call of __del__ non-deterministic in python 2.4 (cpython)?

[Holger Joukl]

python-list-bounces+holger.joukl=lbbw.de at python.org schrieb am 13.12.2006
11:09:13:

> Holger Joukl wrote:
>
> > Anyway: Is relying on __del__ getting called immediately when the
refcount
> > drops to 0 a no-no?
>
> yes, but more importantly, relying on the refcount dropping to 0 when
> something goes out of scope is a major no-no.

In my particular use case I think can rule out the problematic situations,
except for the
object being referenced in the stack trace, but that won't put me into
problems (and
there were no exceptions at all when I ran into the deadlocks)

> > If so should that maybe be prominently stated in the docs?
>
> is it perhaps the color that made you miss the big bold boxes in the
> documentation?
>
>      http://docs.python.org/ref/customization.html#l2h-177
>
> </F>

I did read this but didn't think it applied to my situation. I'm quite
sure that the refcount of the local variable is 1 before the local scope
is left.
So let me rephrase the question: Even if I can make sure that non of the
problematic situtions apply, might it _still_ happen that __del__ gets
called
after some other code has already been "entered"?

Thanks,
Holger

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