Heap types implemented in C must have Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC and implement tp_traverse
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- Dominant language
- Python
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Description
If a heap type does not have Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC or doesn't not implement tp_traverse, the garbage collector may fail to collect the type and most of its instances at Python exit. The problem is worse when sub-interpreters are involved: if a sub-interpreter exits and does not clear all of its memory, the other interpreters will continue running with these leaks.
See issue gh-87138 for the rationale.
I wrote an article on the lock type which had this bug and caused a memory leak: https://vstinner.github.io/subinterpreter-leaks.html
Linked PRs
- gh-116947
- gh-138290
- gh-138327
- gh-138328
- gh-138331
- gh-138333
- gh-138427
- gh-138428
- gh-138334
- gh-138340
- gh-138341
- gh-138582
- gh-138807
- gh-139073
- gh-139474
- gh-141268
- gh-141448
- gh-152310
- gh-156034
The following PRs were directly closed because the types are immutable and empty:
- gh-138329
- gh-138330
- gh-138332
The following PRs were wrongly merged so we reverted them:
- gh-138266
- gh-138320
- gh-138322
- gh-138288
- gh-138321
- gh-138323
- gh-138289
- gh-138324
- gh-138326
PRs for reverting the above commits:
- gh-138338
- gh-138337
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 with issue gh-87138 and the linked article about the lock type, then inventory the C heap types covered by the linked PRs. Done means applicable heap types have Py_TPFLAGS_HAVE_GC and tp_traverse, with the described interpreter-exit and sub-interpreter leaks addressed.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- c, python
- Domain
- backend
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 25/100