python / python/cpython

Clarify the Purpose of the PyGILState API and Identify Better Alternatives

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3.12 3.13 3.14 docs topic-C-API
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Description

This especially applies to the following sections:

but also:

The PyGILState_* C-API was introduced by PEP 311 as a convenience for extension maintainers for some very specific situations:

  • code running in the current thread does not know if it holds the GIL
  • this situation may involve reentrancy

The PyGILState_* API also (almost incidentally) supports use cases that are more appropriately satisfied by other API, like Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS()/Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS() for balanced acquire-release.

The documentation isn't so clear about the specific use cases, nor that an interested user may actually want a different API. For example, from a recent issue I saw: We were wrapping each evaluation in PyGILState_Ensure and PyGILState_Release, which I believe is a correct way to do this.

FTR, https://docs.python.org/3/c-api/init.html#non-python-created-threads does a decent job of explaining, as does the PEP, but the entries for PyGILState_Ensure() and PyGILState_Release() are less clear.

FWIW, I expect that it is easier now to deal with the motivating cases using the exiting C-API than it was in 2003. I'm not sure we would accept something like PEP 311 if it were proposed today. Then again, for a pair of operations that needs to balanced like this, having a specific pair of functions is helpful.


Related: a recent discussion about replacing the PyGILState_* API: https://discuss.python.org/t/a-new-api-for-ensuring-releasing-thread-states/83959.

Also see gh-131264 and gh-131265.

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 PyGILState_Ensure(), PyGILState_Release(), PyGILState_GetThisThreadState(), and PyGILState_Check() documentation entries, then compare PEP 311, the non-Python-created threads section, and the linked discussion. Done means the entries clearly explain their intended use cases and point readers to better alternatives where appropriate.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
c, python
Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
42/100

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