[Python-Dev] FW: static analysis of python source

["Martin v. Löwis"]

> I believe the idea is that if you run into a MemoryError, in particular
> on linux (whose allocator will give you a nonzero pointer well beyond
> what was actually available), you can't really trust the state of the
> interpreter, so it is expected that Python will be ending shortly. 
> Forcing the leak (leaving the code as-is) basically encourages the
> interpreter to have more and more errors before the expected, possibly
> inevitable (and perhaps desireable) quitting of the Python interpreter.

I don't think that this is the intention (and if it is, I think this
intention is flawed). If you really need to shut down ASAP, you should
exit(), not raise an exception. Raising MemoryError will exit soon
enough, anyway.

So I don't think the leak is a good thing - but I don't think it is
a bad thing, either, since the code is essentially dead (i.e. it is
fairly unlikely that it ever triggers).

Regards,
Martin