========

Overview

Traceback serialization library.

Free software: BSD license

It allows you to:

Pickle tracebacks and raise exceptions with pickled tracebacks in different processes. This allows better error handling when running code over multiple processes (imagine multiprocessing, billiard, futures, celery etc).
Parse traceback strings and raise with the parsed tracebacks.

Installation

::

pip install tblib

Documentation

.. contents:: :local:

Pickling tracebacks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: The traceback objects that come out are stripped of some attributes (like variables). But you'll be able to raise exceptions with those tracebacks or print them - that should cover 99% of the usecases.

::

>>> from tblib import pickling_support
>>> pickling_support.install()
>>> import pickle, sys
>>> def inner_0():
...     raise Exception('fail')
...
>>> def inner_1():
...     inner_0()
...
>>> def inner_2():
...     inner_1()
...
>>> try:
...     inner_2()
... except:
...     s1 = pickle.dumps(sys.exc_info())
...
>>> len(s1) > 1
True
>>> try:
...     inner_2()
... except:
...     s2 = pickle.dumps(sys.exc_info(), protocol=pickle.HIGHEST_PROTOCOL)
...
>>> len(s2) > 1
True

>>> try:
...     import cPickle
... except ImportError:
...     import pickle as cPickle
>>> try:
...     inner_2()
... except:
...     s3 = cPickle.dumps(sys.exc_info(), protocol=pickle.HIGHEST_PROTOCOL)
...
>>> len(s3) > 1
True

Unpickling ~~~~~~~~~~

::

>>> pickle.loads(s1)
(<...Exception'>, Exception('fail',), <traceback object at ...>)

>>> pickle.loads(s2)
(<...Exception'>, Exception('fail',), <traceback object at ...>)

>>> pickle.loads(s3)
(<...Exception'>, Exception('fail',), <traceback object at ...>)

Raising ~~~~~~~

::

>>> from six import reraise
>>> reraise(*pickle.loads(s1))
Traceback (most recent call last):
  ...
  File "<doctest README.rst[14]>", line 1, in <module>
    reraise(*pickle.loads(s2))
  File "<doctest README.rst[8]>", line 2, in <module>
    inner_2()
  File "<doctest README.rst[5]>", line 2, in inner_2
    inner_1()
  File "<doctest README.rst[4]>", line 2, in inner_1
    inner_0()
  File "<doctest README.rst[3]>", line 2, in inner_0
    raise Exception('fail')
Exception: fail
>>> reraise(*pickle.loads(s2))
Traceback (most recent call last):
  ...
  File "<doctest README.rst[14]>", line 1, in <module>
    reraise(*pickle.loads(s2))
  File "<doctest README.rst[8]>", line 2, in <module>
    inner_2()
  File "<doctest README.rst[5]>", line 2, in inner_2
    inner_1()
  File "<doctest README.rst[4]>", line 2, in inner_1
    inner_0()
  File "<doctest README.rst[3]>", line 2, in inner_0
    raise Exception('fail')
Exception: fail
>>> reraise(*pickle.loads(s3))
Traceback (most recent call last):
  ...
  File "<doctest README.rst[14]>", line 1, in <module>
    reraise(*pickle.loads(s2))
  File "<doctest README.rst[8]>", line 2, in <module>
    inner_2()
  File "<doctest README.rst[5]>", line 2, in inner_2
    inner_1()
  File "<doctest README.rst[4]>", line 2, in inner_1
    inner_0()
  File "<doctest README.rst[3]>", line 2, in inner_0
    raise Exception('fail')
Exception: fail

What if we have a local stack, does it show correctly ?

