/Doc/library/symtable.rst

  1:mod:`symtable` --- Access to the compiler's symbol tables
  2==========================================================
  3
  4.. module:: symtable
  5   :synopsis: Interface to the compiler's internal symbol tables.
  6
  7.. moduleauthor:: Jeremy Hylton <jeremy@alum.mit.edu>
  8.. sectionauthor:: Benjamin Peterson
  9
 10
 11Symbol tables are generated by the compiler from AST just before bytecode is
 12generated.  The symbol table is responsible for calculating the scope of every
 13identifier in the code.  :mod:`symtable` provides an interface to examine these
 14tables.
 15
 16
 17Generating Symbol Tables
 18------------------------
 19
 20.. function:: symtable(code, filename, compile_type)
 21
 22   Return the toplevel :class:`SymbolTable` for the Python source *code*.
 23   *filename* is the name of the file containing the code.  *compile_type* is
 24   like the *mode* argument to :func:`compile`.
 25
 26
 27Examining Symbol Tables
 28-----------------------
 29
 30.. class:: SymbolTable
 31
 32   A namespace table for a block.  The constructor is not public.
 33
 34   .. method:: get_type()
 35
 36      Return the type of the symbol table.  Possible values are ``'class'``,
 37      ``'module'``, and ``'function'``.
 38
 39   .. method:: get_id()
 40
 41      Return the table's identifier.
 42
 43   .. method:: get_name()
 44
 45      Return the table's name.  This is the name of the class if the table is
 46      for a class, the name of the function if the table is for a function, or
 47      ``'top'`` if the table is global (:meth:`get_type` returns ``'module'``).
 48
 49   .. method:: get_lineno()
 50
 51      Return the number of the first line in the block this table represents.
 52
 53   .. method:: is_optimized()
 54
 55      Return ``True`` if the locals in this table can be optimized.
 56
 57   .. method:: is_nested()
 58
 59      Return ``True`` if the block is a nested class or function.
 60
 61   .. method:: has_children()
 62
 63      Return ``True`` if the block has nested namespaces within it.  These can
 64      be obtained with :meth:`get_children`.
 65
 66   .. method:: has_exec()
 67
 68      Return ``True`` if the block uses ``exec``.
 69
 70   .. method:: has_import_start()
 71
 72      Return ``True`` if the block uses a starred from-import.
 73
 74   .. method:: get_identifiers()
 75
 76      Return a list of names of symbols in this table.
 77
 78   .. method:: lookup(name)
 79
 80      Lookup *name* in the table and return a :class:`Symbol` instance.
 81
 82   .. method:: get_symbols()
 83
 84      Return a list of :class:`Symbol` instances for names in the table.
 85
 86   .. method:: get_children()
 87
 88      Return a list of the nested symbol tables.
 89
 90
 91.. class:: Function
 92
 93   A namespace for a function or method.  This class inherits
 94   :class:`SymbolTable`.
 95
 96   .. method:: get_parameters()
 97
 98      Return a tuple containing names of parameters to this function.
 99
100   .. method:: get_locals()
101
102      Return a tuple containing names of locals in this function.
103
104   .. method:: get_globals()
105
106      Return a tuple containing names of globals in this function.
107
108   .. method:: get_frees()
109
110      Return a tuple containing names of free variables in this function.
111
112
113.. class:: Class
114
115   A namespace of a class.  This class inherits :class:`SymbolTable`.
116
117   .. method:: get_methods()
118
119      Return a tuple containing the names of methods declared in the class.
120
121
122.. class:: Symbol
123
124   An entry in a :class:`SymbolTable` corresponding to an identifier in the
125   source.  The constructor is not public.
126
127   .. method:: get_name()
128
129      Return the symbol's name.
130
131   .. method:: is_referenced()
132
133      Return ``True`` if the symbol is used in its block.
134
135   .. method:: is_imported()
136
137      Return ``True`` if the symbol is created from an import statement.
138
139   .. method:: is_parameter()
140
141      Return ``True`` if the symbol is a parameter.
142
143   .. method:: is_global()
144
145      Return ``True`` if the symbol is global.
146
147   .. method:: is_local()
148
149      Return ``True`` if the symbol is local to its block.
150
151   .. method:: is_free()
152
153      Return ``True`` if the symbol is referenced in its block, but not assigned
154      to.
155
156   .. method:: is_assigned()
157
158      Return ``True`` if the symbol is assigned to in its block.
159
160   .. method:: is_namespace()
161
162      Return ``True`` if name binding introduces new namespace.
163
164      If the name is used as the target of a function or class statement, this
165      will be true.
166
167      Note that a single name can be bound to multiple objects.  If the result
168      is ``True``, the name may also be bound to other objects, like an int or
169      list, that does not introduce a new namespace.
170
171   .. method:: get_namespaces()
172
173      Return a list of namespaces bound to this name.
174
175   .. method:: get_namespace()
176
177      Return the namespace bound to this name.  If more than one namespace is
178      bound, a :exc:`ValueError` is raised.