[Python-Dev] cpython: Fix email post-commit review comments. (original) (raw)

Greg Ewing greg.ewing at canterbury.ac.nz
Thu Apr 19 00:48:01 CEST 2012

Antoine Pitrou wrote:

(and here we see why reference-stealing APIs are a nuisance: because you never know in advance whether a function will steal a reference or not, and you have to read the docs for each and every C API call you make)

Fortunately, they're very rare, so you don't encounter them often.

Unfortunately, they're very rare, so you're all the more likely to forget about them and get bitten.

Functions with ref-stealing APIs really ought to have a naming convention that makes them stand out and remind you to consult the documentation.

-- Greg

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