[section Pickle support]
[section Introduction]
Pickle is a Python module for object serialization, also known as persistence, marshalling, or flattening.

It is often necessary to save and restore the contents of an object to a file. One approach to this problem is to write a pair of functions that read and write data from a file in a special format. A powerful alternative approach is to use Python's pickle module. Exploiting Python's ability for introspection, the pickle module recursively converts nearly arbitrary Python objects into a stream of bytes that can be written to a file.

The Boost Python Library supports the pickle module through the interface as described in detail in the [@http://www.python.org/doc/current/lib/module-pickle.html Python Library Reference for pickle]. This interface involves the special methods `__getinitargs__`, `__getstate__` and `__setstate__` as described in the following. Note that `Boost.Python` is also fully compatible with Python's cPickle module.
[endsect]
[section The Pickle Interface]
At the user level, the Boost.Python pickle interface involves three special methods:
[variablelist
[[__getinitargs__][When an instance of a Boost.Python extension class is pickled, the pickler tests if the instance has a `__getinitargs__` method. This method must return a Python `tuple` (it is most convenient to use a [link object_wrappers.boost_python_tuple_hpp.class_tuple `boost::python::tuple`]). When the instance is restored by the unpickler, the contents of this tuple are used as the arguments for the class constructor.

If `__getinitargs__` is not defined, `pickle.load` will call the constructor (`__init__`) without arguments; i.e., the object must be default-constructible.]]
[[__getstate__][When an instance of a `Boost.Python` extension class is pickled, the pickler tests if the instance has a `__getstate__` method. This method should return a Python object representing the state of the instance.]]
[[__setstate__][When an instance of a `Boost.Python` extension class is restored by the unpickler (`pickle.load`), it is first constructed using the result of `__getinitargs__` as arguments (see above). Subsequently the unpickler tests if the new instance has a `__setstate__` method. If so, this method is called with the result of `__getstate__` (a Python object) as the argument.]]
]

The three special methods described above may be `.def()`\ 'ed individually by the user. However, `Boost.Python` provides an easy to use high-level interface via the `boost::python::pickle_suite` class that also enforces consistency: `__getstate__` and `__setstate__` must be defined as pairs. Use of this interface is demonstrated by the following examples. 
[endsect]
[section Example]
There are three files in `python/test` that show how to provide pickle support.
[section pickle1.cpp]
The C++ class in this example can be fully restored by passing the appropriate argument to the constructor. Therefore it is sufficient to define the pickle interface method `__getinitargs__`. This is done in the following way:
Definition of the C++ pickle function:
``
struct world_pickle_suite : boost::python::pickle_suite
{
  static
  boost::python::tuple
  getinitargs(world const& w)
  {
      return boost::python::make_tuple(w.get_country());
  }
};
``
Establishing the Python binding:
``
class_<world>("world", args<const std::string&>())
      // ...
      .def_pickle(world_pickle_suite())
      // ...
``
[endsect]
[section pickle2.cpp]
The C++ class in this example contains member data that cannot be restored by any of the constructors. Therefore it is necessary to provide the `__getstate__`/`__setstate__` pair of pickle interface methods: 

Definition of the C++ pickle functions: 
``
struct world_pickle_suite : boost::python::pickle_suite
  {
    static
    boost::python::tuple
    getinitargs(const world& w)
    {
      // ...
    }

    static
    boost::python::tuple
    getstate(const world& w)
    {
      // ...
    }

    static
    void
    setstate(world& w, boost::python::tuple state)
    {
      // ...
    }
  };
``
Establishing the Python bindings for the entire suite: 
``
      class_<world>("world", args<const std::string&>())
          // ...
          .def_pickle(world_pickle_suite())
          // ...

``

For simplicity, the `__dict__` is not included in the result of `__getstate__`. This is not generally recommended, but a valid approach if it is anticipated that the object's `__dict__` will always be empty. Note that the safety guard described below will catch the cases where this assumption is violated.
[endsect]
[section pickle3.cpp]
This example is similar to pickle2.cpp. However, the object's `__dict__` is included in the result of `__getstate__`. This requires a little more code but is unavoidable if the object's `__dict__` is not always empty. 
[endsect]
[endsect]
[section Pitfall and Safety Guard]
The pickle protocol described above has an important pitfall that the end user of a Boost.Python extension module might not be aware of:

[*`__getstate__` is defined and the instance's `__dict__` is not empty.]

The author of a `Boost.Python` extension class might provide a `__getstate__` method without considering the possibilities that:
* his class is used in Python as a base class. Most likely the `__dict__` of instances of the derived class needs to be pickled in order to restore the instances correctly.
* the user adds items to the instance's `__dict__` directly. Again, the `__dict__` of the instance then needs to be pickled.

To alert the user to this highly unobvious problem, a safety guard is provided. If `__getstate__` is defined and the instance's `__dict__` is not empty, `Boost.Python` tests if the class has an attribute `__getstate_manages_dict__`. An exception is raised if this attribute is not defined:

``
    RuntimeError: Incomplete pickle support (__getstate_manages_dict__ not set)
``

To resolve this problem, it should first be established that the `__getstate__` and `__setstate__` methods manage the instances's `__dict__` correctly. Note that this can be done either at the C++ or the Python level. Finally, the safety guard should intentionally be overridden. E.g. in C++ (from pickle3.cpp):

``
struct world_pickle_suite : boost::python::pickle_suite
{
  // ...

  static bool getstate_manages_dict() { return true; }
};
``

Alternatively in Python:

``
import your_bpl_module
class your_class(your_bpl_module.your_class):
  __getstate_manages_dict__ = 1
  def __getstate__(self):
    # your code here
  def __setstate__(self, state):
    # your code here

``
[endsect]
[section Practical Advice]

* In `Boost.Python` extension modules with many extension classes, providing complete pickle support for all classes would be a significant overhead. In general complete pickle support should only be implemented for extension classes that will eventually be pickled.
* Avoid using `__getstate__` if the instance can also be reconstructed by way of `__getinitargs__`. This automatically avoids the pitfall described above.
* If `__getstate__` is required, include the instance's `__dict__` in the Python object that is returned.

[endsect]
[section Light-weight alternative: pickle support implemented in Python]
The pickle4.cpp example demonstrates an alternative technique for implementing pickle support. First we direct Boost.Python via the class_::enable_pickling() member function to define only the basic attributes required for pickling:

``
  class_<world>("world", args<const std::string&>())
      // ...
      .enable_pickling()
      // ...
``
This enables the standard Python pickle interface as described in the Python documentation. By "injecting" a `__getinitargs__` method into the definition of the wrapped class we make all instances pickleable:

``
  # import the wrapped world class
  from pickle4_ext import world

  # definition of __getinitargs__
  def world_getinitargs(self):
    return (self.get_country(),)

  # now inject __getinitargs__ (Python is a dynamic language!)
  world.__getinitargs__ = world_getinitargs
``
See also the tutorial section on injecting additional methods from Python. 
[endsect]
[endsect]
