The reason why there was the PyInt_AS_LONG macro is that it is very simple and efficient. It never fails, because the value of the int object always fits in the C long. PyInt_AsLong is much slower. If you know that the object is int, you can use PyInt_AS_LONG for performance and simplicity.

In contrary, converting the long object to the C long value requires a loop and it can overflow. There is no reason to implement it as a macro. You can use the PyLong_AsLong function.