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cpython/Doc/c-api/allocation.rst
Eric Snow 5dc825d504
gh-98154: Clarify Usage of "Reference Count" In the Docs (gh-107552)
PEP 683 (immortal objects) revealed some ways in which the Python documentation has been unnecessarily coupled to the implementation details of reference counts.  In the end users should focus on reference ownership, including taking references and releasing them, rather than on how many reference counts an object has.

This change updates the documentation to reflect that perspective.  It also updates the docs relative to immortal objects in a handful of places.
2023-08-07 15:40:59 -06:00

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.. highlight:: c
.. _allocating-objects:
Allocating Objects on the Heap
==============================
.. c:function:: PyObject* _PyObject_New(PyTypeObject *type)
.. c:function:: PyVarObject* _PyObject_NewVar(PyTypeObject *type, Py_ssize_t size)
.. c:function:: PyObject* PyObject_Init(PyObject *op, PyTypeObject *type)
Initialize a newly allocated object *op* with its type and initial
reference. Returns the initialized object. If *type* indicates that the
object participates in the cyclic garbage detector, it is added to the
detector's set of observed objects. Other fields of the object are not
affected.
.. c:function:: PyVarObject* PyObject_InitVar(PyVarObject *op, PyTypeObject *type, Py_ssize_t size)
This does everything :c:func:`PyObject_Init` does, and also initializes the
length information for a variable-size object.
.. c:macro:: PyObject_New(TYPE, typeobj)
Allocate a new Python object using the C structure type *TYPE*
and the Python type object *typeobj* (``PyTypeObject*``).
Fields not defined by the Python object header are not initialized.
The caller will own the only reference to the object
(i.e. its reference count will be one).
The size of the memory allocation is determined from the
:c:member:`~PyTypeObject.tp_basicsize` field of the type object.
.. c:macro:: PyObject_NewVar(TYPE, typeobj, size)
Allocate a new Python object using the C structure type *TYPE* and the
Python type object *typeobj* (``PyTypeObject*``).
Fields not defined by the Python object header
are not initialized. The allocated memory allows for the *TYPE* structure
plus *size* (``Py_ssize_t``) fields of the size
given by the :c:member:`~PyTypeObject.tp_itemsize` field of
*typeobj*. This is useful for implementing objects like tuples, which are
able to determine their size at construction time. Embedding the array of
fields into the same allocation decreases the number of allocations,
improving the memory management efficiency.
.. c:function:: void PyObject_Del(void *op)
Releases memory allocated to an object using :c:macro:`PyObject_New` or
:c:macro:`PyObject_NewVar`. This is normally called from the
:c:member:`~PyTypeObject.tp_dealloc` handler specified in the object's type. The fields of
the object should not be accessed after this call as the memory is no
longer a valid Python object.
.. c:var:: PyObject _Py_NoneStruct
Object which is visible in Python as ``None``. This should only be accessed
using the :c:macro:`Py_None` macro, which evaluates to a pointer to this
object.
.. seealso::
:c:func:`PyModule_Create`
To allocate and create extension modules.