL* to get the default effect
Victor Stinnercb428f02010-12-27 20:10:36 +0000301 described there. *message* and *module* are UTF-8 encoded strings,
302 *filename* is decoded from the filesystem encoding
303 (:func:`sys.getfilesystemencoding`).
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000304
305
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000306.. c:function:: int PyErr_WarnFormat(PyObject *category, Py_ssize_t stack_level, const char *format, ...)
Victor Stinner4a2b7a12010-08-13 14:03:48 +0000307
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000308 Function similar to :c:func:`PyErr_WarnEx`, but use
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000309 :c:func:`PyUnicode_FromFormat` to format the warning message. *format* is
310 an ASCII-encoded string.
Victor Stinner4a2b7a12010-08-13 14:03:48 +0000311
312 .. versionadded:: 3.2
313
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000314.. c:function:: int PyErr_CheckSignals()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000315
316 .. index::
317 module: signal
318 single: SIGINT
319 single: KeyboardInterrupt (built-in exception)
320
321 This function interacts with Python's signal handling. It checks whether a
322 signal has been sent to the processes and if so, invokes the corresponding
323 signal handler. If the :mod:`signal` module is supported, this can invoke a
324 signal handler written in Python. In all cases, the default effect for
325 :const:`SIGINT` is to raise the :exc:`KeyboardInterrupt` exception. If an
326 exception is raised the error indicator is set and the function returns ``-1``;
327 otherwise the function returns ``0``. The error indicator may or may not be
328 cleared if it was previously set.
329
330
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000331.. c:function:: void PyErr_SetInterrupt()
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000332
333 .. index::
334 single: SIGINT
335 single: KeyboardInterrupt (built-in exception)
336
337 This function simulates the effect of a :const:`SIGINT` signal arriving --- the
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000338 next time :c:func:`PyErr_CheckSignals` is called, :exc:`KeyboardInterrupt` will
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000339 be raised. It may be called without holding the interpreter lock.
340
341 .. % XXX This was described as obsolete, but is used in
Georg Brandl2067bfd2008-05-25 13:05:15 +0000342 .. % _thread.interrupt_main() (used from IDLE), so it's still needed.
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000343
344
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000345.. c:function:: int PySignal_SetWakeupFd(int fd)
Christian Heimes5fb7c2a2007-12-24 08:52:31 +0000346
347 This utility function specifies a file descriptor to which a ``'\0'`` byte will
348 be written whenever a signal is received. It returns the previous such file
349 descriptor. The value ``-1`` disables the feature; this is the initial state.
350 This is equivalent to :func:`signal.set_wakeup_fd` in Python, but without any
351 error checking. *fd* should be a valid file descriptor. The function should
352 only be called from the main thread.
353
354
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000355.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_NewException(char *name, PyObject *base, PyObject *dict)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000356
357 This utility function creates and returns a new exception object. The *name*
358 argument must be the name of the new exception, a C string of the form
359 ``module.class``. The *base* and *dict* arguments are normally *NULL*. This
360 creates a class object derived from :exc:`Exception` (accessible in C as
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000361 :c:data:`PyExc_Exception`).
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000362
363 The :attr:`__module__` attribute of the new class is set to the first part (up
364 to the last dot) of the *name* argument, and the class name is set to the last
365 part (after the last dot). The *base* argument can be used to specify alternate
366 base classes; it can either be only one class or a tuple of classes. The *dict*
367 argument can be used to specify a dictionary of class variables and methods.
368
369
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000370.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_NewExceptionWithDoc(char *name, char *doc, PyObject *base, PyObject *dict)
Georg Brandl1e28a272009-12-28 08:41:01 +0000371
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000372 Same as :c:func:`PyErr_NewException`, except that the new exception class can
Georg Brandl1e28a272009-12-28 08:41:01 +0000373 easily be given a docstring: If *doc* is non-*NULL*, it will be used as the
374 docstring for the exception class.
375
376 .. versionadded:: 3.2
377
378
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000379.. c:function:: void PyErr_WriteUnraisable(PyObject *obj)
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000380
381 This utility function prints a warning message to ``sys.stderr`` when an
382 exception has been set but it is impossible for the interpreter to actually
383 raise the exception. It is used, for example, when an exception occurs in an
384 :meth:`__del__` method.
385
386 The function is called with a single argument *obj* that identifies the context
387 in which the unraisable exception occurred. The repr of *obj* will be printed in
388 the warning message.
