Skipping execution of -with- block
Question:
I am defining a context manager class and I would like to be able to skip the block of code without raising an exception if certain conditions are met during instantiation. For example,
class My_Context(object):
def __init__(self,mode=0):
"""
if mode = 0, proceed as normal
if mode = 1, do not execute block
"""
self.mode=mode
def __enter__(self):
if self.mode==1:
print 'Exiting...'
CODE TO EXIT PREMATURELY
def __exit__(self, type, value, traceback):
print 'Exiting...'
with My_Context(mode=1):
print 'Executing block of codes...'
Answers:
What you’re trying to do isn’t possible, unfortunately. If __enter__
raises an exception, that exception is raised at the with
statement (__exit__
isn’t called). If it doesn’t raise an exception, then the return value is fed to the block and the block executes.
Closest thing I could think of is a flag checked explicitly by the block:
class Break(Exception):
pass
class MyContext(object):
def __init__(self,mode=0):
"""
if mode = 0, proceed as normal
if mode = 1, do not execute block
"""
self.mode=mode
def __enter__(self):
if self.mode==1:
print 'Exiting...'
return self.mode
def __exit__(self, type, value, traceback):
if type is None:
print 'Normal exit...'
return # no exception
if issubclass(type, Break):
return True # suppress exception
print 'Exception exit...'
with MyContext(mode=1) as skip:
if skip: raise Break()
print 'Executing block of codes...'
This also lets you raise Break()
in the middle of a with
block to simulate a normal break
statement.
According to PEP-343, a with
statement translates from:
with EXPR as VAR:
BLOCK
to:
mgr = (EXPR)
exit = type(mgr).__exit__ # Not calling it yet
value = type(mgr).__enter__(mgr)
exc = True
try:
try:
VAR = value # Only if "as VAR" is present
BLOCK
except:
# The exceptional case is handled here
exc = False
if not exit(mgr, *sys.exc_info()):
raise
# The exception is swallowed if exit() returns true
finally:
# The normal and non-local-goto cases are handled here
if exc:
exit(mgr, None, None, None)
As you can see, there is nothing obvious you can do from the call to the __enter__()
method of the context manager that can skip the body (“BLOCK
“) of the with statement.
People have done Python-implementation-specific things, such as manipulating the call stack inside of the __enter__()
, in projects such as withhacks. I recall Alex Martelli posting a very interesting with-hack on stackoverflow a year or two back (don’t recall enough of the post off-hand to search and find it).
But the simple answer to your question / problem is that you cannot do what you’re asking, skipping the body of the with statement, without resorting to so-called “deep magic” (which is not necessarily portable between python implementations). With deep magic, you might be able to do it, but I recommend only doing such things as an exercise in seeing how it might be done, never in “production code”.
If you want an ad-hoc solution that uses the ideas from withhacks (specifically from AnonymousBlocksInPython), this will work:
import sys
import inspect
class My_Context(object):
def __init__(self,mode=0):
"""
if mode = 0, proceed as normal
if mode = 1, do not execute block
"""
self.mode=mode
def __enter__(self):
if self.mode==1:
print 'Met block-skipping criterion ...'
# Do some magic
sys.settrace(lambda *args, **keys: None)
frame = inspect.currentframe(1)
frame.f_trace = self.trace
def trace(self, frame, event, arg):
raise
def __exit__(self, type, value, traceback):
print 'Exiting context ...'
return True
Compare the following:
with My_Context(mode=1):
print 'Executing block of code ...'
with
with My_Context(mode=0):
print 'Executing block of code ... '
A python 3 update to the hack mentioned by other answers from
withhacks (specifically from AnonymousBlocksInPython):
class SkipWithBlock(Exception):
pass
class SkipContextManager:
def __init__(self, skip):
self.skip = skip
def __enter__(self):
if self.skip:
sys.settrace(lambda *args, **keys: None)
frame = sys._getframe(1)
frame.f_trace = self.trace
def trace(self, frame, event, arg):
raise SkipWithBlock()
def __exit__(self, type, value, traceback):
if type is None:
return # No exception
if issubclass(type, SkipWithBlock):
return True # Suppress special SkipWithBlock exception
with SkipContextManager(skip=True):
print('In the with block') # Won't be called
print('Out of the with block')
As mentioned before by joe, this is a hack that should be avoided:
The method trace() is called when a new local scope is entered, i.e. right when the code in your with block begins. When an exception is raised here it gets caught by exit(). That’s how this hack works. I should add that this is very much a hack and should not be relied upon. The magical sys.settrace() is not actually a part of the language definition, it just happens to be in CPython. Also, debuggers rely on sys.settrace() to do their job, so using it yourself interferes with that. There are many reasons why you shouldn’t use this code. Just FYI.
