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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/*
34123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-12
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
77123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-12
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/*
117123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-12
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 *));
Guido van Rossum0693dd21996-08-09 20:48:52 +0000188typedef PyObject *(*getattrofunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *));
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000189typedef int (*setattrfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, char *, PyObject *));
Guido van Rossum0693dd21996-08-09 20:48:52 +0000190typedef int (*setattrofunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *, PyObject *));
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000191typedef int (*cmpfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *));
192typedef PyObject *(*reprfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
193typedef long (*hashfunc) Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000194
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000195typedef struct _typeobject {
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000196 PyObject_VAR_HEAD
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000197 char *tp_name; /* For printing */
Guido van Rossum5799b521995-01-04 19:06:22 +0000198 int tp_basicsize, tp_itemsize; /* For allocation */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000199
200 /* Methods to implement standard operations */
201
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000202 destructor tp_dealloc;
203 printfunc tp_print;
204 getattrfunc tp_getattr;
205 setattrfunc tp_setattr;
206 cmpfunc tp_compare;
207 reprfunc tp_repr;
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000208
209 /* Method suites for standard classes */
210
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000211 PyNumberMethods *tp_as_number;
212 PySequenceMethods *tp_as_sequence;
213 PyMappingMethods *tp_as_mapping;
Guido van Rossum9bfef441993-03-29 10:43:31 +0000214
215 /* More standard operations (at end for binary compatibility) */
216
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000217 hashfunc tp_hash;
Guido van Rossum884afd61995-07-18 14:21:06 +0000218 ternaryfunc tp_call;
Guido van Rossum6fde3901995-01-07 10:32:04 +0000219 reprfunc tp_str;
Guido van Rossum0693dd21996-08-09 20:48:52 +0000220 getattrofunc tp_getattro;
221 setattrofunc tp_setattro;
Guido van Rossum6fde3901995-01-07 10:32:04 +0000222
223 /* Space for future expansion */
Guido van Rossum6fde3901995-01-07 10:32:04 +0000224 long tp_xxx3;
225 long tp_xxx4;
226
227 char *tp_doc; /* Documentation string */
228
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000229#ifdef COUNT_ALLOCS
230 /* these must be last */
231 int tp_alloc;
232 int tp_free;
233 int tp_maxalloc;
234 struct _typeobject *tp_next;
235#endif
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000236} PyTypeObject;
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000237
Sjoerd Mullender107c7471995-04-25 11:53:24 +0000238extern DL_IMPORT(PyTypeObject) PyType_Type; /* The type of type objects */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000239
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000240#define PyType_Check(op) ((op)->ob_type == &PyType_Type)
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000241
Guido van Rossum3f5da241990-12-20 15:06:42 +0000242/* Generic operations on objects */
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000243extern int PyObject_Print Py_PROTO((PyObject *, FILE *, int));
244extern PyObject * PyObject_Repr Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
Guido van Rossum93817821995-01-17 16:01:01 +0000245extern PyObject * PyObject_Str Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000246extern int PyObject_Compare Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *));
247extern PyObject *PyObject_GetAttrString Py_PROTO((PyObject *, char *));
Guido van Rossum454674d1995-07-26 17:53:29 +0000248extern int PyObject_SetAttrString Py_PROTO((PyObject *, char *, PyObject *));
Guido van Rossum93817821995-01-17 16:01:01 +0000249extern int PyObject_HasAttrString Py_PROTO((PyObject *, char *));
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000250extern PyObject *PyObject_GetAttr Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *));
251extern int PyObject_SetAttr Py_PROTO((PyObject *, PyObject *, PyObject *));
252extern long PyObject_Hash Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
Guido van Rossumb13afdd1995-02-17 15:01:21 +0000253extern int PyObject_IsTrue Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
254extern int PyCallable_Check Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000255extern int PyNumber_Coerce Py_PROTO((PyObject **, PyObject **));
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000256
257/* Flag bits for printing: */
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000258#define Py_PRINT_RAW 1 /* No string quotes etc. */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000259
260/*
261123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-12
262
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000263The macros Py_INCREF(op) and Py_DECREF(op) are used to increment or decrement
264reference counts. Py_DECREF calls the object's deallocator function; for
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000265objects that don't contain references to other objects or heap memory
266this can be the standard function free(). Both macros can be used
267whereever a void expression is allowed. The argument shouldn't be a
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000268NIL pointer. The macro _Py_NewReference(op) is used only to initialize
269reference counts to 1; it is defined here for convenience.