389
390
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000391Exception Objects
392=================
393
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000394.. c:function:: PyObject* PyException_GetTraceback(PyObject *ex)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000395
396 Return the traceback associated with the exception as a new reference, as
397 accessible from Python through :attr:`__traceback__`. If there is no
398 traceback associated, this returns *NULL*.
399
400
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000401.. c:function:: int PyException_SetTraceback(PyObject *ex, PyObject *tb)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000402
403 Set the traceback associated with the exception to *tb*. Use ``Py_None`` to
404 clear it.
405
406
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000407.. c:function:: PyObject* PyException_GetContext(PyObject *ex)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000408
409 Return the context (another exception instance during whose handling *ex* was
410 raised) associated with the exception as a new reference, as accessible from
411 Python through :attr:`__context__`. If there is no context associated, this
412 returns *NULL*.
413
414
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000415.. c:function:: void PyException_SetContext(PyObject *ex, PyObject *ctx)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000416
417 Set the context associated with the exception to *ctx*. Use *NULL* to clear
418 it. There is no type check to make sure that *ctx* is an exception instance.
419 This steals a reference to *ctx*.
420
421
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000422.. c:function:: PyObject* PyException_GetCause(PyObject *ex)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000423
424 Return the cause (another exception instance set by ``raise ... from ...``)
425 associated with the exception as a new reference, as accessible from Python
426 through :attr:`__cause__`. If there is no cause associated, this returns
427 *NULL*.
428
429
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000430.. c:function:: void PyException_SetCause(PyObject *ex, PyObject *ctx)
Georg Brandlab6f2f62009-03-31 04:16:10 +0000431
432 Set the cause associated with the exception to *ctx*. Use *NULL* to clear
433 it. There is no type check to make sure that *ctx* is an exception instance.
434 This steals a reference to *ctx*.
435
436
Georg Brandl5a932652010-11-23 07:54:19 +0000437.. _unicodeexceptions:
438
439Unicode Exception Objects
440=========================
441
442The following functions are used to create and modify Unicode exceptions from C.
443
444.. 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)
445
446 Create a :class:`UnicodeDecodeError` object with the attributes *encoding*,
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000447 *object*, *length*, *start*, *end* and *reason*. *encoding* and *reason* are
448 UTF-8 encoded strings.
Georg Brandl5a932652010-11-23 07:54:19 +0000449
450.. 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)
451
452 Create a :class:`UnicodeEncodeError` object with the attributes *encoding*,
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000453 *object*, *length*, *start*, *end* and *reason*. *encoding* and *reason* are
454 UTF-8 encoded strings.
Georg Brandl5a932652010-11-23 07:54:19 +0000455
456.. c:function:: PyObject* PyUnicodeTranslateError_Create(const Py_UNICODE *object, Py_ssize_t length, Py_ssize_t start, Py_ssize_t end, const char *reason)
457
458 Create a :class:`UnicodeTranslateError` object with the attributes *object*,
Victor Stinner555a24f2010-12-27 01:49:26 +0000459 *length*, *start*, *end* and *reason*. *reason* is an UTF-8 encoded string.
Georg Brandl5a932652010-11-23 07:54:19 +0000460
461.. c:function:: PyObject* PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetEncoding(PyObject *exc)
462 PyObject* PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetEncoding(PyObject *exc)
463
464 Return the *encoding* attribute of the given exception object.
465
466.. c:function:: PyObject* PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetObject(PyObject *exc)
467 PyObject* PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetObject(PyObject *exc)
468 PyObject* PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetObject(PyObject *exc)
469
470 Return the *object* attribute of the given exception object.
471
472.. c:function:: int PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *start)
473 int PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *start)
474 int PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *start)
475
476 Get the *start* attribute of the given exception object and place it into
477 *\*start*. *start* must not be *NULL*. Return ``0`` on success, ``-1`` on
478 failure.
479
480.. c:function:: int PyUnicodeDecodeError_SetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t start)
481 int PyUnicodeEncodeError_SetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t start)
482 int PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetStart(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t start)
483
484 Set the *start* attribute of the given exception object to *start*. Return
485 ``0`` on success, ``-1`` on failure.
486
487.. c:function:: int PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *end)
488 int PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *end)
489 int PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t *end)
490
491 Get the *end* attribute of the given exception object and place it into
492 *\*end*. *end* must not be *NULL*. Return ``0`` on success, ``-1`` on
493 failure.