Another slightly hacky option makes use of exec
. This is handy because it can be modified to do arbitrary things (e.g. memoization of context-blocks):
from contextlib import contextmanager
@contextmanager
def skippable_context_exec(skip):
SKIP_STRING = 'Skipping Context Exception'
old_value = skippable_context_exec.is_execed if hasattr(skippable_context_exec, 'is_execed') else False
skippable_context_exec.is_execed=False
command = "skippable_context_exec.is_execed=True; "+("raise ValueError('{}')".format(SKIP_STRING) if skip else '')
try:
yield command
except ValueError as err:
if SKIP_STRING not in str(err):
raise
finally:
assert skippable_context_exec.is_execed, "You never called exec in your context block."
skippable_context_exec.is_execed = old_value
print('=== Running with skip disabled ===')
with skippable_context_exec(skip=False) as command:
exec(command)
print('Entering this block')
print('... Done')
print('=== Running with skip enabled ===')
with skippable_context_exec(skip=True) as command:
exec(command)
print('... But this will never be printed')
print('... Done')
Would be nice to have something that gets rid of the exec without weird side effects, so if you can think of a way I’m all ears. The current lead answer to this question appears to do that but has some issues.
Based on @Peter’s answer, here’s a version that uses no string manipulations but should work the same way otherwise:
from contextlib import contextmanager
@contextmanager
def skippable_context(skip):
skip_error = ValueError("Skipping Context Exception")
prev_entered = getattr(skippable_context, "entered", False)
skippable_context.entered = False
def command():
skippable_context.entered = True
if skip:
raise skip_error
try:
yield command
except ValueError as err:
if err != skip_error:
raise
finally:
assert skippable_context.entered, "Need to call returned command at least once."
skippable_context.entered = prev_entered
print("=== Running with skip disabled ===")
with skippable_context(skip=False) as command:
command()
print("Entering this block")
print("... Done")
print("=== Running with skip enabled ===")
with skippable_context(skip=True) as command:
command()
raise NotImplementedError("... But this will never be printed")
print("... Done")
Context managers are not the right construct for this. You’re asking for the body to be executed n times, in this case zero or one. If you look at the general case, n where n >= 0, you end up with a for loop:
def do_squares(n):
for i in range(n):
yield i ** 2
for x in do_squares(3):
print('square: ', x)
for x in do_squares(0):
print('this does not print')
In your case, which is more special purpose, and doesn’t require binding to the loop variable:
def should_execute(mode=0):
if mode == 0:
yield
for _ in should_execute(0):
print('this prints')
for _ in should_execute(1):
print('this does not')
I am defining a context manager class and I would like to be able to skip the block of code without raising an exception if certain conditions are met during instantiation. For example,
class My_Context(object):
def __init__(self,mode=0):
"""
if mode = 0, proceed as normal
if mode = 1, do not execute block
"""
self.mode=mode
def __enter__(self):
if self.mode==1:
print 'Exiting...'
CODE TO EXIT PREMATURELY
def __exit__(self, type, value, traceback):
print 'Exiting...'
with My_Context(mode=1):
print 'Executing block of codes...'
What you’re trying to do isn’t possible, unfortunately. If __enter__
raises an exception, that exception is raised at the with
statement (__exit__
isn’t called). If it doesn’t raise an exception, then the return value is fed to the block and the block executes.
Closest thing I could think of is a flag checked explicitly by the block:
class Break(Exception):
pass
class MyContext(object):
def __init__(self,mode=0):
"""
if mode = 0, proceed as normal
if mode = 1, do not execute block
"""
self.mode=mode
def __enter__(self):
if self.mode==1:
print 'Exiting...'
return self.mode
def __exit__(self, type, value, traceback):
if type is None:
print 'Normal exit...'
return # no exception
if issubclass(type, Break):
return True # suppress exception
print 'Exception exit...'
with MyContext(mode=1) as skip:
if skip: raise Break()
print 'Executing block of codes...'
This also lets you raise Break()
in the middle of a with
block to simulate a normal break
statement.
According to PEP-343, a with
statement translates from:
with EXPR as VAR:
BLOCK
to:
mgr = (EXPR)
exit = type(mgr).__exit__ # Not calling it yet
value = type(mgr).__enter__(mgr)
exc = True
try:
try:
VAR = value # Only if "as VAR" is present
BLOCK
except:
# The exceptional case is handled here
exc = False
if not exit(mgr, *sys.exc_info()):
raise
# The exception is swallowed if exit() returns true
finally:
# The normal and non-local-goto cases are handled here
if exc:
exit(mgr, None, None, None)
As you can see, there is nothing obvious you can do from the call to the __enter__()
method of the context manager that can skip the body (“BLOCK
“) of the with statement.
People have done Python-implementation-specific things, such as manipulating the call stack inside of the __enter__()
, in projects such as withhacks. I recall Alex Martelli posting a very interesting with-hack on stackoverflow a year or two back (don’t recall enough of the post off-hand to search and find it).