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000270
271We assume that the reference count field can never overflow; this can
272be proven when the size of the field is the same as the pointer size
273but even with a 16-bit reference count field it is pretty unlikely so
274we ignore the possibility. (If you are paranoid, make it a long.)
275
276Type objects should never be deallocated; the type pointer in an object
277is not considered to be a reference to the type object, to save
278complications in the deallocation function. (This is actually a
279decision that's up to the implementer of each new type so if you want,
280you can count such references to the type object.)
281
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000282*** WARNING*** The Py_DECREF macro must have a side-effect-free argument
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000283since it may evaluate its argument multiple times. (The alternative
284would be to mace it a proper function or assign it to a global temporary
285variable first, both of which are slower; and in a multi-threaded
286environment the global variable trick is not safe.)
287*/
288
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000289#ifdef Py_TRACE_REFS
290#ifndef Py_REF_DEBUG
291#define Py_REF_DEBUG
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000292#endif
293#endif
294
Guido van Rossumd86b3801996-08-12 21:31:32 +0000295#ifdef Py_TRACE_REFS
296extern void _Py_Dealloc Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
297extern void _Py_NewReference Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
298extern void _Py_ForgetReference Py_PROTO((PyObject *));
299extern void _Py_PrintReferences Py_PROTO((FILE *));
300#endif
301
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000302#ifndef Py_TRACE_REFS
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000303#ifdef COUNT_ALLOCS
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000304#define _Py_Dealloc(op) ((op)->ob_type->tp_free++, (*(op)->ob_type->tp_dealloc)((PyObject *)(op)))
Sjoerd Mullender91e7a0b1995-04-06 13:47:48 +0000305#define _Py_ForgetReference(op) ((op)->ob_type->tp_free++)
Guido van Rossumd86b3801996-08-12 21:31:32 +0000306#else /* !COUNT_ALLOCS */
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000307#define _Py_Dealloc(op) (*(op)->ob_type->tp_dealloc)((PyObject *)(op))
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000308#define _Py_ForgetReference(op) /*empty*/
Guido van Rossumd86b3801996-08-12 21:31:32 +0000309#endif /* !COUNT_ALLOCS */
310#endif /* !Py_TRACE_REFS */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000311
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000312#ifdef COUNT_ALLOCS
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000313extern void inc_count Py_PROTO((PyTypeObject *));
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000314#endif
315
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000316#ifdef Py_REF_DEBUG
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000317
Guido van Rossum6f9e4331995-03-29 16:57:48 +0000318extern long _Py_RefTotal;
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000319
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000320#ifndef Py_TRACE_REFS
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000321#ifdef COUNT_ALLOCS
Guido van Rossum6f9e4331995-03-29 16:57:48 +0000322#define _Py_NewReference(op) (inc_count((op)->ob_type), _Py_RefTotal++, (op)->ob_refcnt = 1)
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000323#else
Guido van Rossum6f9e4331995-03-29 16:57:48 +0000324#define _Py_NewReference(op) (_Py_RefTotal++, (op)->ob_refcnt = 1)
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000325#endif
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000326#endif /* !Py_TRACE_REFS */
327
Guido van Rossum6f9e4331995-03-29 16:57:48 +0000328#define Py_INCREF(op) (_Py_RefTotal++, (op)->ob_refcnt++)
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000329#define Py_DECREF(op) \
Guido van Rossum6f9e4331995-03-29 16:57:48 +0000330 if (--_Py_RefTotal, --(op)->ob_refcnt != 0) \
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000331 ; \
332 else \
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000333 _Py_Dealloc(op)
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000334#else /* !Py_REF_DEBUG */
335
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000336#ifdef COUNT_ALLOCS
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000337#define _Py_NewReference(op) (inc_count((op)->ob_type), (op)->ob_refcnt = 1)
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000338#else
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000339#define _Py_NewReference(op) ((op)->ob_refcnt = 1)
Sjoerd Mullendera9c3c221993-10-11 12:54:31 +0000340#endif
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000341
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000342#define Py_INCREF(op) ((op)->ob_refcnt++)
343#define Py_DECREF(op) \
Guido van Rossum5799b521995-01-04 19:06:22 +0000344 if (--(op)->ob_refcnt != 0) \
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000345 ; \
346 else \
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000347 _Py_Dealloc(op)
Guido van Rossum60be1db1996-05-22 16:33:22 +0000348#endif /* !Py_REF_DEBUG */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000349
Guido van Rossum3f5da241990-12-20 15:06:42 +0000350/* Macros to use in case the object pointer may be NULL: */
351
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000352#define Py_XINCREF(op) if ((op) == NULL) ; else Py_INCREF(op)
353#define Py_XDECREF(op) if ((op) == NULL) ; else Py_DECREF(op)
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000354
355/* Definition of NULL, so you don't have to include <stdio.h> */
356
357#ifndef NULL
358#define NULL 0
359#endif
360
361
362/*
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000363_Py_NoneStruct is an object of undefined type which can be used in contexts
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000364where NULL (nil) is not suitable (since NULL often means 'error').
