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Guido van Rossuma3309961993-07-28 09:05:47 +00001#ifndef Py_OBJECT_H
2#define Py_OBJECT_H
3#ifdef __cplusplus
4extern "C" {
5#endif
6
Guido van Rossumf70e43a1991-02-19 12:39:46 +00007/***********************************************************
Guido van Rossum5799b521995-01-04 19:06:22 +00008Copyright 1991-1995 by Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam,
9The Netherlands.
Guido van Rossumf70e43a1991-02-19 12:39:46 +000010
11 All Rights Reserved
12
13Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
14documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted,
15provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that
16both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in
17supporting documentation, and that the names of Stichting Mathematisch
18Centrum or CWI not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to
19distribution of the software without specific, written prior permission.
20
21STICHTING MATHEMATISCH CENTRUM DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO
22THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
23FITNESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL STICHTING MATHEMATISCH CENTRUM BE LIABLE
24FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
25WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
26ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT
27OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
28
29******************************************************************/
30
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +000031/* Object and type object interface */
32
33/*
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35
36Objects are structures allocated on the heap. Special rules apply to
37the use of objects to ensure they are properly garbage-collected.
38Objects are never allocated statically or on the stack; they must be
39accessed through special macros and functions only. (Type objects are
40exceptions to the first rule; the standard types are represented by
41statically initialized type objects.)
42
43An object has a 'reference count' that is increased or decreased when a
44pointer to the object is copied or deleted; when the reference count
45reaches zero there are no references to the object left and it can be
46removed from the heap.
47
48An object has a 'type' that determines what it represents and what kind
49of data it contains. An object's type is fixed when it is created.
50Types themselves are represented as objects; an object contains a
51pointer to the corresponding type object. The type itself has a type
52pointer pointing to the object representing the type 'type', which
53contains a pointer to itself!).
54
55Objects do not float around in memory; once allocated an object keeps
56the same size and address. Objects that must hold variable-size data
57can contain pointers to variable-size parts of the object. Not all
58objects of the same type have the same size; but the size cannot change
59after allocation. (These restrictions are made so a reference to an
60object can be simply a pointer -- moving an object would require
61updating all the pointers, and changing an object's size would require
62moving it if there was another object right next to it.)
63
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +000064Objects are always accessed through pointers of the type 'PyObject *'.
65The type 'PyObject' is a structure that only contains the reference count
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +000066and the type pointer. The actual memory allocated for an object
67contains other data that can only be accessed after casting the pointer
68to a pointer to a longer structure type. This longer type must start
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +000069with the reference count and type fields; the macro PyObject_HEAD should be
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +000070used for this (to accomodate for future changes). The implementation
71of a particular object type can cast the object pointer to the proper
72type and back.
73
74A standard interface exists for objects that contain an array of items
75whose size is determined when the object is allocated.
