Common Object Structures¶

There are a large number of structures which are used in the definition ofobject types for Python. This section describes these structures and how theyare used.

Base object types and macros¶

All Python objects ultimately share a small number of fields at the beginningof the object’s representation in memory. These are represented by thePyObject andPyVarObject types, which are defined, in turn,by the expansions of some macros also used, whether directly or indirectly, inthe definition of all other Python objects.

typePyObject¶: Part of theLimited API. (Only some members are part of the stable ABI.)
All object types are extensions of this type. This is a type whichcontains the information Python needs to treat a pointer to an object as anobject. In a normal “release” build, it contains only the object’sreference count and a pointer to the corresponding type object.Nothing is actually declared to be aPyObject, but every pointerto a Python object can be cast to aPyObject*. Access to themembers must be done by using the macrosPy_REFCNT andPy_TYPE.

typePyVarObject¶: Part of theLimited API. (Only some members are part of the stable ABI.)
This is an extension ofPyObject that adds theob_sizefield. This is only used for objects that have some notion oflength.This type does not often appear in the Python/C API.Access to the members must be done by using the macrosPy_REFCNT,Py_TYPE, andPy_SIZE.

PyObject_HEAD¶

This is a macro used when declaring new types which represent objectswithout a varying length. The PyObject_HEAD macro expands to:

PyObjectob_base;

See documentation ofPyObject above.

PyObject_VAR_HEAD¶

This is a macro used when declaring new types which represent objectswith a length that varies from instance to instance.The PyObject_VAR_HEAD macro expands to:

PyVarObjectob_base;

See documentation ofPyVarObject above.

intPy_Is(PyObject*x,PyObject*y)¶: Part of theStable ABI since version 3.10.
Test if thex object is they object, the same asxisy in Python.
New in version 3.10.

intPy_IsNone(PyObject*x)¶: Part of theStable ABI since version 3.10.
Test if an object is theNone singleton,the same asxisNone in Python.
New in version 3.10.

intPy_IsTrue(PyObject*x)¶: Part of theStable ABI since version 3.10.
Test if an object is theTrue singleton,the same asxisTrue in Python.
New in version 3.10.

intPy_IsFalse(PyObject*x)¶: Part of theStable ABI since version 3.10.
Test if an object is theFalse singleton,the same asxisFalse in Python.
New in version 3.10.

PyTypeObject*Py_TYPE(PyObject*o)¶

Get the type of the Python objecto.

Return aborrowed reference.

Use thePy_SET_TYPE() function to set an object type.

Changed in version 3.11:Py_TYPE() is changed to an inline static function.The parameter type is no longerconstPyObject*.

intPy_IS_TYPE(PyObject*o,PyTypeObject*type)¶: Return non-zero if the objecto type istype. Return zero otherwise.Equivalent to:Py_TYPE(o)==type.
New in version 3.9.

voidPy_SET_TYPE(PyObject*o,PyTypeObject*type)¶: Set the objecto type totype.
New in version 3.9.

Py_ssize_tPy_REFCNT(PyObject*o)¶

Get the reference count of the Python objecto.

Use thePy_SET_REFCNT() function to set an object reference count.

Changed in version 3.11:The parameter type is no longerconstPyObject*.

Changed in version 3.10:Py_REFCNT() is changed to the inline static function.

voidPy_SET_REFCNT(PyObject*o,Py_ssize_trefcnt)¶: Set the objecto reference counter torefcnt.
New in version 3.9.

Py_ssize_tPy_SIZE(PyVarObject*o)¶

Get the size of the Python objecto.

Use thePy_SET_SIZE() function to set an object size.

Changed in version 3.11:Py_SIZE() is changed to an inline static function.The parameter type is no longerconstPyVarObject*.

voidPy_SET_SIZE(PyVarObject*o,Py_ssize_tsize)¶: Set the objecto size tosize.
New in version 3.9.

PyObject_HEAD_INIT(type)¶

This is a macro which expands to initialization values for a newPyObject type. This macro expands to:

_PyObject_EXTRA_INIT1,type,

PyVarObject_HEAD_INIT(type,size)¶

This is a macro which expands to initialization values for a newPyVarObject type, including theob_size field.This macro expands to:

_PyObject_EXTRA_INIT1,type,size,

Implementing functions and methods¶

typePyCFunction¶

Part of theStable ABI.

Type of the functions used to implement most Python callables in C.Functions of this type take twoPyObject* parameters and returnone such value. If the return value isNULL, an exception shall havebeen set. If notNULL, the return value is interpreted as the returnvalue of the function as exposed in Python. The function must return a newreference.

The function signature is:

PyObject*PyCFunction(PyObject*self,PyObject*args);

typePyCFunctionWithKeywords¶

Part of theStable ABI.