Yes it does::

>>> exc_info = pickle.loads(s3)
>>> def local_0():
...     reraise(*exc_info)
...
>>> def local_1():
...     local_0()
...
>>> def local_2():
...     local_1()
...
>>> local_2()
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "...doctest.py", line ..., in __run
    compileflags, 1) in test.globs
  File "<doctest README.rst[24]>", line 1, in <module>
    local_2()
  File "<doctest README.rst[23]>", line 2, in local_2
    local_1()
  File "<doctest README.rst[22]>", line 2, in local_1
    local_0()
  File "<doctest README.rst[21]>", line 2, in local_0
    reraise(*exc_info)
  File "<doctest README.rst[11]>", line 2, in <module>
    inner_2()
  File "<doctest README.rst[5]>", line 2, in inner_2
    inner_1()
  File "<doctest README.rst[4]>", line 2, in inner_1
    inner_0()
  File "<doctest README.rst[3]>", line 2, in inner_0
    raise Exception('fail')
Exception: fail

It also supports more contrived scenarios

Like tracebacks with syntax errors::

>>> from tblib import Traceback
>>> from examples import bad_syntax
>>> try:
...     bad_syntax()
... except:
...     et, ev, tb = sys.exc_info()
...     tb = Traceback(tb)
...
>>> reraise(et, ev, tb.as_traceback())
Traceback (most recent call last):
  ...
  File "<doctest README.rst[58]>", line 1, in <module>
    reraise(et, ev, tb.as_traceback())
  File "<doctest README.rst[57]>", line 2, in <module>
    bad_syntax()
  File "...tests...examples.py", line 18, in bad_syntax
    import badsyntax
  File "...tests...badsyntax.py", line 5
    is very bad
     ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

Or other import failures::

>>> from examples import bad_module
>>> try:
...     bad_module()
... except:
...     et, ev, tb = sys.exc_info()
...     tb = Traceback(tb)
...
>>> reraise(et, ev, tb.as_traceback())
Traceback (most recent call last):
  ...
  File "<doctest README.rst[61]>", line 1, in <module>
    reraise(et, ev, tb.as_traceback())
  File "<doctest README.rst[60]>", line 2, in <module>
    bad_module()
  File "...tests...examples.py", line 23, in bad_module
    import badmodule
  File "...tests...badmodule.py", line 3, in <module>
    raise Exception("boom!")
Exception: boom!

Reference ~~~~~~~~~

tblib.Traceback

It is used by the pickling_support. You can use it too if you want more flexibility::

>>> from tblib import Traceback
>>> try:
...     inner_2()
... except:
...     et, ev, tb = sys.exc_info()
...     tb = Traceback(tb)
...
>>> reraise(et, ev, tb.as_traceback())
Traceback (most recent call last):
  ...
  File "<doctest README.rst[21]>", line 6, in <module>
    reraise(et, ev, tb.as_traceback())
  File "<doctest README.rst[21]>", line 2, in <module>
    inner_2()
  File "<doctest README.rst[5]>", line 2, in inner_2
    inner_1()
  File "<doctest README.rst[4]>", line 2, in inner_1
    inner_0()
  File "<doctest README.rst[3]>", line 2, in inner_0
    raise Exception('fail')
Exception: fail

tblib.Traceback.to_dict


You can use the ``to_dict`` method and the ``from_dict`` classmethod to
convert a Traceback into and from a dictionary serializable by the stdlib
json.JSONDecoder::

    >>> import json
    >>> from pprint import pprint
    >>> try:
    ...     inner_2()
    ... except:
    ...     et, ev, tb = sys.exc_info()
    ...     tb = Traceback(tb)
    ...     tb_dict = tb.to_dict()
    ...     pprint(tb_dict)
    {'tb_frame': {'f_code': {'co_filename': '<doctest README.rst[37]>',
                             'co_name': '<module>'},
                  'f_globals': {'__name__': '__main__'}},
     'tb_lineno': 2,
     'tb_next': {'tb_frame': {'f_code': {'co_filename': ...
                                         'co_name': 'inner_2'},
                              'f_globals': {'__name__': '__main__'}},
                 'tb_lineno': 2,
                 'tb_next': {'tb_frame': {'f_code': {'co_filename': ...
                                                     'co_name': 'inner_1'},
                                          'f_globals': {'__name__': '__main__'}},
                             'tb_lineno': 2,
                             'tb_next': {'tb_frame': {'f_code': {'co_filename': ...
                                                                 'co_name': 'inner_0'},
                                                      'f_globals': {'__name__': '__main__'}},
                                         'tb_lineno': 2,
                                         'tb_next': None}}}}

tblib.Traceback.from_dict
`

Building on the previous example::

