diff options
author | Victor Stinner <vstinner@python.org> | 2023-06-06 08:40:32 (GMT) |
---|---|---|
committer | GitHub <noreply@github.com> | 2023-06-06 08:40:32 (GMT) |
commit | bae415ad02c79cf3a2eec4aa6969221a12e6716f (patch) | |
tree | cd81929f1c58898b7a052d1480a60520a23942b9 /Doc/c-api/stable.rst | |
parent | 00d73caf804c0474980e471347d6385757af975f (diff) | |
download | cpython-bae415ad02c79cf3a2eec4aa6969221a12e6716f.zip cpython-bae415ad02c79cf3a2eec4aa6969221a12e6716f.tar.gz cpython-bae415ad02c79cf3a2eec4aa6969221a12e6716f.tar.bz2 |
gh-102304: doc: Add links to Stable ABI and Limited C API (#105345)
* Add "limited-c-api" and "stable-api" references.
* Rename "stable-abi-list" reference to "limited-api-list".
* Makefile: Document files regenerated by "make regen-limited-abi"
* Remove first empty line in generated files:
- Lib/test/test_stable_abi_ctypes.py
- PC/python3dll.c
Diffstat (limited to 'Doc/c-api/stable.rst')
-rw-r--r-- | Doc/c-api/stable.rst | 55 |
1 files changed, 34 insertions, 21 deletions
diff --git a/Doc/c-api/stable.rst b/Doc/c-api/stable.rst index 3721fc0..df01e73 100644 --- a/Doc/c-api/stable.rst +++ b/Doc/c-api/stable.rst @@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ but will need to be compiled separately for 3.9.x and 3.10.x. There are two tiers of C API with different stability exepectations: -- *Unstable API*, may change in minor versions without a deprecation period. - It is marked by the ``PyUnstable`` prefix in names. -- *Limited API*, is compatible across several minor releases. +- :ref:`Unstable API <unstable-c-api>`, may change in minor versions without + a deprecation period. It is marked by the ``PyUnstable`` prefix in names. +- :ref:`Limited API <limited-c-api>`, is compatible across several minor releases. When :c:macro:`Py_LIMITED_API` is defined, only this subset is exposed from ``Python.h``. @@ -55,19 +55,15 @@ CPython development and spend extra effort adjusting to changes. Stable Application Binary Interface =================================== +.. _limited-c-api: + +Limited C API +------------- + Python 3.2 introduced the *Limited API*, a subset of Python's C API. Extensions that only use the Limited API can be compiled once and work with multiple versions of Python. -Contents of the Limited API are :ref:`listed below <stable-abi-list>`. - -To enable this, Python provides a *Stable ABI*: a set of symbols that will -remain compatible across Python 3.x versions. The Stable ABI contains symbols -exposed in the Limited API, but also other ones – for example, functions -necessary to support older versions of the Limited API. - -(For simplicity, this document talks about *extensions*, but the Limited API -and Stable ABI work the same way for all uses of the API – for example, -embedding Python.) +Contents of the Limited API are :ref:`listed below <limited-api-list>`. .. c:macro:: Py_LIMITED_API @@ -87,6 +83,23 @@ embedding Python.) You can also define ``Py_LIMITED_API`` to ``3``. This works the same as ``0x03020000`` (Python 3.2, the version that introduced Limited API). + +.. _stable-abi: + +Stable ABI +---------- + +To enable this, Python provides a *Stable ABI*: a set of symbols that will +remain compatible across Python 3.x versions. + +The Stable ABI contains symbols exposed in the :ref:`Limited API +<limited-c-api>`, but also other ones – for example, functions necessary to +support older versions of the Limited API. + +(For simplicity, this document talks about *extensions*, but the Limited API +and Stable ABI work the same way for all uses of the API – for example, +embedding Python.) + On Windows, extensions that use the Stable ABI should be linked against ``python3.dll`` rather than a version-specific library such as ``python39.dll``. @@ -131,9 +144,9 @@ Limited API Caveats ------------------- Note that compiling with ``Py_LIMITED_API`` is *not* a complete guarantee that -code conforms to the Limited API or the Stable ABI. ``Py_LIMITED_API`` only -covers definitions, but an API also includes other issues, such as expected -semantics. +code conforms to the :ref:`Limited API <limited-c-api>` or the :ref:`Stable ABI +<stable-abi>`. ``Py_LIMITED_API`` only covers definitions, but an API also +includes other issues, such as expected semantics. One issue that ``Py_LIMITED_API`` does not guard against is calling a function with arguments that are invalid in a lower Python version. @@ -166,9 +179,9 @@ Platform Considerations ======================= ABI stability depends not only on Python, but also on the compiler used, -lower-level libraries and compiler options. For the purposes of the Stable ABI, -these details define a “platform”. They usually depend on the OS -type and processor architecture +lower-level libraries and compiler options. For the purposes of +the :ref:`Stable ABI <stable-abi>`, these details define a “platform”. They +usually depend on the OS type and processor architecture It is the responsibility of each particular distributor of Python to ensure that all Python versions on a particular platform are built @@ -177,12 +190,12 @@ This is the case with Windows and macOS releases from ``python.org`` and many third-party distributors. -.. _stable-abi-list: +.. _limited-api-list: Contents of Limited API ======================= -Currently, the Limited API includes the following items: +Currently, the :ref:`Limited API <limited-c-api>` includes the following items: .. limited-api-list:: |