Type Objects

Perhaps one of the most important structures of the Python object system is the structure that defines a new type: the PyTypeObject structure. Type objects can be handled using any of the PyObject_*() or PyType_*() functions, but do not offer much that’s interesting to most Python applications. These objects are fundamental to how objects behave, so they are very important to the interpreter itself and to any extension module that implements new types.

Type objects are fairly large compared to most of the standard types. The reason for the size is that each type object stores a large number of values, mostly C function pointers, each of which implements a small part of the type’s functionality. The fields of the type object are examined in detail in this section. The fields will be described in the order in which they occur in the structure.

Typedefs: unaryfunc, binaryfunc, ternaryfunc, inquiry, intargfunc, intintargfunc, intobjargproc, intintobjargproc, objobjargproc, destructor, freefunc, printfunc, getattrfunc, getattrofunc, setattrfunc, setattrofunc, reprfunc, hashfunc

The structure definition for PyTypeObject can be found in Include/object.h. For convenience of reference, this repeats the definition found there:

typedef struct _typeobject {
    PyObject_VAR_HEAD
    const char *tp_name; /* For printing, in format "<module>.<name>" */
    Py_ssize_t tp_basicsize, tp_itemsize; /* For allocation */

    /* Methods to implement standard operations */

    destructor tp_dealloc;
    printfunc tp_print;
    getattrfunc tp_getattr;
    setattrfunc tp_setattr;
    PyAsyncMethods *tp_as_async; /* formerly known as tp_compare (Python 2)
                                    or tp_reserved (Python 3) */
    reprfunc tp_repr;

    /* Method suites for standard classes */

    PyNumberMethods *tp_as_number;
    PySequenceMethods *tp_as_sequence;
    PyMappingMethods *tp_as_mapping;

    /* More standard operations (here for binary compatibility) */

    hashfunc tp_hash;
    ternaryfunc tp_call;
    reprfunc tp_str;
    getattrofunc tp_getattro;
    setattrofunc tp_setattro;

    /* Functions to access object as input/output buffer */
    PyBufferProcs *tp_as_buffer;

    /* Flags to define presence of optional/expanded features */
    unsigned long tp_flags;

    const char *tp_doc; /* Documentation string */

    /* call function for all accessible objects */
    traverseproc tp_traverse;

    /* delete references to contained objects */
    inquiry tp_clear;

    /* rich comparisons */
    richcmpfunc tp_richcompare;

    /* weak reference enabler */
    Py_ssize_t tp_weaklistoffset;

    /* Iterators */
    getiterfunc tp_iter;
    iternextfunc tp_iternext;

    /* Attribute descriptor and subclassing stuff */
    struct PyMethodDef *tp_methods;
    struct PyMemberDef *tp_members;
    struct PyGetSetDef *tp_getset;
    struct _typeobject *tp_base;
    PyObject *tp_dict;
    descrgetfunc tp_descr_get;
    descrsetfunc tp_descr_set;
    Py_ssize_t tp_dictoffset;
    initproc tp_init;
    allocfunc tp_alloc;
    newfunc tp_new;
    freefunc tp_free; /* Low-level free-memory routine */
    inquiry tp_is_gc; /* For PyObject_IS_GC */
    PyObject *tp_bases;
    PyObject *tp_mro; /* method resolution order */
    PyObject *tp_cache;
    PyObject *tp_subclasses;
    PyObject *tp_weaklist;
    destructor tp_del;

    /* Type attribute cache version tag. Added in version 2.6 */
    unsigned int tp_version_tag;

    destructor tp_finalize;

} PyTypeObject;

The type object structure extends the PyVarObject structure. The ob_size field is used for dynamic types (created by type_new(), usually called from a class statement). Note that PyType_Type (the metatype) initializes tp_itemsize, which means that its instances (i.e. type objects) must have the ob_size field.

PyObject* PyObject._ob_next

PyObject* PyObject._ob_prev

These fields are only present when the macro Py_TRACE_REFS is defined. Their initialization to NULL is taken care of by the PyObject_HEAD_INIT macro. For statically allocated objects, these fields always remain NULL. For dynamically allocated objects, these two fields are used to link the object into a doubly-linked list of all live objects on the heap. This could be used for various debugging purposes; currently the only use is to print the objects that are still alive at the end of a run when the environment variable PYTHONDUMPREFS is set.

