[Numpy-discussion] How to find number of bytes in a PyArrayObject without a segfault

[Alex Eftimiades]

I ultimately want to access the total number of bytes in a  
PyArrayObject through a C++ program. I cannot seem to do it without  
sefaulting. All of the following yields a segfault:

my_array->descr->subarray->shape
my_array->dimensions
PyArray_SHAPE(my_array)
PyArray_DIMS(my_array)
PyArray_ITEMSIZE(my_array)

and of course...
PyArray_NBYTES(my_array)


I am working from within sage if that makes any difference. Is there a  
way to iterate over an array from within C++ without knowing the  
number of bytes in the array (and using strides--which oddly enough do  
not result in a segfault), or iterating over each dimension?

Please point me in the right direction. There must be a way or else  
the entire software suite would not work.

Thanks,
Alex Eftimiades