This file describes some special Python build types enabled via compile-time preprocessor defines. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Py_REF_DEBUG Turn on aggregate reference counting. This arranges that extern _Py_RefTotal hold a count of all references, the sum of ob_refcnt across all objects. In a debug-mode build, this is where the "8288" comes from in >>> 23 23 [8288 refs] >>> Note that if this count increases when you're not storing away new objects, there's probably a leak. Remember, though, that in interactive mode the special name "_" holds a reference to the last result displayed! Py_REF_DEBUG also checks after every decref to verify that the refcount hasn't gone negative, and causes an immediate fatal error if it has. Special gimmicks: sys.gettotalrefcount() Return current total of all refcounts. Available under Py_REF_DEBUG in Python 2.3. Before 2.3, Py_TRACE_REFS was required to enable this function. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Py_TRACE_REFS Turn on heavy reference debugging. This is major surgery. Every PyObject grows two more pointers, to maintain a doubly-linked list of all live heap-allocated objects (note that, e.g., most builtin type objects are not in this list, as they're statically allocated). Note that because the fundamental PyObject layout changes, Python modules compiled with Py_TRACE_REFS are incompatible with modules compiled without it. Py_TRACE_REFS implies Py_REF_DEBUG. Special gimmicks: sys.getobjects(max[, type]) Return list of the (no more than) max most-recently allocated objects, most recently allocated first in the list, least-recently allocated last in the list. max=0 means no limit on list length. If an optional type object is passed, the list is also restricted to objects of that type. The return list itself, and some temp objects created just to call sys.getobjects(), are excluded from the return list. Note that the list returned is just another object, though, so may appear in the return list the next time you call getobjects(); note that every object in the list is kept alive too, simply by virtue of being in the list. envar PYTHONDUMPREFS If this envar exists, Py_Finalize() arranges to print a list of all still-live heap objects. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- PYMALLOC_DEBUG When pymalloc is enabled (WITH_PYMALLOC is defined), calls to the PyObject_ memory routines are handled by Python's own small-object allocator, while calls to the PyMem_ memory routines are directed to the system malloc/ realloc/free. If PYMALLOC_DEBUG is also defined, calls to both PyObject_ and PyMem_ memory routines are directed to a special debugging mode of Python's small-object allocator. This mode fills dynamically allocated memory blocks with special, recognizable bit patterns, and adds debugging info on each end of dynamically allocated memory blocks. The special bit patterns are: #define CLEANBYTE 0xCB /* clean (newly allocated) memory */ #define DEADBYTE 0xDB /* dead (newly freed) memory */ #define FORBIDDENBYTE 0xFB /* fordidden -- untouchable bytes */ Strings of these bytes are unlikely to be valid addresses, floats, or 7-bit ASCII strings. 8 bytes are added at each end of each block of N bytes requested. The memory layout is like so, where p represents the address returned by a malloc-like or realloc-like function: p[-8:-4] Number of bytes originally asked for. 4-byte unsigned integer, big-endian (easier to read in a memory dump). p[-4:0] Copies of FORBIDDENBYTE. Used to catch under- writes and reads. p[0:N] The requested memory, filled with copies of CLEANBYTE. Used to catch reference to uninitialized memory. When a realloc-like function is called requesting a larger memory block, the new excess bytes are also filled with CLEANBYTE. When a free-like function is called, these are overwritten with DEADBYTE, to catch reference to free()ed memory. When a realloc- like function is called requesting a smaller memory block, the excess old bytes are also filled with DEADBYTE. p[N:N+4] Copies of FORBIDDENBYTE. Used to catch over- writes and reads. p[N+4:N+8] A serial number, incremented by 1 on each call to a malloc-like or realloc-like function. 4-byte unsigned integer, big-endian. If "bad memory" is detected later, the serial number gives an excellent way to set a breakpoint on the next run, to capture the instant at which this block was passed out. A malloc-like or free-like function first checks that the FORBIDDENBYTEs at each end are intact. If they've been altered, diagnostic output is written to stderr, and the program is aborted by Py_FatalError(). Note that PYMALLOC_DEBUG requires WITH_PYMALLOC. Special gimmicks: envar PYTHONMALLOCSTATS If this envar exists, a report of pymalloc summary statistics is printed to stderr whenever a new arena is allocated, and also by Py_Finalize(). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Py_DEBUG This is what is generally meant by "a debug build" of Python. Py_DEBUG implies Py_REF_DEBUG, Py_TRACE_REFS, and PYMALLOC_DEBUG (if WITH_PYMALLOC is enabled). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- COUNT_ALLOCS Each type object grows three new members: /* Number of times an object of this type was allocated. */ int tp_allocs; /* Number of times an object of this type was deallocated. */ int tp_frees; /* Highwater mark: the maximum value of tp_allocs - tp_frees so * far; or, IOW, the largest number of objects of this type alive at * the same time. */ int tp_maxalloc; Allocation and deallocation code keeps these counts up to date. Py_Finalize() displays a summary of the info returned by sys.getcounts() (see below), along with assorted other special allocation counts (like the number of tuple allocations satisfied by a tuple free-list, the number of 1-character strings allocated, etc). Before Python 2.2, type objects were immortal, and the COUNT_ALLOCS implementation relies on that. As of Python 2.2, heap-allocated type/ class objects can go away. COUNT_ALLOCS can blow up in 2.2 and 2.2.1 because of this; this was fixed in 2.2.2. Use of COUNT_ALLOCS makes all heap-allocated type objects immortal, except for those for which no object of that type is ever allocated. Special gimmicks: sys.getcounts() Return a list of 4-tuples, one entry for each type object for which at least one object of that type was allocated. Each tuple is of the form: (tp_name, tp_allocs, tp_frees, tp_maxalloc) Each distinct type object gets a distinct entry in this list, even if two or more type objects have the same tp_name (in which case there's no way to distinguish them by looking at this list). The list is ordered by time of first object allocation: the type object for which the first allocation of an object of that type occurred most recently is at the front of the list. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------