python / python/cpython

Incorrect information about exception raised if source contains null bytes for ast.parse() and compile()

Open
#122,461 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

3.12 3.13 3.14 docs
Dominant language
Python
Stars
77.2k
Forks
35.9k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

Documentation

Docs for compile() and ast.parse() say they raise ValueError for source contains null bytes. However, since 3.12 (https://github.com/python/cpython/pull/97594), SyntaxError is raised instead:

>>> compile("\x00", "lambda.tt", "exec")
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<python-input-0>", line 1, in <module>
    compile("\x00", "lambda.tt", "exec")
    ~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
SyntaxError: source code string cannot contain null bytes

https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/d1a1bca1f0550a4715f1bf32b1586caa7bc4487b/Doc/library/functions.rst?plain=1#L337-L338
And
https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/d1a1bca1f0550a4715f1bf32b1586caa7bc4487b/Doc/library/ast.rst?plain=1#L2158

Linked PRs
  • gh-122462

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the referenced entries in Doc/library/functions.rst and Doc/library/ast.rst, then review linked PR gh-122462 for the current work. Update the documented exception to match Python 3.12 behavior and verify both affected documentation sections are consistent.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
35/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.