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Docs: C API: Improve documentation around non-Python threads with subinterpreters (GH-131087)
Co-authored-by: Victor Stinner <vstinner@python.org>
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Doc/c-api/init.rst

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@@ -919,8 +919,36 @@ Note that the ``PyGILState_*`` functions assume there is only one global
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interpreter (created automatically by :c:func:`Py_Initialize`). Python
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supports the creation of additional interpreters (using
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:c:func:`Py_NewInterpreter`), but mixing multiple interpreters and the
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``PyGILState_*`` API is unsupported.
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``PyGILState_*`` API is unsupported. This is because :c:func:`PyGILState_Ensure`
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and similar functions default to :term:`attaching <attached thread state>` a
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:term:`thread state` for the main interpreter, meaning that the thread can't safely
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interact with the calling subinterpreter.
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Supporting subinterpreters in non-Python threads
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------------------------------------------------
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If you would like to support subinterpreters with non-Python created threads, you
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must use the ``PyThreadState_*`` API instead of the traditional ``PyGILState_*``
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API.
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In particular, you must store the interpreter state from the calling
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function and pass it to :c:func:`PyThreadState_New`, which will ensure that
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the :term:`thread state` is targeting the correct interpreter::
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/* The return value of PyInterpreterState_Get() from the
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function that created this thread. */
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PyInterpreterState *interp = ThreadData->interp;
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PyThreadState *tstate = PyThreadState_New(interp);
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PyThreadState_Swap(tstate);
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/* GIL of the subinterpreter is now held.
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Perform Python actions here. */
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result = CallSomeFunction();
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/* evaluate result or handle exception */
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/* Destroy the thread state. No Python API allowed beyond this point. */
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PyThreadState_Clear(tstate);
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PyThreadState_DeleteCurrent();
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.. _fork-and-threads:
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@@ -1097,6 +1125,10 @@ code, or when embedding the Python interpreter:
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.. seealso:
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:c:func:`PyEval_ReleaseThread`
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.. note::
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Similar to :c:func:`PyGILState_Ensure`, this function will hang the
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thread if the runtime is finalizing.
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The following functions use thread-local storage, and are not compatible
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with sub-interpreters:
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When the function returns, there will be an :term:`attached thread state`
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and the thread will be able to call arbitrary Python code. Failure is a fatal error.
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.. note::
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Calling this function from a thread when the runtime is finalizing will
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hang the thread until the program exits, even if the thread was not
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created by Python. Refer to
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.. warning::
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Calling this function when the runtime is finalizing is unsafe. Doing
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so will either hang the thread until the program ends, or fully crash
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the interpreter in rare cases. Refer to
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:ref:`cautions-regarding-runtime-finalization` for more details.
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.. versionchanged:: 3.14
@@ -1143,28 +1175,37 @@ with sub-interpreters:
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Every call to :c:func:`PyGILState_Ensure` must be matched by a call to
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:c:func:`PyGILState_Release` on the same thread.
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.. c:function:: PyThreadState* PyGILState_GetThisThreadState()
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Get the :term:`attached thread state` for this thread. May return ``NULL`` if no
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GILState API has been used on the current thread. Note that the main thread
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always has such a thread-state, even if no auto-thread-state call has been
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made on the main thread. This is mainly a helper/diagnostic function.
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.. seealso: :c:func:`PyThreadState_Get``
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.. note::
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This function does not account for :term:`thread states <thread state>` created
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by something other than :c:func:`PyGILState_Ensure` (such as :c:func:`PyThreadState_New`).
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Prefer :c:func:`PyThreadState_Get` or :c:func:`PyThreadState_GetUnchecked`
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for most cases.
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.. seealso: :c:func:`PyThreadState_Get``
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.. c:function:: int PyGILState_Check()
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Return ``1`` if the current thread is holding the :term:`GIL` and ``0`` otherwise.
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This function can be called from any thread at any time.
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Only if it has had its Python thread state initialized and currently is
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holding the :term:`GIL` will it return ``1``.
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Only if it has had its :term:`thread state <attached thread state>` initialized
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via :c:func:`PyGILState_Ensure` will it return ``1``.
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This is mainly a helper/diagnostic function. It can be useful
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for example in callback contexts or memory allocation functions when
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knowing that the :term:`GIL` is locked can allow the caller to perform sensitive
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actions or otherwise behave differently.
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.. note::
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If the current Python process has ever created a subinterpreter, this
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function will *always* return ``1``. Prefer :c:func:`PyThreadState_GetUnchecked`
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for most cases.
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.. versionadded:: 3.4
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