Reorganize C API docs of the exception API

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Antoine Pitrou 2014-09-30 21:56:10 +02:00
parent 0676a406bf
commit 550ff723a0

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@ -9,13 +9,19 @@ Exception Handling
The functions described in this chapter will let you handle and raise Python
exceptions. It is important to understand some of the basics of Python
exception handling. It works somewhat like the Unix :c:data:`errno` variable:
exception handling. It works somewhat like the POSIX :c:data:`errno` variable:
there is a global indicator (per thread) of the last error that occurred. Most
functions don't clear this on success, but will set it to indicate the cause of
the error on failure. Most functions also return an error indicator, usually
*NULL* if they are supposed to return a pointer, or ``-1`` if they return an
integer (exception: the :c:func:`PyArg_\*` functions return ``1`` for success and
``0`` for failure).
C API functions don't clear this on success, but will set it to indicate the
cause of the error on failure. Most C API functions also return an error
indicator, usually *NULL* if they are supposed to return a pointer, or ``-1``
if they return an integer (exception: the :c:func:`PyArg_\*` functions
return ``1`` for success and ``0`` for failure).
Concretely, the error indicator consists of three object pointers: the
exception's type, the exception's value, and the traceback object. Any
of those pointers can be NULL if non-set (although some combinations are
forbidden, for example you can't have a non-NULL traceback if the exception
type is NULL).
When a function must fail because some function it called failed, it generally
doesn't set the error indicator; the function it called already set it. It is
@ -27,12 +33,21 @@ the caller that an error has been set. If the error is not handled or carefully
propagated, additional calls into the Python/C API may not behave as intended
and may fail in mysterious ways.
The error indicator consists of three Python objects corresponding to the result
of ``sys.exc_info()``. API functions exist to interact with the error indicator
in various ways. There is a separate error indicator for each thread.
.. note::
The error indicator is **not** the result of :func:`sys.exc_info()`.
The former corresponds to an exception that is not yet caught (and is
therefore still propagating), while the latter returns an exception after
it is caught (and has therefore stopped propagating).
.. XXX Order of these should be more thoughtful.
Either alphabetical or some kind of structure.
Printing and clearing
=====================
.. c:function:: void PyErr_Clear()
Clear the error indicator. If the error indicator is not set, there is no
effect.
.. c:function:: void PyErr_PrintEx(int set_sys_last_vars)
@ -51,127 +66,24 @@ in various ways. There is a separate error indicator for each thread.
Alias for ``PyErr_PrintEx(1)``.
.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_Occurred()
.. c:function:: void PyErr_WriteUnraisable(PyObject *obj)
Test whether the error indicator is set. If set, return the exception *type*
(the first argument to the last call to one of the :c:func:`PyErr_Set\*`
functions or to :c:func:`PyErr_Restore`). If not set, return *NULL*. You do not
own a reference to the return value, so you do not need to :c:func:`Py_DECREF`
it.
This utility function prints a warning message to ``sys.stderr`` when an
exception has been set but it is impossible for the interpreter to actually
raise the exception. It is used, for example, when an exception occurs in an
:meth:`__del__` method.
.. note::
Do not compare the return value to a specific exception; use
:c:func:`PyErr_ExceptionMatches` instead, shown below. (The comparison could
easily fail since the exception may be an instance instead of a class, in the
case of a class exception, or it may the a subclass of the expected exception.)
The function is called with a single argument *obj* that identifies the context
in which the unraisable exception occurred. The repr of *obj* will be printed in
the warning message.
.. c:function:: int PyErr_ExceptionMatches(PyObject *exc)
Raising exceptions
==================
Equivalent to ``PyErr_GivenExceptionMatches(PyErr_Occurred(), exc)``. This
should only be called when an exception is actually set; a memory access
violation will occur if no exception has been raised.
.. c:function:: int PyErr_GivenExceptionMatches(PyObject *given, PyObject *exc)
Return true if the *given* exception matches the exception in *exc*. If
*exc* is a class object, this also returns true when *given* is an instance
of a subclass. If *exc* is a tuple, all exceptions in the tuple (and
recursively in subtuples) are searched for a match.
.. c:function:: void PyErr_NormalizeException(PyObject**exc, PyObject**val, PyObject**tb)
Under certain circumstances, the values returned by :c:func:`PyErr_Fetch` below
can be "unnormalized", meaning that ``*exc`` is a class object but ``*val`` is
not an instance of the same class. This function can be used to instantiate
the class in that case. If the values are already normalized, nothing happens.
The delayed normalization is implemented to improve performance.
.. note::
This function *does not* implicitly set the ``__traceback__``
attribute on the exception value. If setting the traceback
appropriately is desired, the following additional snippet is needed::
if (tb != NULL) {
PyException_SetTraceback(val, tb);
}
.. c:function:: void PyErr_Clear()
Clear the error indicator. If the error indicator is not set, there is no
effect.
.. c:function:: void PyErr_Fetch(PyObject **ptype, PyObject **pvalue, PyObject **ptraceback)
Retrieve the error indicator into three variables whose addresses are passed.