These fields are not inherited by subtypes.

Py_ssize_t PyObject.ob_refcnt

This is the type object’s reference count, initialized to 1 by the PyObject_HEAD_INIT macro. Note that for statically allocated type objects, the type’s instances (objects whose ob_type points back to the type) do not count as references. But for dynamically allocated type objects, the instances do count as references.

This field is not inherited by subtypes.

PyTypeObject* PyObject.ob_type

This is the type’s type, in other words its metatype. It is initialized by the argument to the PyObject_HEAD_INIT macro, and its value should normally be &PyType_Type. However, for dynamically loadable extension modules that must be usable on Windows (at least), the compiler complains that this is not a valid initializer. Therefore, the convention is to pass NULL to the PyObject_HEAD_INIT macro and to initialize this field explicitly at the start of the module’s initialization function, before doing anything else. This is typically done like this:

Foo_Type.ob_type = &PyType_Type;

This should be done before any instances of the type are created. PyType_Ready() checks if ob_type is NULL, and if so, initializes it to the ob_type field of the base class. PyType_Ready() will not change this field if it is non-zero.

This field is inherited by subtypes.

Py_ssize_t PyVarObject.ob_size

For statically allocated type objects, this should be initialized to zero. For dynamically allocated type objects, this field has a special internal meaning.

This field is not inherited by subtypes.

const char* PyTypeObject.tp_name

Pointer to a NUL-terminated string containing the name of the type. For types that are accessible as module globals, the string should be the full module name, followed by a dot, followed by the type name; for built-in types, it should be just the type name. If the module is a submodule of a package, the full package name is part of the full module name. For example, a type named T defined in module M in subpackage Q in package P should have the tp_name initializer "P.Q.M.T".

For dynamically allocated type objects, this should just be the type name, and the module name explicitly stored in the type dict as the value for key '__module__'.

For statically allocated type objects, the tp_name field should contain a dot. Everything before the last dot is made accessible as the __module__ attribute, and everything after the last dot is made accessible as the __name__ attribute.

If no dot is present, the entire tp_name field is made accessible as the __name__ attribute, and the __module__ attribute is undefined (unless explicitly set in the dictionary, as explained above). This means your type will be impossible to pickle. Additionally, it will not be listed in module documentations created with pydoc.

This field is not inherited by subtypes.

Py_ssize_t PyTypeObject.tp_basicsize

Py_ssize_t PyTypeObject.tp_itemsize

These fields allow calculating the size in bytes of instances of the type.

There are two kinds of types: types with fixed-length instances have a zero tp_itemsize field, types with variable-length instances have a non-zero tp_itemsize field. For a type with fixed-length instances, all instances have the same size, given in tp_basicsize.

For a type with variable-length instances, the instances must have an ob_size field, and the instance size is tp_basicsize plus N times tp_itemsize, where N is the 「length」 of the object. The value of N is typically stored in the instance’s ob_size field. There are exceptions: for example, ints use a negative ob_size to indicate a negative number, and N is abs(ob_size) there. Also, the presence of an ob_size field in the instance layout doesn’t mean that the instance structure is variable-length (for example, the structure for the list type has fixed-length instances, yet those instances have a meaningful ob_size field).

The basic size includes the fields in the instance declared by the macro PyObject_HEAD or PyObject_VAR_HEAD (whichever is used to declare the instance struct) and this in turn includes the _ob_prev and _ob_next fields if they are present. This means that the only correct way to get an initializer for the tp_basicsize is to use the sizeof operator on the struct used to declare the instance layout. The basic size does not include the GC header size.

These fields are inherited separately by subtypes. If the base type has a non-zero tp_itemsize, it is generally not safe to set tp_itemsize to a different non-zero value in a subtype (though this depends on the implementation of the base type).

A note about alignment: if the variable items require a particular alignment, this should be taken care of by the value of tp_basicsize. Example: suppose a type implements an array of double. tp_itemsize is sizeof(double). It is the programmer’s responsibility that tp_basicsize is a multiple of sizeof(double) (assuming this is the alignment requirement for double).

destructor PyTypeObject.tp_dealloc

A pointer to the instance destructor function. This function must be defined unless the type guarantees that its instances will never be deallocated (as is the case for the singletons None and Ellipsis).

