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451 lines
16 KiB
ReStructuredText
=======================
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Extending/Embedding FAQ
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=======================
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.. only:: html
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.. contents::
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.. highlight:: c
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.. XXX need review for Python 3.
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Can I create my own functions in C?
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-----------------------------------
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Yes, you can create built-in modules containing functions, variables, exceptions
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and even new types in C. This is explained in the document
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:ref:`extending-index`.
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Most intermediate or advanced Python books will also cover this topic.
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Can I create my own functions in C++?
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-------------------------------------
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Yes, using the C compatibility features found in C++. Place ``extern "C" {
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... }`` around the Python include files and put ``extern "C"`` before each
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function that is going to be called by the Python interpreter. Global or static
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C++ objects with constructors are probably not a good idea.
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.. _c-wrapper-software:
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Writing C is hard; are there any alternatives?
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----------------------------------------------
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There are a number of alternatives to writing your own C extensions, depending
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on what you're trying to do.
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.. XXX make sure these all work
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`Cython <http://cython.org>`_ and its relative `Pyrex
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<http://www.cosc.canterbury.ac.nz/~greg/python/Pyrex/>`_ are compilers
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that accept a slightly modified form of Python and generate the corresponding
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C code. Cython and Pyrex make it possible to write an extension without having
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to learn Python's C API.
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If you need to interface to some C or C++ library for which no Python extension
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currently exists, you can try wrapping the library's data types and functions
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with a tool such as `SWIG <http://www.swig.org>`_. `SIP
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<http://www.riverbankcomputing.co.uk/software/sip/>`__, `CXX
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<http://cxx.sourceforge.net/>`_ `Boost
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<http://www.boost.org/libs/python/doc/index.html>`_, or `Weave
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<http://www.scipy.org/Weave>`_ are also alternatives for wrapping
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C++ libraries.
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How can I execute arbitrary Python statements from C?
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-----------------------------------------------------
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The highest-level function to do this is :c:func:`PyRun_SimpleString` which takes
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a single string argument to be executed in the context of the module
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``__main__`` and returns 0 for success and -1 when an exception occurred
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(including ``SyntaxError``). If you want more control, use
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:c:func:`PyRun_String`; see the source for :c:func:`PyRun_SimpleString` in
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``Python/pythonrun.c``.
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How can I evaluate an arbitrary Python expression from C?
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---------------------------------------------------------
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Call the function :c:func:`PyRun_String` from the previous question with the
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start symbol :c:data:`Py_eval_input`; it parses an expression, evaluates it and
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returns its value.
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How do I extract C values from a Python object?
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-----------------------------------------------
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That depends on the object's type. If it's a tuple, :c:func:`PyTuple_Size`
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returns its length and :c:func:`PyTuple_GetItem` returns the item at a specified
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index. Lists have similar functions, :c:func:`PyListSize` and
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:c:func:`PyList_GetItem`.
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For bytes, :c:func:`PyBytes_Size` returns its length and
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:c:func:`PyBytes_AsStringAndSize` provides a pointer to its value and its
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length. Note that Python bytes objects may contain null bytes so C's
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:c:func:`strlen` should not be used.
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To test the type of an object, first make sure it isn't *NULL*, and then use
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:c:func:`PyBytes_Check`, :c:func:`PyTuple_Check`, :c:func:`PyList_Check`, etc.
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There is also a high-level API to Python objects which is provided by the
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so-called 'abstract' interface -- read ``Include/abstract.h`` for further
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details. It allows interfacing with any kind of Python sequence using calls
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like :c:func:`PySequence_Length`, :c:func:`PySequence_GetItem`, etc.) as well
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as many other useful protocols such as numbers (:c:func:`PyNumber_Index` et.
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al.) and mappings in the PyMapping APIs.
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How do I use Py_BuildValue() to create a tuple of arbitrary length?
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
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You can't. Use :c:func:`PyTuple_Pack` instead.
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How do I call an object's method from C?
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----------------------------------------
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The :c:func:`PyObject_CallMethod` function can be used to call an arbitrary
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method of an object. The parameters are the object, the name of the method to
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call, a format string like that used with :c:func:`Py_BuildValue`, and the
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argument values::
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PyObject *
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PyObject_CallMethod(PyObject *object, char *method_name,
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char *arg_format, ...);
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This works for any object that has methods -- whether built-in or user-defined.
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You are responsible for eventually :c:func:`Py_DECREF`\ 'ing the return value.
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To call, e.g., a file object's "seek" method with arguments 10, 0 (assuming the
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file object pointer is "f")::
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res = PyObject_CallMethod(f, "seek", "(ii)", 10, 0);
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if (res == NULL) {
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... an exception occurred ...
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}
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else {
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Py_DECREF(res);
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}
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Note that since :c:func:`PyObject_CallObject` *always* wants a tuple for the
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argument list, to call a function without arguments, pass "()" for the format,
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and to call a function with one argument, surround the argument in parentheses,
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e.g. "(i)".
