.. highlight:: c
.. _common-structs:
Common Object Structures
========================
There are a large number of structures which are used in the definition of
object types for Python. This section describes these structures and how they
are used.
Base object types and macros
----------------------------
All Python objects ultimately share a small number of fields at the beginning
of the object's representation in memory. These are represented by the
:c:type:`PyObject` and :c:type:`PyVarObject` types, which are defined, in turn,
by the expansions of some macros also used, whether directly or indirectly, in
the definition of all other Python objects.
.. c:type:: PyObject
All object types are extensions of this type. This is a type which
contains the information Python needs to treat a pointer to an object as an
object. In a normal "release" build, it contains only the object's
reference count and a pointer to the corresponding type object.
Nothing is actually declared to be a :c:type:`PyObject`, but every pointer
to a Python object can be cast to a :c:expr:`PyObject*`. Access to the
members must be done by using the macros :c:macro:`Py_REFCNT` and
:c:macro:`Py_TYPE`.
.. c:type:: PyVarObject
This is an extension of :c:type:`PyObject` that adds the :attr:`ob_size`
field. This is only used for objects that have some notion of *length*.
This type does not often appear in the Python/C API.
Access to the members must be done by using the macros
:c:macro:`Py_REFCNT`, :c:macro:`Py_TYPE`, and :c:macro:`Py_SIZE`.
.. c:macro:: PyObject_HEAD
This is a macro used when declaring new types which represent objects
without a varying length. The PyObject_HEAD macro expands to::
PyObject ob_base;
See documentation of :c:type:`PyObject` above.
.. c:macro:: PyObject_VAR_HEAD
This is a macro used when declaring new types which represent objects
with a length that varies from instance to instance.
The PyObject_VAR_HEAD macro expands to::
PyVarObject ob_base;
See documentation of :c:type:`PyVarObject` above.
.. c:function:: int Py_Is(PyObject *x, PyObject *y)
Test if the *x* object is the *y* object, the same as ``x is y`` in Python.
.. versionadded:: 3.10
.. c:function:: int Py_IsNone(PyObject *x)
Test if an object is the ``None`` singleton,
the same as ``x is None`` in Python.
.. versionadded:: 3.10
.. c:function:: int Py_IsTrue(PyObject *x)
Test if an object is the ``True`` singleton,
the same as ``x is True`` in Python.
.. versionadded:: 3.10
.. c:function:: int Py_IsFalse(PyObject *x)
Test if an object is the ``False`` singleton,
the same as ``x is False`` in Python.
.. versionadded:: 3.10
.. c:function:: PyTypeObject* Py_TYPE(PyObject *o)
Get the type of the Python object *o*.
Return a :term:`borrowed reference`.
Use the :c:func:`Py_SET_TYPE` function to set an object type.
.. versionchanged:: 3.11
:c:func:`Py_TYPE()` is changed to an inline static function.
The parameter type is no longer :c:expr:`const PyObject*`.
.. c:function:: int Py_IS_TYPE(PyObject *o, PyTypeObject *type)
Return non-zero if the object *o* type is *type*. Return zero otherwise.
Equivalent to: ``Py_TYPE(o) == type``.
.. versionadded:: 3.9
.. c:function:: void Py_SET_TYPE(PyObject *o, PyTypeObject *type)
Set the object *o* type to *type*.
.. versionadded:: 3.9
.. c:function:: Py_ssize_t Py_REFCNT(PyObject *o)
Get the reference count of the Python object *o*.
Use the :c:func:`Py_SET_REFCNT()` function to set an object reference count.
.. versionchanged:: 3.11
The parameter type is no longer :c:expr:`const PyObject*`.
.. versionchanged:: 3.10
:c:func:`Py_REFCNT()` is changed to the inline static function.
.. c:function:: void Py_SET_REFCNT(PyObject *o, Py_ssize_t refcnt)
Set the object *o* reference counter to *refcnt*.
.. versionadded:: 3.9
.. c:function:: Py_ssize_t Py_SIZE(PyVarObject *o)
Get the size of the Python object *o*.
Use the :c:func:`Py_SET_SIZE` function to set an object size.
.. versionchanged:: 3.11
:c:func:`Py_SIZE()` is changed to an inline static function.
The parameter type is no longer :c:expr:`const PyVarObject*`.