494
495.. c:function:: int PyUnicodeDecodeError_SetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t end)
496 int PyUnicodeEncodeError_SetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t end)
497 int PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetEnd(PyObject *exc, Py_ssize_t end)
498
499 Set the *end* attribute of the given exception object to *end*. Return ``0``
500 on success, ``-1`` on failure.
501
502.. c:function:: PyObject* PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetReason(PyObject *exc)
503 PyObject* PyUnicodeEncodeError_GetReason(PyObject *exc)
504 PyObject* PyUnicodeTranslateError_GetReason(PyObject *exc)
505
506 Return the *reason* attribute of the given exception object.
507
508.. c:function:: int PyUnicodeDecodeError_SetReason(PyObject *exc, const char *reason)
509 int PyUnicodeEncodeError_SetReason(PyObject *exc, const char *reason)
510 int PyUnicodeTranslateError_SetReason(PyObject *exc, const char *reason)
511
512 Set the *reason* attribute of the given exception object to *reason*. Return
513 ``0`` on success, ``-1`` on failure.
514
515
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000516Recursion Control
517=================
518
519These two functions provide a way to perform safe recursive calls at the C
520level, both in the core and in extension modules. They are needed if the
521recursive code does not necessarily invoke Python code (which tracks its
522recursion depth automatically).
523
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000524.. c:function:: int Py_EnterRecursiveCall(char *where)
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000525
526 Marks a point where a recursive C-level call is about to be performed.
527
528 If :const:`USE_STACKCHECK` is defined, this function checks if the the OS
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000529 stack overflowed using :c:func:`PyOS_CheckStack`. In this is the case, it
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000530 sets a :exc:`MemoryError` and returns a nonzero value.
531
532 The function then checks if the recursion limit is reached. If this is the
533 case, a :exc:`RuntimeError` is set and a nonzero value is returned.
534 Otherwise, zero is returned.
535
536 *where* should be a string such as ``" in instance check"`` to be
537 concatenated to the :exc:`RuntimeError` message caused by the recursion depth
538 limit.
539
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000540.. c:function:: void Py_LeaveRecursiveCall()
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000541
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000542 Ends a :c:func:`Py_EnterRecursiveCall`. Must be called once for each
543 *successful* invocation of :c:func:`Py_EnterRecursiveCall`.
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000544
Daniel Stutzbach7cb30512010-12-17 16:31:32 +0000545Properly implementing :attr:`tp_repr` for container types requires
546special recursion handling. In addition to protecting the stack,
547:attr:`tp_repr` also needs to track objects to prevent cycles. The
548following two functions facilitate this functionality. Effectively,
549these are the C equivalent to :func:`reprlib.recursive_repr`.
550
Daniel Stutzbachc5895dc2010-12-17 22:28:07 +0000551.. c:function:: int Py_ReprEnter(PyObject *object)
Daniel Stutzbach7cb30512010-12-17 16:31:32 +0000552
553 Called at the beginning of the :attr:`tp_repr` implementation to
554 detect cycles.
555
556 If the object has already been processed, the function returns a
557 positive integer. In that case the :attr:`tp_repr` implementation
558 should return a string object indicating a cycle. As examples,
559 :class:`dict` objects return ``{...}`` and :class:`list` objects
560 return ``[...]``.
561
562 The function will return a negative integer if the recursion limit
563 is reached. In that case the :attr:`tp_repr` implementation should
564 typically return ``NULL``.
565
566 Otherwise, the function returns zero and the :attr:`tp_repr`
567 implementation can continue normally.
568
569.. c:function:: void Py_ReprLeave(PyObject *object)
570
Daniel Stutzbachc5895dc2010-12-17 22:28:07 +0000571 Ends a :c:func:`Py_ReprEnter`. Must be called once for each
572 invocation of :c:func:`Py_ReprEnter` that returns zero.