But the simple answer to your question / problem is that you cannot do what you’re asking, skipping the body of the with statement, without resorting to so-called “deep magic” (which is not necessarily portable between python implementations). With deep magic, you might be able to do it, but I recommend only doing such things as an exercise in seeing how it might be done, never in “production code”.
If you want an ad-hoc solution that uses the ideas from withhacks (specifically from AnonymousBlocksInPython), this will work:
import sys
import inspect
class My_Context(object):
def __init__(self,mode=0):
"""
if mode = 0, proceed as normal
if mode = 1, do not execute block
"""
self.mode=mode
def __enter__(self):
if self.mode==1:
print 'Met block-skipping criterion ...'
# Do some magic
sys.settrace(lambda *args, **keys: None)
frame = inspect.currentframe(1)
frame.f_trace = self.trace
def trace(self, frame, event, arg):
raise
def __exit__(self, type, value, traceback):
print 'Exiting context ...'
return True
Compare the following:
with My_Context(mode=1):
print 'Executing block of code ...'
with
with My_Context(mode=0):
print 'Executing block of code ... '
A python 3 update to the hack mentioned by other answers from
withhacks (specifically from AnonymousBlocksInPython):
class SkipWithBlock(Exception):
pass
class SkipContextManager:
def __init__(self, skip):
self.skip = skip
def __enter__(self):
if self.skip:
sys.settrace(lambda *args, **keys: None)
frame = sys._getframe(1)
frame.f_trace = self.trace
def trace(self, frame, event, arg):
raise SkipWithBlock()
def __exit__(self, type, value, traceback):
if type is None:
return # No exception
if issubclass(type, SkipWithBlock):
return True # Suppress special SkipWithBlock exception
with SkipContextManager(skip=True):
print('In the with block') # Won't be called
print('Out of the with block')
As mentioned before by joe, this is a hack that should be avoided:
The method trace() is called when a new local scope is entered, i.e. right when the code in your with block begins. When an exception is raised here it gets caught by exit(). That’s how this hack works. I should add that this is very much a hack and should not be relied upon. The magical sys.settrace() is not actually a part of the language definition, it just happens to be in CPython. Also, debuggers rely on sys.settrace() to do their job, so using it yourself interferes with that. There are many reasons why you shouldn’t use this code. Just FYI.
Another slightly hacky option makes use of exec
. This is handy because it can be modified to do arbitrary things (e.g. memoization of context-blocks):
from contextlib import contextmanager
@contextmanager
def skippable_context_exec(skip):
SKIP_STRING = 'Skipping Context Exception'
old_value = skippable_context_exec.is_execed if hasattr(skippable_context_exec, 'is_execed') else False
skippable_context_exec.is_execed=False
command = "skippable_context_exec.is_execed=True; "+("raise ValueError('{}')".format(SKIP_STRING) if skip else '')
try:
yield command
except ValueError as err:
if SKIP_STRING not in str(err):
raise
finally:
assert skippable_context_exec.is_execed, "You never called exec in your context block."
skippable_context_exec.is_execed = old_value
print('=== Running with skip disabled ===')
with skippable_context_exec(skip=False) as command:
exec(command)
print('Entering this block')
print('... Done')
print('=== Running with skip enabled ===')
with skippable_context_exec(skip=True) as command:
exec(command)
print('... But this will never be printed')
print('... Done')
Would be nice to have something that gets rid of the exec without weird side effects, so if you can think of a way I’m all ears. The current lead answer to this question appears to do that but has some issues.
Based on @Peter’s answer, here’s a version that uses no string manipulations but should work the same way otherwise:
from contextlib import contextmanager
@contextmanager
def skippable_context(skip):
skip_error = ValueError("Skipping Context Exception")
prev_entered = getattr(skippable_context, "entered", False)
skippable_context.entered = False
def command():
skippable_context.entered = True
if skip:
raise skip_error
try:
yield command
except ValueError as err:
if err != skip_error:
raise
finally:
assert skippable_context.entered, "Need to call returned command at least once."
skippable_context.entered = prev_entered
print("=== Running with skip disabled ===")
with skippable_context(skip=False) as command:
command()
print("Entering this block")
print("... Done")
print("=== Running with skip enabled ===")
with skippable_context(skip=True) as command:
command()
raise NotImplementedError("... But this will never be printed")
print("... Done")
Context managers are not the right construct for this. You’re asking for the body to be executed n times, in this case zero or one. If you look at the general case, n where n >= 0, you end up with a for loop:
def do_squares(n):
for i in range(n):
yield i ** 2
for x in do_squares(3):
print('square: ', x)
for x in do_squares(0):
print('this does not print')
In your case, which is more special purpose, and doesn’t require binding to the loop variable:
def should_execute(mode=0):
if mode == 0:
yield
for _ in should_execute(0):
print('this prints')
for _ in should_execute(1):
print('this does not')