76
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78*/
79
Guido van Rossume1cd6c11996-05-24 20:43:12 +000080#ifdef DEBUG
Guido van Rossum3f5da241990-12-20 15:06:42 +000081
82/* Turn on heavy reference debugging */
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +000083#define Py_TRACE_REFS
Guido van Rossum3f5da241990-12-20 15:06:42 +000084
85/* Turn on reference counting */
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +000086#define Py_REF_DEBUG
Guido van Rossum3f5da241990-12-20 15:06:42 +000087
Guido van Rossume1cd6c11996-05-24 20:43:12 +000088#endif /* DEBUG */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +000089
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +000090#ifdef Py_TRACE_REFS
91#define PyObject_HEAD \
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +000092 struct _object *_ob_next, *_ob_prev; \
Guido van Rossumc8564cd1990-11-02 17:51:56 +000093 int ob_refcnt; \
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +000094 struct _typeobject *ob_type;
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +000095#define PyObject_HEAD_INIT(type) 0, 0, 1, type,
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +000096#else /* !Py_TRACE_REFS */
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +000097#define PyObject_HEAD \
Guido van Rossum5799b521995-01-04 19:06:22 +000098 int ob_refcnt; \
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +000099 struct _typeobject *ob_type;
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000100#define PyObject_HEAD_INIT(type) 1, type,
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000101#endif /* !Py_TRACE_REFS */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000102
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000103#define PyObject_VAR_HEAD \
104 PyObject_HEAD \
Guido van Rossum5799b521995-01-04 19:06:22 +0000105 int ob_size; /* Number of items in variable part */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000106
107typedef struct _object {
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000108 PyObject_HEAD
109} PyObject;
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000110
111typedef struct {
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000112 PyObject_VAR_HEAD
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000113} varobject;
114
115
116/*
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118
119Type objects contain a string containing the type name (to help somewhat
120in debugging), the allocation parameters (see newobj() and newvarobj()),
121and methods for accessing objects of the type. Methods are optional,a
122nil pointer meaning that particular kind of access is not available for
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000123this type. The Py_DECREF() macro uses the tp_dealloc method without
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000124checking for a nil pointer; it should always be implemented except if
125the implementation can guarantee that the reference count will never
126reach zero (e.g., for type objects).
127
128NB: the methods for certain type groups are now contained in separate
129method blocks.
130*/
131
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000132typedef PyObject * (*unaryfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
133typedef PyObject * (*binaryfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *));
134typedef PyObject * (*ternaryfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *, PyObject *));
135typedef int (*inquiry) Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
136typedef int (*coercion) Py_PROTO((PyObject **, PyObject **));
137typedef PyObject *(*intargfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, int));
138typedef PyObject *(*intintargfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, int, int));
139typedef int(*intobjargproc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, int, PyObject *));
140typedef int(*intintobjargproc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, int, int, PyObject *));
141typedef int(*objobjargproc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *, PyObject *));
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000142
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000143typedef struct {
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000144 binaryfunc nb_add;
145 binaryfunc nb_subtract;
146 binaryfunc nb_multiply;
147 binaryfunc nb_divide;
148 binaryfunc nb_remainder;
149 binaryfunc nb_divmod;
Guido van Rossum75abc631994-08-09 13:21:54 +0000150 ternaryfunc nb_power;
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000151 unaryfunc nb_negative;
152 unaryfunc nb_positive;
153 unaryfunc nb_absolute;
154 inquiry nb_nonzero;
155 unaryfunc nb_invert;
156 binaryfunc nb_lshift;
157 binaryfunc nb_rshift;
158 binaryfunc nb_and;
159 binaryfunc nb_xor;
160 binaryfunc nb_or;
161 coercion nb_coerce;
162 unaryfunc nb_int;
163 unaryfunc nb_long;
164 unaryfunc nb_float;
165 unaryfunc nb_oct;
166 unaryfunc nb_hex;
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000167} PyNumberMethods;
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000168
169typedef struct {
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000170 inquiry sq_length;
171 binaryfunc sq_concat;
172 intargfunc sq_repeat;
173 intargfunc sq_item;
174 intintargfunc sq_slice;
175 intobjargproc sq_ass_item;
176 intintobjargproc sq_ass_slice;
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000177} PySequenceMethods;
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000178
179typedef struct {
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000180 inquiry mp_length;
181 binaryfunc mp_subscript;
182 objobjargproc mp_ass_subscript;
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000183} PyMappingMethods;
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000184
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000185typedef void (*destructor) Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