>>> tb_json = json.dumps(tb_dict)
>>> tb = Traceback.from_dict(json.loads(tb_json))
>>> reraise(et, ev, tb.as_traceback())
Traceback (most recent call last):
  ...
  File "<doctest README.rst[21]>", line 6, in <module>
    reraise(et, ev, tb.as_traceback())
  File "<doctest README.rst[21]>", line 2, in <module>
    inner_2()
  File "<doctest README.rst[5]>", line 2, in inner_2
    inner_1()
  File "<doctest README.rst[4]>", line 2, in inner_1
    inner_0()
  File "<doctest README.rst[3]>", line 2, in inner_0
    raise Exception('fail')
Exception: fail

tblib.Traceback.from_string


::

    >>> tb = Traceback.from_string("""
    ... File "skipped.py", line 123, in func_123
    ... Traceback (most recent call last):
    ...   File "tests/examples.py", line 2, in func_a
    ...     func_b()
    ...   File "tests/examples.py", line 6, in func_b
    ...     func_c()
    ...   File "tests/examples.py", line 10, in func_c
    ...     func_d()
    ...   File "tests/examples.py", line 14, in func_d
    ... Doesn't: matter
    ... """)
    >>> reraise(et, ev, tb.as_traceback())
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      ...
      File "<doctest README.rst[42]>", line 6, in <module>
        reraise(et, ev, tb.as_traceback())
      File "...examples.py", line 2, in func_a
        func_b()
      File "...examples.py", line 6, in func_b
        func_c()
      File "...examples.py", line 10, in func_c
        func_d()
      File "...examples.py", line 14, in func_d
        raise Exception("Guessing time !")
    Exception: fail


If you use the ``strict=False`` option then parsing is a bit more lax::

    >>> tb = Traceback.from_string("""
    ... File "bogus.py", line 123, in bogus
    ... Traceback (most recent call last):
    ...  File "tests/examples.py", line 2, in func_a
    ...   func_b()
    ...    File "tests/examples.py", line 6, in func_b
    ...     func_c()
    ...    File "tests/examples.py", line 10, in func_c
    ...   func_d()
    ...  File "tests/examples.py", line 14, in func_d
    ... Doesn't: matter
    ... """, strict=False)
    >>> reraise(et, ev, tb.as_traceback())
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      ...
      File "<doctest README.rst[42]>", line 6, in <module>
        reraise(et, ev, tb.as_traceback())
      File "bogus.py", line 123, in bogus
      File "...examples.py", line 2, in func_a
        func_b()
      File "...examples.py", line 6, in func_b
        func_c()
      File "...examples.py", line 10, in func_c
        func_d()
      File "...examples.py", line 14, in func_d
        raise Exception("Guessing time !")
    Exception: fail

tblib.decorators.return_error
-----------------------------

::

    >>> from tblib.decorators import return_error
    >>> inner_2r = return_error(inner_2)
    >>> e = inner_2r()
    >>> e
    <tblib.decorators.Error object at ...>
    >>> e.reraise()
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      ...
      File "<doctest README.rst[26]>", line 1, in <module>
        e.reraise()
      File "...tblib...decorators.py", line 19, in reraise
        reraise(self.exc_type, self.exc_value, self.traceback)
      File "...tblib...decorators.py", line 25, in return_exceptions_wrapper
        return func(*args, **kwargs)
      File "<doctest README.rst[5]>", line 2, in inner_2
        inner_1()
      File "<doctest README.rst[4]>", line 2, in inner_1
        inner_0()
      File "<doctest README.rst[3]>", line 2, in inner_0
        raise Exception('fail')
    Exception: fail

How's this useful ? Imagine you're using multiprocessing like this::