.. c:function:: void Py_SET_SIZE(PyVarObject *o, Py_ssize_t size)
Set the object *o* size to *size*.
.. versionadded:: 3.9
.. c:macro:: PyObject_HEAD_INIT(type)
This is a macro which expands to initialization values for a new
:c:type:`PyObject` type. This macro expands to::
_PyObject_EXTRA_INIT
1, type,
.. c:macro:: PyVarObject_HEAD_INIT(type, size)
This is a macro which expands to initialization values for a new
:c:type:`PyVarObject` type, including the :attr:`ob_size` field.
This macro expands to::
_PyObject_EXTRA_INIT
1, type, size,
Implementing functions and methods
----------------------------------
.. c:type:: PyCFunction
Type of the functions used to implement most Python callables in C.
Functions of this type take two :c:expr:`PyObject*` parameters and return
one such value. If the return value is ``NULL``, an exception shall have
been set. If not ``NULL``, the return value is interpreted as the return
value of the function as exposed in Python. The function must return a new
reference.
The function signature is::
PyObject *PyCFunction(PyObject *self,
PyObject *args);
.. c:type:: PyCFunctionWithKeywords
Type of the functions used to implement Python callables in C
with signature :const:`METH_VARARGS | METH_KEYWORDS`.
The function signature is::
PyObject *PyCFunctionWithKeywords(PyObject *self,
PyObject *args,
PyObject *kwargs);
.. c:type:: _PyCFunctionFast
Type of the functions used to implement Python callables in C
with signature :const:`METH_FASTCALL`.
The function signature is::
PyObject *_PyCFunctionFast(PyObject *self,
PyObject *const *args,
Py_ssize_t nargs);
.. c:type:: _PyCFunctionFastWithKeywords
Type of the functions used to implement Python callables in C
with signature :const:`METH_FASTCALL | METH_KEYWORDS`.
The function signature is::
PyObject *_PyCFunctionFastWithKeywords(PyObject *self,
PyObject *const *args,
Py_ssize_t nargs,
PyObject *kwnames);
.. c:type:: PyCMethod
Type of the functions used to implement Python callables in C
with signature :const:`METH_METHOD | METH_FASTCALL | METH_KEYWORDS`.
The function signature is::
PyObject *PyCMethod(PyObject *self,
PyTypeObject *defining_class,
PyObject *const *args,
Py_ssize_t nargs,
PyObject *kwnames)
.. versionadded:: 3.9
.. c:type:: PyMethodDef
Structure used to describe a method of an extension type. This structure has
four fields:
.. c:member:: const char* ml_name
name of the method
.. c:member:: PyCFunction ml_meth
pointer to the C implementation
.. c:member:: int ml_flags
flags bits indicating how the call should be constructed
.. c:member:: const char* ml_doc
points to the contents of the docstring
The :c:member:`ml_meth` is a C function pointer. The functions may be of different
types, but they always return :c:expr:`PyObject*`. If the function is not of
the :c:type:`PyCFunction`, the compiler will require a cast in the method table.
Even though :c:type:`PyCFunction` defines the first parameter as
:c:expr:`PyObject*`, it is common that the method implementation uses the
specific C type of the *self* object.
The :c:member:`ml_flags` field is a bitfield which can include the following flags.
The individual flags indicate either a calling convention or a binding
convention.
There are these calling conventions:
.. data:: METH_VARARGS
This is the typical calling convention, where the methods have the type
:c:type:`PyCFunction`. The function expects two :c:expr:`PyObject*` values.
The first one is the *self* object for methods; for module functions, it is
the module object. The second parameter (often called *args*) is a tuple
object representing all arguments. This parameter is typically processed
using :c:func:`PyArg_ParseTuple` or :c:func:`PyArg_UnpackTuple`.
.. data:: METH_VARARGS | METH_KEYWORDS
Methods with these flags must be of type :c:type:`PyCFunctionWithKeywords`.
The function expects three parameters: *self*, *args*, *kwargs* where
*kwargs* is a dictionary of all the keyword arguments or possibly ``NULL``
if there are no keyword arguments. The parameters are typically processed
using :c:func:`PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords`.
.. data:: METH_FASTCALL
Fast calling convention supporting only positional arguments.
The methods have the type :c:type:`_PyCFunctionFast`.
