[Python-Dev] Consolidate stateful runtime globals (original) (raw)

Benjamin Peterson benjamin at python.org
Wed Sep 6 13:17:06 EDT 2017

On Wed, Sep 6, 2017, at 10:08, Antoine Pitrou wrote:

On Wed, 06 Sep 2017 09:42:29 -0700 Benjamin Peterson <benjamin at python.org> wrote: > On Wed, Sep 6, 2017, at 03:14, Antoine Pitrou wrote: > > > > Hello, > > > > I'm a bit concerned about > > https://github.com/python/cpython/commit/76d5abc8684bac4f2fc7cccfe2cd940923357351 > > > > My main gripe is that makes writing C code more tedious. Simple C > > global variables such as "onceregistry" are now spelled > > "PyRuntime.warnings.onceregistry". The most egregious example seems > > to be "PyRuntime.ceval.gil.locked" (used to be simply "gillocked"). > > > > Granted, C is more verbose than Python, but it doesn't have to become > > that verbose. I don't know about you, but when code becomes annoying > > to type, I tend to try and take shortcuts. > > How often are you actually typing the names of runtime globals, though?

Not very often, but if I want to experiment with some low-level implementation details, it is nice to avoid the hassle.

It seems like this could be remediated with some inline functions or macros, which would also help safely encapsulate state.

There's also a readability argument: with very long names, expressions can become less easy to parse. > If you are using a globals, perhaps the typing time will allow you to > fully consider the gravity of the situation. Right, I needed to be reminded of how perilous the use of C globals is. Perhaps I should contact the PSRT the next time I contemplate using a C global.

It's not just you but future readers.

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