The destructor function is called by the Py_DECREF() and Py_XDECREF() macros when the new reference count is zero. At this point, the instance is still in existence, but there are no references to it. The destructor function should free all references which the instance owns, free all memory buffers owned by the instance (using the freeing function corresponding to the allocation function used to allocate the buffer), and finally (as its last action) call the type’s tp_free function. If the type is not subtypable (doesn’t have the Py_TPFLAGS_BASETYPE flag bit set), it is permissible to call the object deallocator directly instead of via tp_free. The object deallocator should be the one used to allocate the instance; this is normally PyObject_Del() if the instance was allocated using PyObject_New() or PyObject_VarNew(), or PyObject_GC_Del() if the instance was allocated using PyObject_GC_New() or PyObject_GC_NewVar().

This field is inherited by subtypes.

printfunc PyTypeObject.tp_print

Reserved slot, formerly used for print formatting in Python 2.x.

getattrfunc PyTypeObject.tp_getattr

An optional pointer to the get-attribute-string function.

This field is deprecated. When it is defined, it should point to a function that acts the same as the tp_getattro function, but taking a C string instead of a Python string object to give the attribute name. The signature is

PyObject * tp_getattr(PyObject *o, char *attr_name);

This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_getattro: a subtype inherits both tp_getattr and tp_getattro from its base type when the subtype’s tp_getattr and tp_getattro are both NULL.

setattrfunc PyTypeObject.tp_setattr

An optional pointer to the function for setting and deleting attributes.

This field is deprecated. When it is defined, it should point to a function that acts the same as the tp_setattro function, but taking a C string instead of a Python string object to give the attribute name. The signature is

PyObject * tp_setattr(PyObject *o, char *attr_name, PyObject *v);

The v argument is set to NULL to delete the attribute. This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_setattro: a subtype inherits both tp_setattr and tp_setattro from its base type when the subtype’s tp_setattr and tp_setattro are both NULL.

PyAsyncMethods* tp_as_async

Pointer to an additional structure that contains fields relevant only to objects which implement awaitable and asynchronous iterator protocols at the C-level. See Async Object Structures for details.

3.5 版新加入: Formerly known as tp_compare and tp_reserved.

reprfunc PyTypeObject.tp_repr

An optional pointer to a function that implements the built-in function repr().

The signature is the same as for PyObject_Repr(); it must return a string or a Unicode object. Ideally, this function should return a string that, when passed to eval(), given a suitable environment, returns an object with the same value. If this is not feasible, it should return a string starting with '<' and ending with '>' from which both the type and the value of the object can be deduced.

When this field is not set, a string of the form <%s object at %p> is returned, where %s is replaced by the type name, and %p by the object’s memory address.

This field is inherited by subtypes.

PyNumberMethods* tp_as_number

Pointer to an additional structure that contains fields relevant only to objects which implement the number protocol. These fields are documented in Number Object Structures.

The tp_as_number field is not inherited, but the contained fields are inherited individually.

PySequenceMethods* tp_as_sequence

Pointer to an additional structure that contains fields relevant only to objects which implement the sequence protocol. These fields are documented in Sequence Object Structures.

The tp_as_sequence field is not inherited, but the contained fields are inherited individually.

PyMappingMethods* tp_as_mapping

Pointer to an additional structure that contains fields relevant only to objects which implement the mapping protocol. These fields are documented in Mapping Object Structures.

The tp_as_mapping field is not inherited, but the contained fields are inherited individually.

hashfunc PyTypeObject.tp_hash

An optional pointer to a function that implements the built-in function hash().

The signature is the same as for PyObject_Hash(); it must return a value of the type Py_hash_t. The value -1 should not be returned as a normal return value; when an error occurs during the computation of the hash value, the function should set an exception and return -1.

This field can be set explicitly to PyObject_HashNotImplemented() to block inheritance of the hash method from a parent type. This is interpreted as the equivalent of __hash__ = None at the Python level, causing isinstance(o, collections.Hashable) to correctly return False. Note that the converse is also true - setting __hash__ = None on a class at the Python level will result in the tp_hash slot being set to PyObject_HashNotImplemented().