The first parameter is *self*, the second parameter is a C array
of :c:expr:`PyObject*` values indicating the arguments and the third
parameter is the number of arguments (the length of the array).
.. versionadded:: 3.7
.. versionchanged:: 3.10
``METH_FASTCALL`` is now part of the stable ABI.
.. data:: METH_FASTCALL | METH_KEYWORDS
Extension of :const:`METH_FASTCALL` supporting also keyword arguments,
with methods of type :c:type:`_PyCFunctionFastWithKeywords`.
Keyword arguments are passed the same way as in the
:ref:`vectorcall protocol <vectorcall>`:
there is an additional fourth :c:expr:`PyObject*` parameter
which is a tuple representing the names of the keyword arguments
(which are guaranteed to be strings)
or possibly ``NULL`` if there are no keywords. The values of the keyword
arguments are stored in the *args* array, after the positional arguments.
.. versionadded:: 3.7
.. data:: METH_METHOD | METH_FASTCALL | METH_KEYWORDS
Extension of :const:`METH_FASTCALL | METH_KEYWORDS` supporting the *defining
class*, that is, the class that contains the method in question.
The defining class might be a superclass of ``Py_TYPE(self)``.
The method needs to be of type :c:type:`PyCMethod`, the same as for
``METH_FASTCALL | METH_KEYWORDS`` with ``defining_class`` argument added after
``self``.
.. versionadded:: 3.9
.. data:: METH_NOARGS
Methods without parameters don't need to check whether arguments are given if
they are listed with the :const:`METH_NOARGS` flag. They need to be of type
:c:type:`PyCFunction`. The first parameter is typically named *self* and will
hold a reference to the module or object instance. In all cases the second
parameter will be ``NULL``.
The function must have 2 parameters. Since the second parameter is unused,
:c:macro:`Py_UNUSED` can be used to prevent a compiler warning.
.. data:: METH_O
Methods with a single object argument can be listed with the :const:`METH_O`
flag, instead of invoking :c:func:`PyArg_ParseTuple` with a ``"O"`` argument.
They have the type :c:type:`PyCFunction`, with the *self* parameter, and a
:c:expr:`PyObject*` parameter representing the single argument.
These two constants are not used to indicate the calling convention but the
binding when use with methods of classes. These may not be used for functions
defined for modules. At most one of these flags may be set for any given
method.
.. data:: METH_CLASS
.. index:: builtin: classmethod
The method will be passed the type object as the first parameter rather
than an instance of the type. This is used to create *class methods*,
similar to what is created when using the :func:`classmethod` built-in
function.
.. data:: METH_STATIC
.. index:: builtin: staticmethod
The method will be passed ``NULL`` as the first parameter rather than an
instance of the type. This is used to create *static methods*, similar to
what is created when using the :func:`staticmethod` built-in function.
One other constant controls whether a method is loaded in place of another
definition with the same method name.
.. data:: METH_COEXIST
The method will be loaded in place of existing definitions. Without
*METH_COEXIST*, the default is to skip repeated definitions. Since slot
wrappers are loaded before the method table, the existence of a
*sq_contains* slot, for example, would generate a wrapped method named
:meth:`__contains__` and preclude the loading of a corresponding
PyCFunction with the same name. With the flag defined, the PyCFunction
will be loaded in place of the wrapper object and will co-exist with the
slot. This is helpful because calls to PyCFunctions are optimized more
than wrapper object calls.
Accessing attributes of extension types
---------------------------------------
.. c:type:: PyMemberDef
Structure which describes an attribute of a type which corresponds to a C
struct member. Its fields are:
+------------------+---------------+-------------------------------+
| Field | C Type | Meaning |
+==================+===============+===============================+
| :attr:`name` | const char \* | name of the member |
+------------------+---------------+-------------------------------+
| :attr:`!type` | int | the type of the member in the |
| | | C struct |
+------------------+---------------+-------------------------------+
| :attr:`offset` | Py_ssize_t | the offset in bytes that the |
| | | member is located on the |
| | | type's object struct |
+------------------+---------------+-------------------------------+
| :attr:`flags` | int | flag bits indicating if the |
| | | field should be read-only or |
| | | writable |
+------------------+---------------+-------------------------------+
| :attr:`doc` | const char \* | points to the contents of the |
| | | docstring |
+------------------+---------------+-------------------------------+
:attr:`!type` can be one of many ``T_`` macros corresponding to various C
types. When the member is accessed in Python, it will be converted to the
equivalent Python type.