    >>> import traceback
    >>> from multiprocessing import Pool
    >>> from examples import func_a
    >>> if sys.version_info[:2] >= (3, 4):
    ...     import multiprocessing.pool
    ...     # Undo the fix for http://bugs.python.org/issue13831 so that we can see the effects of our change.
    ...     # because Python 3.4 will show the remote traceback (but as a string sadly)
    ...     multiprocessing.pool.ExceptionWithTraceback = lambda e, t: e
    >>> pool = Pool()
    >>> try:
    ...     for i in pool.map(func_a, range(5)):
    ...         print(i)
    ... except:
    ...     print(traceback.format_exc())
    ...
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "<doctest README.rst[...]>", line 2, in <module>
        for i in pool.map(func_a, range(5)):
      File "...multiprocessing...pool.py", line ..., in map
        ...
      File "...multiprocessing...pool.py", line ..., in get
        ...
    Exception: Guessing time !
    <BLANKLINE>
    >>> pool.terminate()

Not very useful is it? Let's sort this out::

    >>> from tblib.decorators import apply_with_return_error, Error
    >>> from itertools import repeat
    >>> pool = Pool()
    >>> try:
    ...     for i in pool.map(apply_with_return_error, zip(repeat(func_a), range(5))):
    ...         if isinstance(i, Error):
    ...             i.reraise()
    ...         else:
    ...             print(i)
    ... except:
    ...     print(traceback.format_exc())
    ...
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "<doctest README.rst[...]>", line 4, in <module>
        i.reraise()
      File "...tblib...decorators.py", line ..., in reraise
        reraise(self.exc_type, self.exc_value, self.traceback)
      File "...tblib...decorators.py", line ..., in return_exceptions_wrapper
        return func(*args, **kwargs)
      File "...tblib...decorators.py", line ..., in apply_with_return_error
        return args[0](*args[1:])
      File "...examples.py", line 2, in func_a
        func_b()
      File "...examples.py", line 6, in func_b
        func_c()
      File "...examples.py", line 10, in func_c
        func_d()
      File "...examples.py", line 14, in func_d
        raise Exception("Guessing time !")
    Exception: Guessing time !
    <BLANKLINE>
    >>> pool.terminate()

Much better !

What if we have a local call stack ?
````````

::

>>> def local_0():
...     pool = Pool()
...     for i in pool.map(apply_with_return_error, zip(repeat(func_a), range(5))):
...         if isinstance(i, Error):
...             i.reraise()
...         else:
...             print(i)
...
>>> def local_1():
...     local_0()
...
>>> def local_2():
...     local_1()
...
>>> try:
...     local_2()
... except:
...     print(traceback.format_exc())
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<doctest README.rst[...]>", line 2, in <module>
    local_2()
  File "<doctest README.rst[...]>", line 2, in local_2
    local_1()
  File "<doctest README.rst[...]>", line 2, in local_1
    local_0()
  File "<doctest README.rst[...]>", line 5, in local_0
    i.reraise()
  File "...tblib...decorators.py", line 20, in reraise
    reraise(self.exc_type, self.exc_value, self.traceback)
  File "...tblib...decorators.py", line 27, in return_exceptions_wrapper
    return func(*args, **kwargs)
  File "...tblib...decorators.py", line 47, in apply_with_return_error
    return args[0](*args[1:])
  File "...tests...examples.py", line 2, in func_a
    func_b()
  File "...tests...examples.py", line 6, in func_b
    func_c()
  File "...tests...examples.py", line 10, in func_c
    func_d()
  File "...tests...examples.py", line 14, in func_d
    raise Exception("Guessing time !")
Exception: Guessing time !
<BLANKLINE>

Credits

mitsuhiko/jinja2 <https://github.com/mitsuhiko/jinja2>_ for figuring a way to create traceback objects.

Changelog

1.3.0 (2016-03-08) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Added Traceback.from_string.

1.2.0 (2015-12-18) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fixed handling for tracebacks from generators and other internal improvements and optimizations. Contributed by DRayX in #10 <https://github.com/ionelmc/python-tblib/issues/10>_ and #11 <https://github.com/ionelmc/python-tblib/pull/11>_.

1.1.0 (2015-07-27) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Added support for Python 2.6. Contributed by Arcadiy Ivanov in #8 <https://github.com/ionelmc/python-tblib/pull/8>_.

1.0.0 (2015-03-30) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Added to_dict method and from_dict classmethod on Tracebacks. Contributed by beckjake in #5 <https://github.com/ionelmc/python-tblib/pull/5>_.