186typedef int (*printfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, FILE *, int));
187typedef PyObject *(*getattrfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, char *));
188typedef int (*setattrfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, char *, PyObject *));
189typedef int (*cmpfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *));
190typedef PyObject *(*reprfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
191typedef long (*hashfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000192
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000193typedef struct _typeobject {
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000194 PyObject_VAR_HEAD
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000195 char *tp_name; /* For printing */
Guido van Rossum5799b521995-01-04 19:06:22 +0000196 int tp_basicsize, tp_itemsize; /* For allocation */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000197
198 /* Methods to implement standard operations */
199
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000200 destructor tp_dealloc;
201 printfunc tp_print;
202 getattrfunc tp_getattr;
203 setattrfunc tp_setattr;
204 cmpfunc tp_compare;
205 reprfunc tp_repr;
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000206
207 /* Method suites for standard classes */
208
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000209 PyNumberMethods *tp_as_number;
210 PySequenceMethods *tp_as_sequence;
211 PyMappingMethods *tp_as_mapping;
Guido van Rossum9bfef441993-03-29 10:43:31 +0000212
213 /* More standard operations (at end for binary compatibility) */
214
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000215 hashfunc tp_hash;
Guido van Rossum884afd61995-07-18 14:21:06 +0000216 ternaryfunc tp_call;
Guido van Rossum6fde3901995-01-07 10:32:04 +0000217 reprfunc tp_str;
218
219 /* Space for future expansion */
220 long tp_xxx1;
221 long tp_xxx2;
222 long tp_xxx3;
223 long tp_xxx4;
224
225 char *tp_doc; /* Documentation string */
226
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000227#ifdef COUNT_ALLOCS
228 /* these must be last */
229 int tp_alloc;
230 int tp_free;
231 int tp_maxalloc;
232 struct _typeobject *tp_next;
233#endif
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000234} PyTypeObject;
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000235
Sjoerd Mullender107c7471995-04-25 11:53:24 +0000236extern DL_IMPORT(PyTypeObject) PyType_Type; /* The type of type objects */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000237
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000238#define PyType_Check(op) ((op)->ob_type == &PyType_Type)
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000239
Guido van Rossum3f5da241990-12-20 15:06:42 +0000240/* Generic operations on objects */
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000241extern int PyObject_Print Py_PROTO((PyObject *, FILE *, int));
242extern PyObject * PyObject_Repr Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
Guido van Rossum93817821995-01-17 16:01:01 +0000243extern PyObject * PyObject_Str Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000244extern int PyObject_Compare Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *));
245extern PyObject *PyObject_GetAttrString Py_PROTO((PyObject *, char *));
Guido van Rossum454674d1995-07-26 17:53:29 +0000246extern int PyObject_SetAttrString Py_PROTO((PyObject *, char *, PyObject *));
Guido van Rossum93817821995-01-17 16:01:01 +0000247extern int PyObject_HasAttrString Py_PROTO((PyObject *, char *));
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000248extern PyObject *PyObject_GetAttr Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *));
249extern int PyObject_SetAttr Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *, PyObject *));
250extern long PyObject_Hash Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
Guido van Rossumb13afdd1995-02-17 15:01:21 +0000251extern int PyObject_IsTrue Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
252extern int PyCallable_Check Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000253extern int PyNumber_Coerce Py_PROTO((PyObject **, PyObject **));
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000254
255/* Flag bits for printing: */
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000256#define Py_PRINT_RAW 1 /* No string quotes etc. */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000257
258/*
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260
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000261The macros Py_INCREF(op) and Py_DECREF(op) are used to increment or decrement
262reference counts. Py_DECREF calls the object's deallocator function; for
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000263objects that don't contain references to other objects or heap memory
264this can be the standard function free(). Both macros can be used
265whereever a void expression is allowed. The argument shouldn't be a
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000266NIL pointer. The macro _Py_NewReference(op) is used only to initialize
267reference counts to 1; it is defined here for convenience.
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000268
269We assume that the reference count field can never overflow; this can
270be proven when the size of the field is the same as the pointer size
271but even with a 16-bit reference count field it is pretty unlikely so
272we ignore the possibility. (If you are paranoid, make it a long.)
273
274Type objects should never be deallocated; the type pointer in an object
275is not considered to be a reference to the type object, to save
276complications in the deallocation function. (This is actually a
277decision that's up to the implementer of each new type so if you want,
278you can count such references to the type object.)