When this field is not set, an attempt to take the hash of the object raises TypeError.

This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_richcompare: a subtype inherits both of tp_richcompare and tp_hash, when the subtype’s tp_richcompare and tp_hash are both NULL.

ternaryfunc PyTypeObject.tp_call

An optional pointer to a function that implements calling the object. This should be NULL if the object is not callable. The signature is the same as for PyObject_Call().

This field is inherited by subtypes.

reprfunc PyTypeObject.tp_str

An optional pointer to a function that implements the built-in operation str(). (Note that str is a type now, and str() calls the constructor for that type. This constructor calls PyObject_Str() to do the actual work, and PyObject_Str() will call this handler.)

The signature is the same as for PyObject_Str(); it must return a string or a Unicode object. This function should return a 「friendly」 string representation of the object, as this is the representation that will be used, among other things, by the print() function.

When this field is not set, PyObject_Repr() is called to return a string representation.

This field is inherited by subtypes.

getattrofunc PyTypeObject.tp_getattro

An optional pointer to the get-attribute function.

The signature is the same as for PyObject_GetAttr(). It is usually convenient to set this field to PyObject_GenericGetAttr(), which implements the normal way of looking for object attributes.

This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_getattr: a subtype inherits both tp_getattr and tp_getattro from its base type when the subtype’s tp_getattr and tp_getattro are both NULL.

setattrofunc PyTypeObject.tp_setattro

An optional pointer to the function for setting and deleting attributes.

The signature is the same as for PyObject_SetAttr(), but setting v to NULL to delete an attribute must be supported. It is usually convenient to set this field to PyObject_GenericSetAttr(), which implements the normal way of setting object attributes.

This field is inherited by subtypes together with tp_setattr: a subtype inherits both tp_setattr and tp_setattro from its base type when the subtype’s tp_setattr and tp_setattro are both NULL.

PyBufferProcs* PyTypeObject.tp_as_buffer

Pointer to an additional structure that contains fields relevant only to objects which implement the buffer interface. These fields are documented in Buffer Object Structures.

The tp_as_buffer field is not inherited, but the contained fields are inherited individually.

unsigned long PyTypeObject.tp_flags

This field is a bit mask of various flags. Some flags indicate variant semantics for certain situations; others are used to indicate that certain fields in the type object (or in the extension structures referenced via tp_as_number, tp_as_sequence, tp_as_mapping, and tp_as_buffer) that were historically not always present are valid; if such a flag bit is clear, the type fields it guards must not be accessed and must be considered to have a zero or NULL value instead.

Inheritance of this field is complicated. Most flag bits are inherited individually, i.e. if the base type has a flag bit set, the subtype inherits this flag bit. The flag bits that pertain to extension structures are strictly inherited if the extension structure is inherited, i.e. the base type’s value of the flag bit is copied into the subtype together with a pointer to the extension structure. The Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC flag bit is inherited together with the tp_traverse and tp_clear fields, i.e. if the Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC flag bit is clear in the subtype and the tp_traverse and tp_clear fields in the subtype exist and have NULL values.

The following bit masks are currently defined; these can be ORed together using the | operator to form the value of the tp_flags field. The macro PyType_HasFeature() takes a type and a flags value, tp and f, and checks whether tp->tp_flags & f is non-zero.

Py_TPFLAGS_HEAPTYPE

This bit is set when the type object itself is allocated on the heap. In this case, the ob_type field of its instances is considered a reference to the type, and the type object is INCREF’ed when a new instance is created, and DECREF’ed when an instance is destroyed (this does not apply to instances of subtypes; only the type referenced by the instance’s ob_type gets INCREF’ed or DECREF’ed).

Py_TPFLAGS_BASETYPE

This bit is set when the type can be used as the base type of another type. If this bit is clear, the type cannot be subtyped (similar to a 「final」 class in Java).

Py_TPFLAGS_READY

This bit is set when the type object has been fully initialized by PyType_Ready().

Py_TPFLAGS_READYING

This bit is set while PyType_Ready() is in the process of initializing the type object.

Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC