[Python-Dev] [unladen-swallow] PEP 384: Defining a Stable ABI

[James Y Knight]

On May 20, 2009, at 4:07 PM, Nick Coghlan wrote:
> Forcing developers to choose between the speed of the INCREF/DECREF
> macros and the proposed ABI compatibility mode for the benefit of an  
> as
> yet hypothetical GIL-less CPython API implementation seems more like a
> way to kill adoption of the ABI compatibility mode rather than a way  
> to
> encourage the use of the IncRef/Decref functions.

Indeed, and if the promise of "no-ABI-breakages-till-4.0" is removed,  
this would be a non-issue. Keep Py_INCREF macros in the current ABI,  
and then break the ABI when someone wants to remove the GIL someday.  
That's certainly going to be a big enough change to justify changing  
the ABI.

James