279
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000280*** WARNING*** The Py_DECREF macro must have a side-effect-free argument
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000281since it may evaluate its argument multiple times. (The alternative
282would be to mace it a proper function or assign it to a global temporary
283variable first, both of which are slower; and in a multi-threaded
284environment the global variable trick is not safe.)
285*/
286
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000287#ifdef Py_TRACE_REFS
288#ifndef Py_REF_DEBUG
289#define Py_REF_DEBUG
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000290#endif
291#endif
292
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000293#ifndef Py_TRACE_REFS
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000294#ifdef COUNT_ALLOCS
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000295#define _Py_Dealloc(op) ((op)->ob_type->tp_free++, (*(op)->ob_type->tp_dealloc)((PyObject *)(op)))
Sjoerd Mullender91e7a0b1995-04-06 13:47:48 +0000296#define _Py_ForgetReference(op) ((op)->ob_type->tp_free++)
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000297#else
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000298#define _Py_Dealloc(op) (*(op)->ob_type->tp_dealloc)((PyObject *)(op))
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000299#define _Py_ForgetReference(op) /*empty*/
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000300#endif
Sjoerd Mullender91e7a0b1995-04-06 13:47:48 +0000301#endif
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000302
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000303#ifdef COUNT_ALLOCS
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000304extern void inc_count Py_PROTO((PyTypeObject *));
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000305#endif
306
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000307#ifdef Py_REF_DEBUG
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000308
Guido van Rossum6f9e4331995-03-29 16:57:48 +0000309extern long _Py_RefTotal;
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000310
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000311#ifndef Py_TRACE_REFS
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000312#ifdef COUNT_ALLOCS
Guido van Rossum6f9e4331995-03-29 16:57:48 +0000313#define _Py_NewReference(op) (inc_count((op)->ob_type), _Py_RefTotal++, (op)->ob_refcnt = 1)
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000314#else
Guido van Rossum6f9e4331995-03-29 16:57:48 +0000315#define _Py_NewReference(op) (_Py_RefTotal++, (op)->ob_refcnt = 1)
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000316#endif
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000317#endif /* !Py_TRACE_REFS */
318
Guido van Rossum6f9e4331995-03-29 16:57:48 +0000319#define Py_INCREF(op) (_Py_RefTotal++, (op)->ob_refcnt++)
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000320#define Py_DECREF(op) \
Guido van Rossum6f9e4331995-03-29 16:57:48 +0000321 if (--_Py_RefTotal, --(op)->ob_refcnt != 0) \
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000322 ; \
323 else \
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000324 _Py_Dealloc(op)
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000325#else /* !Py_REF_DEBUG */
326
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000327#ifdef COUNT_ALLOCS
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000328#define _Py_NewReference(op) (inc_count((op)->ob_type), (op)->ob_refcnt = 1)
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000329#else
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000330#define _Py_NewReference(op) ((op)->ob_refcnt = 1)
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000331#endif
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000332
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000333#define Py_INCREF(op) ((op)->ob_refcnt++)
334#define Py_DECREF(op) \
Guido van Rossum5799b521995-01-04 19:06:22 +0000335 if (--(op)->ob_refcnt != 0) \
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000336 ; \
337 else \
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000338 _Py_Dealloc(op)
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000339#endif /* !Py_REF_DEBUG */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000340
Guido van Rossum3f5da241990-12-20 15:06:42 +0000341/* Macros to use in case the object pointer may be NULL: */
342
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000343#define Py_XINCREF(op) if ((op) == NULL) ; else Py_INCREF(op)
344#define Py_XDECREF(op) if ((op) == NULL) ; else Py_DECREF(op)
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000345
346/* Definition of NULL, so you don't have to include <stdio.h> */
347
348#ifndef NULL
349#define NULL 0
350#endif
351
352
353/*
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000354_Py_NoneStruct is an object of undefined type which can be used in contexts
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000355where NULL (nil) is not suitable (since NULL often means 'error').
