[PyKDE] Handling exceptions in SIP

[James Emerton]

On 6/18/05, Denis S. Otkidach <ods at strana.ru> wrote:
> 2) You overwrite virtual method of wrapped class in Python, so that
> other methods (implemented in C++) use it instead of base.  This is more
> interesting case, but I believe SIP can't handle it too.  Please correct
> me if I'm wrong.

Bingo.  I use Python to implement abstract classes defined in Python. 
The calling C++ has no idea that it is ultimately calling into Python,
thus there is no opportunity for checking the Python error state
outside of the binding code.

My existing C++ code is fairly heavily exception based.  All error
handling is done though exceptions which will cause database
transactions to abort cleanly.  The problem is when Python raises an
exception (or calls back into some C++ code that throws an exception)
control is returned to C++ which continues quite happily.  Throwing
anything would be an improvement in this case.

I can see some sort of exception class defined in SIP for
encapsulating Python errors.  This would be thrown in response to your
garden variety PyExc_* errors.

If the exception coming from Python is a wrapped C++ type, then it can
be unwrapped and thrown as the original type.  I think the problem
here is whether to throw it as a pointer or make a copy.  Personally,
I always catch references, so I would prefer the copy.

That brings us back to the problem of copying exceptions.  When SIP
catches a matching exception, it makes a copy of the exception object,
potentially discarding type information.  (Isn't this where the thread
started?)  This precludes using the type at the root of an inheritance
heirarchy in the exception specifier as shorthand for 'could throw
anything derived from x.'

James