If the error indicator is not set, set all three variables to *NULL*. If it is
set, it will be cleared and you own a reference to each object retrieved. The
value and traceback object may be *NULL* even when the type object is not.
.. note::
This function is normally only used by code that needs to handle exceptions or
by code that needs to save and restore the error indicator temporarily.
.. c:function:: void PyErr_Restore(PyObject *type, PyObject *value, PyObject *traceback)
Set the error indicator from the three objects. If the error indicator is
already set, it is cleared first. If the objects are *NULL*, the error
indicator is cleared. Do not pass a *NULL* type and non-*NULL* value or
traceback. The exception type should be a class. Do not pass an invalid
exception type or value. (Violating these rules will cause subtle problems
later.) This call takes away a reference to each object: you must own a
reference to each object before the call and after the call you no longer own
these references. (If you don't understand this, don't use this function. I
warned you.)
.. note::
This function is normally only used by code that needs to save and restore the
error indicator temporarily; use :c:func:`PyErr_Fetch` to save the current
exception state.
.. c:function:: void PyErr_GetExcInfo(PyObject **ptype, PyObject **pvalue, PyObject **ptraceback)
Retrieve the exception info, as known from ``sys.exc_info()``. This refers
to an exception that was already caught, not to an exception that was
freshly raised. Returns new references for the three objects, any of which
may be *NULL*. Does not modify the exception info state.
.. note::
This function is not normally used by code that wants to handle exceptions.
Rather, it can be used when code needs to save and restore the exception
state temporarily. Use :c:func:`PyErr_SetExcInfo` to restore or clear the
exception state.
.. versionadded:: 3.3
.. c:function:: void PyErr_SetExcInfo(PyObject *type, PyObject *value, PyObject *traceback)
Set the exception info, as known from ``sys.exc_info()``. This refers
to an exception that was already caught, not to an exception that was
freshly raised. This function steals the references of the arguments.
To clear the exception state, pass *NULL* for all three arguments.
For general rules about the three arguments, see :c:func:`PyErr_Restore`.
.. note::
This function is not normally used by code that wants to handle exceptions.
Rather, it can be used when code needs to save and restore the exception
state temporarily. Use :c:func:`PyErr_GetExcInfo` to read the exception
state.
.. versionadded:: 3.3
These functions help you set the current thread's error indicator.
For convenience, some of these functions will always return a
NULL pointer for use in a ``return`` statement.
.. c:function:: void PyErr_SetString(PyObject *type, const char *message)
@ -354,6 +266,22 @@ in various ways. There is a separate error indicator for each thread.
use.
Issuing warnings
================
Use these functions to issue warnings from C code. They mirror similar
functions exported by the Python :mod:`warnings` module. They normally
print a warning message to *sys.stderr*; however, it is
also possible that the user has specified that warnings are to be turned into
errors, and in that case they will raise an exception. It is also possible that
the functions raise an exception because of a problem with the warning machinery.
The return value is ``0`` if no exception is raised, or ``-1`` if an exception
is raised. (It is not possible to determine whether a warning message is
actually printed, nor what the reason is for the exception; this is
intentional.) If an exception is raised, the caller should do its normal
exception handling (for example, :c:func:`Py_DECREF` owned references and return
an error value).
.. c:function:: int PyErr_WarnEx(PyObject *category, char *message, int stack_level)
Issue a warning message. The *category* argument is a warning category (see
@ -363,18 +291,6 @@ in various ways. There is a separate error indicator for each thread.
is the function calling :c:func:`PyErr_WarnEx`, 2 is the function above that,
and so forth.
This function normally prints a warning message to *sys.stderr*; however, it is
also possible that the user has specified that warnings are to be turned into
errors, and in that case this will raise an exception. It is also possible that
the function raises an exception because of a problem with the warning machinery
(the implementation imports the :mod:`warnings` module to do the heavy lifting).
The return value is ``0`` if no exception is raised, or ``-1`` if an exception
is raised. (It is not possible to determine whether a warning message is
actually printed, nor what the reason is for the exception; this is
intentional.) If an exception is raised, the caller should do its normal
exception handling (for example, :c:func:`Py_DECREF` owned references and return
an error value).
Warning categories must be subclasses of :c:data:`Warning`; the default warning
category is :c:data:`RuntimeWarning`. The standard Python warning categories are
available as global variables whose names are ``PyExc_`` followed by the Python
@ -418,6 +334,139 @@ in various ways. There is a separate error indicator for each thread.
.. versionadded:: 3.2
Querying the error indicator
============================
.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_Occurred()
Test whether the error indicator is set. If set, return the exception *type*
(the first argument to the last call to one of the :c:func:`PyErr_Set\*`
functions or to :c:func:`PyErr_Restore`). If not set, return *NULL*. You do not
own a reference to the return value, so you do not need to :c:func:`Py_DECREF`
it.
