[Python-Dev] regrtest.py mystery (original) (raw)

Barry A. Warsaw barry@zope.com
Mon, 17 Dec 2001 11🔞42 -0500

"Fred" == Fred L Drake, Jr <fdrake@acm.org> writes:

Fred>   Useful or not, isn't the basic problem that we haven't
Fred> been able to define The Right Thing?

Probably so.

Fred> I'd certainly expect a module to be able to declare in some
Fred> way that it could not be unloaded, or control how it gets
Fred> unloaded.  Perhaps allow Python modules to define an
Fred> __unload__() function; when unload() is called on a module,
Fred> the __unload__() is called; if that raises an exception, it
Fred> gets propogated, otherwise the unload continues if the
Fred> module still exists in sys.modules.  Not clear that this
Fred> would be useful for extensions.

The "unload protocol" would be I think. I.e. extension modules ought to be unloadable if they can cooperate. From the Linux dl*() manpages:

   dlclose decrements the  reference  count  on  the  dynamic
   library  handle  handle.   If the reference count drops to
   zero and no other loaded libraries use symbols in it, then
   the  dynamic  library is unloaded.  If the dynamic library
   exports a routine named _fini, then that routine is called
   just before the library is unloaded.

season-to-tasste-on-your-favorite-OS-bread-l y'rs, -Barry