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How do I catch the output from PyErr_Print() (or anything that prints to stdout/stderr)?
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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In Python code, define an object that supports the ``write()`` method. Assign
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this object to :data:`sys.stdout` and :data:`sys.stderr`. Call print_error, or
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just allow the standard traceback mechanism to work. Then, the output will go
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wherever your ``write()`` method sends it.
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The easiest way to do this is to use the :class:`io.StringIO` class::
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>>> import io, sys
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>>> sys.stdout = io.StringIO()
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>>> print('foo')
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>>> print('hello world!')
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>>> sys.stderr.write(sys.stdout.getvalue())
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foo
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hello world!
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A custom object to do the same would look like this::
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>>> import io, sys
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>>> class StdoutCatcher(io.TextIOBase):
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... def __init__(self):
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... self.data = []
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... def write(self, stuff):
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... self.data.append(stuff)
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...
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>>> import sys
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>>> sys.stdout = StdoutCatcher()
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>>> print('foo')
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>>> print('hello world!')
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>>> sys.stderr.write(''.join(sys.stdout.data))
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foo
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hello world!
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How do I access a module written in Python from C?
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--------------------------------------------------
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You can get a pointer to the module object as follows::
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module = PyImport_ImportModule("<modulename>");
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If the module hasn't been imported yet (i.e. it is not yet present in
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:data:`sys.modules`), this initializes the module; otherwise it simply returns
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the value of ``sys.modules["<modulename>"]``. Note that it doesn't enter the
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module into any namespace -- it only ensures it has been initialized and is
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stored in :data:`sys.modules`.
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You can then access the module's attributes (i.e. any name defined in the
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module) as follows::
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attr = PyObject_GetAttrString(module, "<attrname>");
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Calling :c:func:`PyObject_SetAttrString` to assign to variables in the module
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also works.
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How do I interface to C++ objects from Python?
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----------------------------------------------
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Depending on your requirements, there are many approaches. To do this manually,
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begin by reading :ref:`the "Extending and Embedding" document
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<extending-index>`. Realize that for the Python run-time system, there isn't a
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whole lot of difference between C and C++ -- so the strategy of building a new
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Python type around a C structure (pointer) type will also work for C++ objects.
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For C++ libraries, see :ref:`c-wrapper-software`.
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I added a module using the Setup file and the make fails; why?
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--------------------------------------------------------------
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Setup must end in a newline, if there is no newline there, the build process
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fails. (Fixing this requires some ugly shell script hackery, and this bug is so
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minor that it doesn't seem worth the effort.)
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How do I debug an extension?
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----------------------------
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When using GDB with dynamically loaded extensions, you can't set a breakpoint in
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your extension until your extension is loaded.
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In your ``.gdbinit`` file (or interactively), add the command::
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br _PyImport_LoadDynamicModule
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Then, when you run GDB::
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$ gdb /local/bin/python
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gdb) run myscript.py
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gdb) continue # repeat until your extension is loaded
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gdb) finish # so that your extension is loaded
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gdb) br myfunction.c:50
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gdb) continue
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I want to compile a Python module on my Linux system, but some files are missing. Why?
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Most packaged versions of Python don't include the
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:file:`/usr/lib/python2.{x}/config/` directory, which contains various files
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required for compiling Python extensions.
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For Red Hat, install the python-devel RPM to get the necessary files.
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For Debian, run ``apt-get install python-dev``.
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What does "SystemError: _PyImport_FixupExtension: module yourmodule not loaded" mean?
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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This means that you have created an extension module named "yourmodule", but
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your module init function does not initialize with that name.
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Every module init function will have a line similar to::
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module = Py_InitModule("yourmodule", yourmodule_functions);
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If the string passed to this function is not the same name as your extension
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module, the :exc:`SystemError` exception will be raised.
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How do I tell "incomplete input" from "invalid input"?
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------------------------------------------------------
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Sometimes you want to emulate the Python interactive interpreter's behavior,
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where it gives you a continuation prompt when the input is incomplete (e.g. you
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typed the start of an "if" statement or you didn't close your parentheses or
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triple string quotes), but it gives you a syntax error message immediately when
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the input is invalid.
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In Python you can use the :mod:`codeop` module, which approximates the parser's
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behavior sufficiently. IDLE uses this, for example.
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The easiest way to do it in C is to call :c:func:`PyRun_InteractiveLoop` (perhaps
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in a separate thread) and let the Python interpreter handle the input for
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you. You can also set the :c:func:`PyOS_ReadlineFunctionPointer` to point at your
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custom input function. See ``Modules/readline.c`` and ``Parser/myreadline.c``
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for more hints.