=============== ==================
Macro name C type
=============== ==================
T_SHORT short
T_INT int
T_LONG long
T_FLOAT float
T_DOUBLE double
T_STRING const char \*
T_OBJECT PyObject \*
T_OBJECT_EX PyObject \*
T_CHAR char
T_BYTE char
T_UBYTE unsigned char
T_UINT unsigned int
T_USHORT unsigned short
T_ULONG unsigned long
T_BOOL char
T_LONGLONG long long
T_ULONGLONG unsigned long long
T_PYSSIZET Py_ssize_t
=============== ==================
:c:macro:`T_OBJECT` and :c:macro:`T_OBJECT_EX` differ in that
:c:macro:`T_OBJECT` returns ``None`` if the member is ``NULL`` and
:c:macro:`T_OBJECT_EX` raises an :exc:`AttributeError`. Try to use
:c:macro:`T_OBJECT_EX` over :c:macro:`T_OBJECT` because :c:macro:`T_OBJECT_EX`
handles use of the :keyword:`del` statement on that attribute more correctly
than :c:macro:`T_OBJECT`.
:attr:`flags` can be ``0`` for write and read access or :c:macro:`READONLY` for
read-only access. Using :c:macro:`T_STRING` for :attr:`type` implies
:c:macro:`READONLY`. :c:macro:`T_STRING` data is interpreted as UTF-8.
Only :c:macro:`T_OBJECT` and :c:macro:`T_OBJECT_EX`
members can be deleted. (They are set to ``NULL``).
.. _pymemberdef-offsets:
Heap allocated types (created using :c:func:`PyType_FromSpec` or similar),
``PyMemberDef`` may contain definitions for the special members
``__dictoffset__``, ``__weaklistoffset__`` and ``__vectorcalloffset__``,
corresponding to
:c:member:`~PyTypeObject.tp_dictoffset`,
:c:member:`~PyTypeObject.tp_weaklistoffset` and
:c:member:`~PyTypeObject.tp_vectorcall_offset` in type objects.
These must be defined with ``T_PYSSIZET`` and ``READONLY``, for example::
static PyMemberDef spam_type_members[] = {
{"__dictoffset__", T_PYSSIZET, offsetof(Spam_object, dict), READONLY},
{NULL} /* Sentinel */
};
.. c:function:: PyObject* PyMember_GetOne(const char *obj_addr, struct PyMemberDef *m)
Get an attribute belonging to the object at address *obj_addr*. The
attribute is described by ``PyMemberDef`` *m*. Returns ``NULL``
on error.
.. c:function:: int PyMember_SetOne(char *obj_addr, struct PyMemberDef *m, PyObject *o)
Set an attribute belonging to the object at address *obj_addr* to object *o*.
The attribute to set is described by ``PyMemberDef`` *m*. Returns ``0``
if successful and a negative value on failure.
.. c:type:: PyGetSetDef
Structure to define property-like access for a type. See also description of
the :c:member:`PyTypeObject.tp_getset` slot.
+-------------+------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Field | C Type | Meaning |
+=============+==================+===================================+
| name | const char \* | attribute name |
+-------------+------------------+-----------------------------------+
| get | getter | C function to get the attribute |
+-------------+------------------+-----------------------------------+
| set | setter | optional C function to set or |
| | | delete the attribute, if omitted |
| | | the attribute is readonly |
+-------------+------------------+-----------------------------------+
| doc | const char \* | optional docstring |
+-------------+------------------+-----------------------------------+
| closure | void \* | optional function pointer, |
| | | providing additional data for |
| | | getter and setter |
+-------------+------------------+-----------------------------------+
The ``get`` function takes one :c:expr:`PyObject*` parameter (the
instance) and a function pointer (the associated ``closure``)::
typedef PyObject *(*getter)(PyObject *, void *);
It should return a new reference on success or ``NULL`` with a set exception
on failure.
``set`` functions take two :c:expr:`PyObject*` parameters (the instance and
the value to be set) and a function pointer (the associated ``closure``)::
typedef int (*setter)(PyObject *, PyObject *, void *);
In case the attribute should be deleted the second parameter is ``NULL``.
Should return ``0`` on success or ``-1`` with a set exception on failure.
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