Type of the functions used to implement Python callables in Cwith signatureMETH_VARARGS | METH_KEYWORDS.The function signature is:

PyObject*PyCFunctionWithKeywords(PyObject*self,PyObject*args,PyObject*kwargs);

type_PyCFunctionFast¶

Type of the functions used to implement Python callables in Cwith signatureMETH_FASTCALL.The function signature is:

PyObject*_PyCFunctionFast(PyObject*self,PyObject*const*args,Py_ssize_tnargs);

type_PyCFunctionFastWithKeywords¶

Type of the functions used to implement Python callables in Cwith signatureMETH_FASTCALL | METH_KEYWORDS.The function signature is:

PyObject*_PyCFunctionFastWithKeywords(PyObject*self,PyObject*const*args,Py_ssize_tnargs,PyObject*kwnames);

typePyCMethod¶

Type of the functions used to implement Python callables in Cwith signatureMETH_METHOD | METH_FASTCALL | METH_KEYWORDS.The function signature is:

PyObject*PyCMethod(PyObject*self,PyTypeObject*defining_class,PyObject*const*args,Py_ssize_tnargs,PyObject*kwnames)

New in version 3.9.

typePyMethodDef¶

Part of theStable ABI (including all members).

Structure used to describe a method of an extension type. This structure hasfour fields:

constchar*ml_name¶: Name of the method.

PyCFunctionml_meth¶: Pointer to the C implementation.

intml_flags¶: Flags bits indicating how the call should be constructed.

constchar*ml_doc¶: Points to the contents of the docstring.

Theml_meth is a C function pointer.The functions may be of differenttypes, but they always returnPyObject*. If the function is not ofthePyCFunction, the compiler will require a cast in the method table.Even thoughPyCFunction defines the first parameter asPyObject*, it is common that the method implementation uses thespecific C type of theself object.

Theml_flags field is a bitfield which can includethe following flags.The individual flags indicate either a calling convention or a bindingconvention.

There are these calling conventions:

METH_VARARGS¶: This is the typical calling convention, where the methods have the typePyCFunction. The function expects twoPyObject* values.The first one is theself object for methods; for module functions, it isthe module object. The second parameter (often calledargs) is a tupleobject representing all arguments. This parameter is typically processedusingPyArg_ParseTuple() orPyArg_UnpackTuple().

METH_KEYWORDS¶: Can only be used in certain combinations with other flags:METH_VARARGS | METH_KEYWORDS,METH_FASTCALL | METH_KEYWORDS andMETH_METHOD | METH_FASTCALL | METH_KEYWORDS.

METH_VARARGS|METH_KEYWORDS: Methods with these flags must be of typePyCFunctionWithKeywords.The function expects three parameters:self,args,kwargs wherekwargs is a dictionary of all the keyword arguments or possiblyNULLif there are no keyword arguments. The parameters are typically processedusingPyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords().

METH_FASTCALL¶: Fast calling convention supporting only positional arguments.The methods have the type_PyCFunctionFast.The first parameter isself, the second parameter is a C arrayofPyObject* values indicating the arguments and the thirdparameter is the number of arguments (the length of the array).
New in version 3.7.
Changed in version 3.10:METH_FASTCALL is now part of thestable ABI.

METH_FASTCALL|METH_KEYWORDS: Extension ofMETH_FASTCALL supporting also keyword arguments,with methods of type_PyCFunctionFastWithKeywords.Keyword arguments are passed the same way as in thevectorcall protocol:there is an additional fourthPyObject* parameterwhich is a tuple representing the names of the keyword arguments(which are guaranteed to be strings)or possiblyNULL if there are no keywords. The values of the keywordarguments are stored in theargs array, after the positional arguments.
New in version 3.7.

METH_METHOD¶: Can only be used in the combination with other flags:METH_METHOD | METH_FASTCALL | METH_KEYWORDS.

METH_METHOD|METH_FASTCALL|METH_KEYWORDS

Extension ofMETH_FASTCALL | METH_KEYWORDSsupporting thedefining class, that is,the class that contains the method in question.The defining class might be a superclass ofPy_TYPE(self).

The method needs to be of typePyCMethod, the same as forMETH_FASTCALL|METH_KEYWORDS withdefining_class argument added afterself.

New in version 3.9.

METH_NOARGS¶

Methods without parameters don’t need to check whether arguments are given ifthey are listed with theMETH_NOARGS flag. They need to be of typePyCFunction. The first parameter is typically namedself and willhold a reference to the module or object instance. In all cases the secondparameter will beNULL.

The function must have 2 parameters. Since the second parameter is unused,Py_UNUSED can be used to prevent a compiler warning.

METH_O¶: Methods with a single object argument can be listed with theMETH_Oflag, instead of invokingPyArg_ParseTuple() with a"O" argument.They have the typePyCFunction, with theself parameter, and aPyObject* parameter representing the single argument.