356
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000357Don't forget to apply Py_INCREF() when returning this value!!!
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000358*/
359
Sjoerd Mullender107c7471995-04-25 11:53:24 +0000360extern DL_IMPORT(PyObject) _Py_NoneStruct; /* Don't use this directly */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000361
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000362#define Py_None (&_Py_NoneStruct)
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000363
364
365/*
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000366A common programming style in Python requires the forward declaration
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000367of static, initialized structures, e.g. for a type object that is used
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000368by the functions whose address must be used in the initializer.
369Some compilers (notably SCO ODT 3.0, I seem to remember early AIX as
370well) botch this if you use the static keyword for both declarations
371(they allocate two objects, and use the first, uninitialized one until
372the second declaration is encountered). Therefore, the forward
373declaration should use the 'forwardstatic' keyword. This expands to
374static on most systems, but to extern on a few. The actual storage
375and name will still be static because the second declaration is
376static, so no linker visible symbols will be generated. (Standard C
377compilers take offense to the extern forward declaration of a static
378object, so I can't just put extern in all cases. :-( )
379*/
380
381#ifdef BAD_STATIC_FORWARD
382#define staticforward extern
Guido van Rossum57836fe1995-02-21 21:06:10 +0000383#ifdef __SC__
384#define statichere
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000385#else
Guido van Rossum57836fe1995-02-21 21:06:10 +0000386#define statichere static
387#endif /* __SC__ */
388#else /* !BAD_STATIC_FORWARD */
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000389#define staticforward static
Guido van Rossum57836fe1995-02-21 21:06:10 +0000390#define statichere static
391#endif /* !BAD_STATIC_FORWARD */
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000392
393
394/*
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000395123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-12
396
397More conventions
398================
399
400Argument Checking
401-----------------
402
403Functions that take objects as arguments normally don't check for nil
404arguments, but they do check the type of the argument, and return an
405error if the function doesn't apply to the type.
406
407Failure Modes
408-------------
409
410Functions may fail for a variety of reasons, including running out of
Guido van Rossum3f5da241990-12-20 15:06:42 +0000411memory. This is communicated to the caller in two ways: an error string
412is set (see errors.h), and the function result differs: functions that
413normally return a pointer return NULL for failure, functions returning
414an integer return -1 (which could be a legal return value too!), and
415other functions return 0 for success and -1 for failure.
416Callers should always check for errors before using the result.
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000417
418Reference Counts
419----------------
420
421It takes a while to get used to the proper usage of reference counts.
422
423Functions that create an object set the reference count to 1; such new
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000424objects must be stored somewhere or destroyed again with Py_DECREF().
425Functions that 'store' objects such as PyTuple_SetItem() and
426PyDict_SetItemString()
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000427don't increment the reference count of the object, since the most
428frequent use is to store a fresh object. Functions that 'retrieve'
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000429objects such as PyTuple_GetItem() and PyDict_GetItemString() also
430don't increment
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000431the reference count, since most frequently the object is only looked at
432quickly. Thus, to retrieve an object and store it again, the caller
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000433must call Py_INCREF() explicitly.
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000434
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000435NOTE: functions that 'consume' a reference count like
436PyDict_SetItemString() even
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000437consume the reference if the object wasn't stored, to simplify error
438handling.
439
440It seems attractive to make other functions that take an object as
441argument consume a reference count; however this may quickly get
442confusing (even the current practice is already confusing). Consider
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000443it carefully, it may save lots of calls to Py_INCREF() and Py_DECREF() at
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000444times.
445
446123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-12
447*/
Guido van Rossuma3309961993-07-28 09:05:47 +0000448
449#ifdef __cplusplus
450}
451#endif
452#endif /* !Py_OBJECT_H */