Startup deadlock when using multiple interpreters in same process
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- Dominant language
- C++
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Description
Issue description
When multiple sub-interpreters are created in the same process, the importing of a module created using pybind11 will cause a deadlock, as the GIL for the wrong interpreter is locked. mod_wsgi is the largest example app which will create multiple sub-interpreters, and describe the issue here.
This issue occurs only with pybind11 >= 2.4.0. Older versions do not have this issue (at least as far back as 2.2.3)
Reproducible example code
Code difficult to provide without dependencies, as this is a rather specific integration bug. Most simple way to reproduce is:
- Install Apache httpd with
mod_wsgi - Create multiple
WSGIScriptAliasdefinitions in apache config file, both pointing to a script which imports a module created withpybind11 - At least 1 interpreter will deadlock on
importstatement.
Attaching the the process reveals that the deadlock occurs here.
Use of PyGILState_Ensure will cause issues in processes with multiple interpreters. If this section is replaces with equivalent code to use of Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS and Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS, no issue should occur, as these APIs correctly deal with multiple sub-interpreters.
See reference here for more info on the issue. Specifically, see note of:
Note that the PyGILState_*() functions assume there is only one global interpreter (created automatically by Py_Initialize()). Python still supports the creation of additional interpreters (using Py_NewInterpreter()), but mixing multiple interpreters and the PyGILState_*() API is unsupported.
This implies that the full example code above should be used, instead of PyGILState_*
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start at include/pybind11/detail/internals.h around line 240 and review the GIL handling used during module import. Compare the current PyGILState_* usage with the Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS/Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS path described in the issue, then validate with multiple sub-interpreters through mod_wsgi. Done means imports no longer deadlock across sub-interpreters.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- cpp, python
- Domain
- backend-api-design
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100