These two constants are not used to indicate the calling convention but thebinding when use with methods of classes. These may not be used for functionsdefined for modules. At most one of these flags may be set for any givenmethod.

METH_CLASS¶: The method will be passed the type object as the first parameter ratherthan an instance of the type. This is used to createclass methods,similar to what is created when using theclassmethod() built-infunction.

METH_STATIC¶: The method will be passedNULL as the first parameter rather than aninstance of the type. This is used to createstatic methods, similar towhat is created when using thestaticmethod() built-in function.

One other constant controls whether a method is loaded in place of anotherdefinition with the same method name.

METH_COEXIST¶: The method will be loaded in place of existing definitions. WithoutMETH_COEXIST, the default is to skip repeated definitions. Since slotwrappers are loaded before the method table, the existence of asq_contains slot, for example, would generate a wrapped method named__contains__() and preclude the loading of a correspondingPyCFunction with the same name. With the flag defined, the PyCFunctionwill be loaded in place of the wrapper object and will co-exist with theslot. This is helpful because calls to PyCFunctions are optimized morethan wrapper object calls.

PyObject*PyCMethod_New(PyMethodDef*ml,PyObject*self,PyObject*module,PyTypeObject*cls)¶

Return value: New reference. Part of theStable ABI since version 3.9.

Turnml into a Pythoncallable object.The caller must ensure thatml outlives thecallable.Typically,ml is defined as a static variable.

Theself parameter will be passed as theself argumentto the C function inml->ml_meth when invoked.self can beNULL.

Thecallable object’s__module__ attributecan be set from the givenmodule argument.module should be a Python string,which will be used as name of the module the function is defined in.If unavailable, it can be set toNone orNULL.

Accessing attributes of extension types¶

typePyMemberDef¶

Part of theStable ABI (including all members).

Structure which describes an attribute of a type which corresponds to a Cstruct member. Its fields are:

Field	C Type	Meaning
`name`	const char *	name of the member
`type`	int	the type of the member in theC struct
`offset`	Py_ssize_t	the offset in bytes that themember is located on thetype’s object struct
`flags`	int	flag bits indicating if thefield should be read-only orwritable
`doc`	const char *	points to the contents of thedocstring

type can be one of manyT_ macros corresponding to various Ctypes. When the member is accessed in Python, it will be converted to theequivalent 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

T_OBJECT andT_OBJECT_EX differ in thatT_OBJECT returnsNone if the member isNULL andT_OBJECT_EX raises anAttributeError. Try to useT_OBJECT_EX overT_OBJECT becauseT_OBJECT_EXhandles use of thedel statement on that attribute more correctlythanT_OBJECT.

flags can be0 for write and read access orREADONLY forread-only access. UsingT_STRING fortype impliesREADONLY.T_STRING data is interpreted as UTF-8.OnlyT_OBJECT andT_OBJECT_EXmembers can be deleted. (They are set toNULL).

Heap allocated types (created usingPyType_FromSpec() or similar),PyMemberDef may contain definitions for the special members__dictoffset__,__weaklistoffset__ and__vectorcalloffset__,corresponding totp_dictoffset,tp_weaklistoffset andtp_vectorcall_offset in type objects.These must be defined withT_PYSSIZET andREADONLY, for example:

staticPyMemberDefspam_type_members[]={{"__dictoffset__",T_PYSSIZET,offsetof(Spam_object,dict),READONLY},{NULL}/* Sentinel */};

PyObject*PyMember_GetOne(constchar*obj_addr,structPyMemberDef*m)¶: Get an attribute belonging to the object at addressobj_addr. Theattribute is described byPyMemberDefm. ReturnsNULLon error.

intPyMember_SetOne(char*obj_addr,structPyMemberDef*m,PyObject*o)¶: Set an attribute belonging to the object at addressobj_addr to objecto.The attribute to set is described byPyMemberDefm. Returns0if successful and a negative value on failure.

typePyGetSetDef¶

Part of theStable ABI (including all members).

Structure to define property-like access for a type. See also description ofthePyTypeObject.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 ordelete the attribute, if omittedthe attribute is readonly
doc	const char *	optional docstring
closure	void *	optional user data pointer,providing additional data forgetter and setter

Theget function takes onePyObject* parameter (theinstance) and a user data pointer (the associatedclosure):

typedefPyObject*(*getter)(PyObject*,void*);

It should return a new reference on success orNULL with a set exceptionon failure.

set functions take twoPyObject* parameters (the instance andthe value to be set) and a user data pointer (the associatedclosure):

typedefint(*setter)(PyObject*,PyObject*,void*);

In case the attribute should be deleted the second parameter isNULL.Should return0 on success or-1 with a set exception on failure.

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Common Object Structures¶

Base object types and macros¶

Implementing functions and methods¶

Accessing attributes of extension types¶

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