`PyConfig.lazy_imports` is missing from the C API configuration docs
Nobody has claimed this yet.
- Dominant language
- Python
- Stars
- 77.2k
- Forks
- 35.9k
- PR merge metrics
- PR metrics pending
Description
Documentation
lazy_imports is a PUBLIC entry in PYCONFIG_SPEC (Python/initconfig.c:127) and a member of PyConfig (Include/cpython/initconfig.h:194), so it can be read at runtime. It is the only one of the 25 PUBLIC options with no entry in Doc/c-api/init_config.rst, neither in the Configuration Options list nor as a c:member: of PyConfig.
import ctypes
api = ctypes.pythonapi
api.PyConfig_Get.restype = ctypes.py_object
api.PyConfig_Get.argtypes = [ctypes.c_char_p]
for name in (b"lazy_imports", b"inspect", b"int_max_str_digits"):
print(name.decode(), "->", api.PyConfig_Get(name))
lazy_imports -> -1
inspect -> False
int_max_str_digits -> 4300
grep -c lazy_imports Doc/c-api/init_config.rst returns 0, while the other two names in that output are both documented there.
PEP 810 (GH-142351) documented the feature elsewhere: -X lazy_imports, PYTHON_LAZY_IMPORTS and the C functions in Doc/c-api/import.rst all landed with it. init_config.rst looks like the file it missed.
The value is a tri-state and that is undocumented too. Python/initconfig.c:1092 says lazy_imports can be -1 (default) or 1 (on), and that 0 is rejected later.
3.15 has the same gap: the spec entry is there and the doc entry is not.
Linked PRs
- gh-155274
- gh-155281
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 in Doc/c-api/init_config.rst and compare its Configuration Options and PyConfig c:member entries with Python/initconfig.c:127 and Include/cpython/initconfig.h:194. Check Python/initconfig.c:1092 for the documented tri-state behavior, then verify the finished documentation covers lazy_imports and its accepted values.
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