[Python-Dev] Issue #8863 adds a new?PYTHONNOFAULTHANDLER?environment variable

[Alexander Belopolsky]

On Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 11:56 AM, Stefan Krah <stefan at bytereef.org> wrote:
> Victor Stinner <vstinner at edenwall.com> wrote:
..
>> The fault handler helps developers because they don't have to have a Python
>> compiled in debug mode and to run the application in a debugger (like gdb).
>>
>> If the developer is unable to reproduce an error, because it's an Heisenbug,
>> or because the developer doesn't have the same OS, libraries and/or
>> applications, the fault handler helps the developer to isolate the problem.
>
> This is what I'm sceptical about. I think the tracebacks are don't carry
> enough information for that.
>

My concern is that the traceback generated by a signal handler may
actually contain *less* information that what would otherwise be
available from the core dump or other system diagnostic facilities.
Whenever you continue to execute code after  a fault occurs (even in
an alternative stack), you change register values and run the risk
that the program will not be able to produce a core dump at all or
will produce a core dump with misleading information in it.

I think Stefan's approach is the correct one: before we agree on this
feature, the proponents should present actual crashers for which
reports generated by the patch are actually helpful.