PEP 741: C API to configure Python initialization
— Victor StinnerPEP 741 story
Sometimes, writing a PEP can be a wild ride. It took two whole years between the early discussions and getting PEP 741 eventually accepted by the Steering Council. The API is only made of 18 functions, but it took more than 200 messages to design properly these …
Add PyUnicodeWriter C API
— Victor Stinner
In May, I designed a new C API to build a Python str object: the PyUnicodeWriter API. Many people were involved in the design and the discussion was quite long. The C API Working Group helped to design a better and more convenient API. It took me basically a whole …
Status of the Python Limited C API (March 2024)
— Victor Stinner
In Python 3.13, I made multiple enhancements to make the limited C API more usable:
- Add 14 functions to the limited C API.
- Make the special debug build Py_TRACE_REFS compatible with the limited C API.
- Enhance Argument Clinic to generate C code using the limited C API.
- Add an …
Remove private C API functions
— Victor Stinner
In Python 3.13 alpha 1, I removed more than 300 private C API functions. Even if I announced my plan early in July, users didn't "embrace" my plan and didn't agree with the rationale. I reverted 50 functions in the alpha 2 release to calm down the situation and …
Design the API of a new PyDict_GetItemRef() function
— Victor StinnerLast June, I proposed adding a new PyDict_GetItemRef() function to Python 3.13 C API. Every aspect of the API design was discussed in length. I will explain how the API was designed, to finish with the future creation of C API Working Group.
Photo: Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss …
My contributions to Python (July 2023)
— Victor StinnerIn 2023, between May 4 and July 8, I made 144 commits in the Python main branch. In this article, I describe the most important Python contributions that I made to Python 3.12 and Python 3.13 in these months.
Drawing: Foxes in Love: Cuddle
Summary
- Add PyImport_AddModuleRef() and …
Convert macros to functions in the Python C API
— Victor Stinner
Drawing: "L'oeil du cyclone" by Théo Grosjean.
Convert macros to functions
For 4 years, between Python 3.7 (2018) and Python 3.12 (2022), I made many changes on macros in the Python C API to make the API less error prone (avoid macro pitfalls) and better define the API …
Debug a Python reference leak
— Victor Stinner
This morning, I got this email from the buildbot-status mailing list:
The Buildbot has detected a new failure on builder PPC64LE Fedora Rawhide Refleaks 3.x while building Python.
I get many of buildbot failures per month (by email), but I like to debug reference leaks: they are more challenging …
Python C API: Add functions to access PyObject
— Victor Stinner
The PyObject structure prevents indirectly to optimize CPython. We will see why and how I prepared the C API to make this structure opaque. It took me 1 year and a half to add functions and to introduce incompatible C API changes (fear!).
In February 2020, I started by adding …
C API changes between Python 3.5 to 3.10
— Victor Stinner
I'm trying to enhance and to fix the Python C API for 5 years. My first goal was to shrink the C API without breaking third party C extensions. I hid many private functions from the public functions: I moved them to the "internal C API". I also deprecated and …