Daniel Stutzbach7cb30512010-12-17 16:31:32 +0000573
Georg Brandl93dc9eb2010-03-14 10:56:14 +0000574
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000575.. _standardexceptions:
576
577Standard Exceptions
578===================
579
580All standard Python exceptions are available as global variables whose names are
581``PyExc_`` followed by the Python exception name. These have the type
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000582:c:type:`PyObject\*`; they are all class objects. For completeness, here are all
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000583the variables:
584
Georg Brandl60203b42010-10-06 10:11:56 +0000585+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
586| C Name | Python Name | Notes |
587+=====================================+============================+==========+
588| :c:data:`PyExc_BaseException` | :exc:`BaseException` | \(1) |
589+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
590| :c:data:`PyExc_Exception` | :exc:`Exception` | \(1) |
591+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
592| :c:data:`PyExc_ArithmeticError` | :exc:`ArithmeticError` | \(1) |
593+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
594| :c:data:`PyExc_LookupError` | :exc:`LookupError` | \(1) |
595+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
596| :c:data:`PyExc_AssertionError` | :exc:`AssertionError` | |
597+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
598| :c:data:`PyExc_AttributeError` | :exc:`AttributeError` | |
599+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
600| :c:data:`PyExc_EOFError` | :exc:`EOFError` | |
601+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
602| :c:data:`PyExc_EnvironmentError` | :exc:`EnvironmentError` | \(1) |
603+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
604| :c:data:`PyExc_FloatingPointError` | :exc:`FloatingPointError` | |
605+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
606| :c:data:`PyExc_IOError` | :exc:`IOError` | |
607+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
608| :c:data:`PyExc_ImportError` | :exc:`ImportError` | |
609+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
610| :c:data:`PyExc_IndexError` | :exc:`IndexError` | |
611+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
612| :c:data:`PyExc_KeyError` | :exc:`KeyError` | |
613+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
614| :c:data:`PyExc_KeyboardInterrupt` | :exc:`KeyboardInterrupt` | |
615+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
616| :c:data:`PyExc_MemoryError` | :exc:`MemoryError` | |
617+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
618| :c:data:`PyExc_NameError` | :exc:`NameError` | |
619+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
620| :c:data:`PyExc_NotImplementedError` | :exc:`NotImplementedError` | |
621+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
622| :c:data:`PyExc_OSError` | :exc:`OSError` | |
623+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
624| :c:data:`PyExc_OverflowError` | :exc:`OverflowError` | |
625+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
626| :c:data:`PyExc_ReferenceError` | :exc:`ReferenceError` | \(2) |
627+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
628| :c:data:`PyExc_RuntimeError` | :exc:`RuntimeError` | |
629+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
630| :c:data:`PyExc_SyntaxError` | :exc:`SyntaxError` | |
631+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
632| :c:data:`PyExc_SystemError` | :exc:`SystemError` | |
633+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
634| :c:data:`PyExc_SystemExit` | :exc:`SystemExit` | |
635+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
636| :c:data:`PyExc_TypeError` | :exc:`TypeError` | |
637+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
638| :c:data:`PyExc_ValueError` | :exc:`ValueError` | |
639+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
640| :c:data:`PyExc_WindowsError` | :exc:`WindowsError` | \(3) |
641+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
642| :c:data:`PyExc_ZeroDivisionError` | :exc:`ZeroDivisionError` | |
643+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+----------+
Georg Brandl116aa622007-08-15 14:28:22 +0000644
645.. index::
646 single: PyExc_BaseException
647 single: PyExc_Exception
648 single: PyExc_ArithmeticError
649 single: PyExc_LookupError
650 single: PyExc_AssertionError
651 single: PyExc_AttributeError
652 single: PyExc_EOFError
653 single: PyExc_EnvironmentError
654 single: PyExc_FloatingPointError
655 single: PyExc_IOError
656 single: PyExc_ImportError
657 single: PyExc_IndexError
658 single: PyExc_KeyError
659 single: PyExc_KeyboardInterrupt
660 single: PyExc_MemoryError
661 single: PyExc_NameError
662 single: PyExc_NotImplementedError
663 single: PyExc_OSError
664 single: PyExc_OverflowError
665 single: PyExc_ReferenceError
666 single: PyExc_RuntimeError
667 single: PyExc_SyntaxError
668 single: PyExc_SystemError
669 single: PyExc_SystemExit
670 single: PyExc_TypeError
671 single: PyExc_ValueError
672 single: PyExc_WindowsError
673 single: PyExc_ZeroDivisionError
674
675Notes:
676
677(1)
678 This is a base class for other standard exceptions.
679
680(2)
681 This is the same as :exc:`weakref.ReferenceError`.
682
683(3)
684 Only defined on Windows; protect code that uses this by testing that the
685 preprocessor macro ``MS_WINDOWS`` is defined.