.. note::
Do not compare the return value to a specific exception; use
:c:func:`PyErr_ExceptionMatches` instead, shown below. (The comparison could
easily fail since the exception may be an instance instead of a class, in the
case of a class exception, or it may the a subclass of the expected exception.)
.. c:function:: int PyErr_ExceptionMatches(PyObject *exc)
Equivalent to ``PyErr_GivenExceptionMatches(PyErr_Occurred(), exc)``. This
should only be called when an exception is actually set; a memory access
violation will occur if no exception has been raised.
.. c:function:: int PyErr_GivenExceptionMatches(PyObject *given, PyObject *exc)
Return true if the *given* exception matches the exception type in *exc*. If
*exc* is a class object, this also returns true when *given* is an instance
of a subclass. If *exc* is a tuple, all exception types in the tuple (and
recursively in subtuples) are searched for a match.
.. c:function:: void PyErr_Fetch(PyObject **ptype, PyObject **pvalue, PyObject **ptraceback)
Retrieve the error indicator into three variables whose addresses are passed.
If the error indicator is not set, set all three variables to *NULL*. If it is
set, it will be cleared and you own a reference to each object retrieved. The
value and traceback object may be *NULL* even when the type object is not.
.. note::
This function is normally only used by code that needs to catch exceptions or
by code that needs to save and restore the error indicator temporarily, e.g.::
{
PyObject **type, **value, **traceback;
PyErr_Fetch(&type, &value, &traceback);
/* ... code that might produce other errors ... */
PyErr_Restore(type, value, traceback);
}
.. c:function:: void PyErr_Restore(PyObject *type, PyObject *value, PyObject *traceback)
Set the error indicator from the three objects. If the error indicator is
already set, it is cleared first. If the objects are *NULL*, the error
indicator is cleared. Do not pass a *NULL* type and non-*NULL* value or
traceback. The exception type should be a class. Do not pass an invalid
exception type or value. (Violating these rules will cause subtle problems
later.) This call takes away a reference to each object: you must own a
reference to each object before the call and after the call you no longer own
these references. (If you don't understand this, don't use this function. I
warned you.)
.. note::
This function is normally only used by code that needs to save and restore the
error indicator temporarily. Use :c:func:`PyErr_Fetch` to save the current
error indicator.
.. c:function:: void PyErr_NormalizeException(PyObject**exc, PyObject**val, PyObject**tb)
Under certain circumstances, the values returned by :c:func:`PyErr_Fetch` below
can be "unnormalized", meaning that ``*exc`` is a class object but ``*val`` is
not an instance of the same class. This function can be used to instantiate
the class in that case. If the values are already normalized, nothing happens.
The delayed normalization is implemented to improve performance.
.. note::
This function *does not* implicitly set the ``__traceback__``
attribute on the exception value. If setting the traceback
appropriately is desired, the following additional snippet is needed::
if (tb != NULL) {
PyException_SetTraceback(val, tb);
}
.. c:function:: void PyErr_GetExcInfo(PyObject **ptype, PyObject **pvalue, PyObject **ptraceback)
Retrieve the exception info, as known from ``sys.exc_info()``. This refers
to an exception that was *already caught*, not to an exception that was
freshly raised. Returns new references for the three objects, any of which
may be *NULL*. Does not modify the exception info state.
.. note::
This function is not normally used by code that wants to handle exceptions.
Rather, it can be used when code needs to save and restore the exception
state temporarily. Use :c:func:`PyErr_SetExcInfo` to restore or clear the
exception state.
.. versionadded:: 3.3
.. c:function:: void PyErr_SetExcInfo(PyObject *type, PyObject *value, PyObject *traceback)
Set the exception info, as known from ``sys.exc_info()``. This refers
to an exception that was *already caught*, not to an exception that was
freshly raised. This function steals the references of the arguments.
To clear the exception state, pass *NULL* for all three arguments.
For general rules about the three arguments, see :c:func:`PyErr_Restore`.
.. note::
This function is not normally used by code that wants to handle exceptions.
Rather, it can be used when code needs to save and restore the exception
state temporarily. Use :c:func:`PyErr_GetExcInfo` to read the exception
state.
.. versionadded:: 3.3
Signal Handling
===============
.. c:function:: int PyErr_CheckSignals()
.. index::
@ -464,6 +513,9 @@ in various ways. There is a separate error indicator for each thread.
On Windows, the function now also supports socket handles.
Exception Classes
=================
.. c:function:: PyObject* PyErr_NewException(char *name, PyObject *base, PyObject *dict)
This utility function creates and returns a new exception class. The *name*
@ -488,18 +540,6 @@ in various ways. There is a separate error indicator for each thread.
.. versionadded:: 3.2
.. c:function:: void PyErr_WriteUnraisable(PyObject *obj)
This utility function prints a warning message to ``sys.stderr`` when an
exception has been set but it is impossible for the interpreter to actually
raise the exception. It is used, for example, when an exception occurs in an
:meth:`__del__` method.
The function is called with a single argument *obj* that identifies the context
in which the unraisable exception occurred. The repr of *obj* will be printed in
the warning message.
Exception Objects
=================