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However sometimes you have to run the embedded Python interpreter in the same
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thread as your rest application and you can't allow the
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:c:func:`PyRun_InteractiveLoop` to stop while waiting for user input. The one
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solution then is to call :c:func:`PyParser_ParseString` and test for ``e.error``
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equal to ``E_EOF``, which means the input is incomplete). Here's a sample code
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fragment, untested, inspired by code from Alex Farber::
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#include <Python.h>
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#include <node.h>
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#include <errcode.h>
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#include <grammar.h>
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#include <parsetok.h>
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#include <compile.h>
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int testcomplete(char *code)
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/* code should end in \n */
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/* return -1 for error, 0 for incomplete, 1 for complete */
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{
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node *n;
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perrdetail e;
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n = PyParser_ParseString(code, &_PyParser_Grammar,
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Py_file_input, &e);
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if (n == NULL) {
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if (e.error == E_EOF)
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return 0;
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return -1;
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}
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PyNode_Free(n);
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return 1;
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}
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Another solution is trying to compile the received string with
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:c:func:`Py_CompileString`. If it compiles without errors, try to execute the
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returned code object by calling :c:func:`PyEval_EvalCode`. Otherwise save the
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input for later. If the compilation fails, find out if it's an error or just
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more input is required - by extracting the message string from the exception
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tuple and comparing it to the string "unexpected EOF while parsing". Here is a
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complete example using the GNU readline library (you may want to ignore
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**SIGINT** while calling readline())::
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#include <stdio.h>
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#include <readline.h>
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#include <Python.h>
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#include <object.h>
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#include <compile.h>
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#include <eval.h>
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int main (int argc, char* argv[])
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{
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int i, j, done = 0; /* lengths of line, code */
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char ps1[] = ">>> ";
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char ps2[] = "... ";
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char *prompt = ps1;
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char *msg, *line, *code = NULL;
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PyObject *src, *glb, *loc;
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PyObject *exc, *val, *trb, *obj, *dum;
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Py_Initialize ();
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loc = PyDict_New ();
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glb = PyDict_New ();
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PyDict_SetItemString (glb, "__builtins__", PyEval_GetBuiltins ());
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while (!done)
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{
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line = readline (prompt);
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if (NULL == line) /* CTRL-D pressed */
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{
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done = 1;
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}
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else
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{
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i = strlen (line);
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if (i > 0)
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add_history (line); /* save non-empty lines */
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if (NULL == code) /* nothing in code yet */
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j = 0;
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else
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j = strlen (code);
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code = realloc (code, i + j + 2);
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if (NULL == code) /* out of memory */
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exit (1);
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if (0 == j) /* code was empty, so */
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code[0] = '\0'; /* keep strncat happy */
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strncat (code, line, i); /* append line to code */
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code[i + j] = '\n'; /* append '\n' to code */
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code[i + j + 1] = '\0';
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src = Py_CompileString (code, "<stdin>", Py_single_input);
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if (NULL != src) /* compiled just fine - */
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{
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if (ps1 == prompt || /* ">>> " or */
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'\n' == code[i + j - 1]) /* "... " and double '\n' */
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{ /* so execute it */
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dum = PyEval_EvalCode (src, glb, loc);
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Py_XDECREF (dum);
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Py_XDECREF (src);
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free (code);
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code = NULL;
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if (PyErr_Occurred ())
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PyErr_Print ();
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prompt = ps1;
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}
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} /* syntax error or E_EOF? */
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else if (PyErr_ExceptionMatches (PyExc_SyntaxError))
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{
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PyErr_Fetch (&exc, &val, &trb); /* clears exception! */
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if (PyArg_ParseTuple (val, "sO", &msg, &obj) &&
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!strcmp (msg, "unexpected EOF while parsing")) /* E_EOF */
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{
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Py_XDECREF (exc);
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Py_XDECREF (val);
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Py_XDECREF (trb);
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prompt = ps2;
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}
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else /* some other syntax error */
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{
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PyErr_Restore (exc, val, trb);
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PyErr_Print ();
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free (code);
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code = NULL;
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prompt = ps1;
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}
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}
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else /* some non-syntax error */
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{
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PyErr_Print ();
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free (code);
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code = NULL;
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prompt = ps1;
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}
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free (line);
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}
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}
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Py_XDECREF(glb);
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Py_XDECREF(loc);
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Py_Finalize();
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exit(0);
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}
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How do I find undefined g++ symbols __builtin_new or __pure_virtual?
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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To dynamically load g++ extension modules, you must recompile Python, relink it
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using g++ (change LINKCC in the Python Modules Makefile), and link your
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extension module using g++ (e.g., ``g++ -shared -o mymodule.so mymodule.o``).
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Can I create an object class with some methods implemented in C and others in Python (e.g. through inheritance)?
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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In Python 2.2, you can inherit from built-in classes such as :class:`int`,
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:class:`list`, :class:`dict`, etc.
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The Boost Python Library (BPL, http://www.boost.org/libs/python/doc/index.html)
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provides a way of doing this from C++ (i.e. you can inherit from an extension
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class written in C++ using the BPL).
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