365
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000366Don't forget to apply Py_INCREF() when returning this value!!!
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000367*/
368
Sjoerd Mullender107c7471995-04-25 11:53:24 +0000369extern DL_IMPORT(PyObject) _Py_NoneStruct; /* Don't use this directly */
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000370
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000371#define Py_None (&_Py_NoneStruct)
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000372
373
374/*
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000375A common programming style in Python requires the forward declaration
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000376of static, initialized structures, e.g. for a type object that is used
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000377by the functions whose address must be used in the initializer.
378Some compilers (notably SCO ODT 3.0, I seem to remember early AIX as
379well) botch this if you use the static keyword for both declarations
380(they allocate two objects, and use the first, uninitialized one until
381the second declaration is encountered). Therefore, the forward
382declaration should use the 'forwardstatic' keyword. This expands to
383static on most systems, but to extern on a few. The actual storage
384and name will still be static because the second declaration is
385static, so no linker visible symbols will be generated. (Standard C
386compilers take offense to the extern forward declaration of a static
387object, so I can't just put extern in all cases. :-( )
388*/
389
390#ifdef BAD_STATIC_FORWARD
391#define staticforward extern
Guido van Rossum57836fe1995-02-21 21:06:10 +0000392#ifdef __SC__
393#define statichere
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000394#else
Guido van Rossum57836fe1995-02-21 21:06:10 +0000395#define statichere static
396#endif /* __SC__ */
397#else /* !BAD_STATIC_FORWARD */
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000398#define staticforward static
Guido van Rossum57836fe1995-02-21 21:06:10 +0000399#define statichere static
400#endif /* !BAD_STATIC_FORWARD */
Guido van Rossumb6775db1994-08-01 11:34:53 +0000401
402
403/*
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000404123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-12
405
406More conventions
407================
408
409Argument Checking
410-----------------
411
412Functions that take objects as arguments normally don't check for nil
413arguments, but they do check the type of the argument, and return an
414error if the function doesn't apply to the type.
415
416Failure Modes
417-------------
418
419Functions may fail for a variety of reasons, including running out of
Guido van Rossum3f5da241990-12-20 15:06:42 +0000420memory. This is communicated to the caller in two ways: an error string
421is set (see errors.h), and the function result differs: functions that
422normally return a pointer return NULL for failure, functions returning
423an integer return -1 (which could be a legal return value too!), and
424other functions return 0 for success and -1 for failure.
425Callers should always check for errors before using the result.
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000426
427Reference Counts
428----------------
429
430It takes a while to get used to the proper usage of reference counts.
431
432Functions that create an object set the reference count to 1; such new
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000433objects must be stored somewhere or destroyed again with Py_DECREF().
434Functions that 'store' objects such as PyTuple_SetItem() and
435PyDict_SetItemString()
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000436don't increment the reference count of the object, since the most
437frequent use is to store a fresh object. Functions that 'retrieve'
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000438objects such as PyTuple_GetItem() and PyDict_GetItemString() also
439don't increment
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000440the reference count, since most frequently the object is only looked at
441quickly. Thus, to retrieve an object and store it again, the caller
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000442must call Py_INCREF() explicitly.
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000443
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000444NOTE: functions that 'consume' a reference count like
445PyDict_SetItemString() even
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000446consume the reference if the object wasn't stored, to simplify error
447handling.
448
449It seems attractive to make other functions that take an object as
450argument consume a reference count; however this may quickly get
451confusing (even the current practice is already confusing). Consider
Guido van Rossumcaa63801995-01-12 11:45:45 +0000452it carefully, it may save lots of calls to Py_INCREF() and Py_DECREF() at
Guido van Rossum85a5fbb1990-10-14 12:07:46 +0000453times.
454
455123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-123456789-12
456*/
Guido van Rossuma3309961993-07-28 09:05:47 +0000457
458#ifdef __cplusplus
459}
460#endif
461#endif /* !Py_OBJECT_H */