Python Programming/Extending with C++

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Boost.Python is the de facto standard for writing C++ extension modules. Boost.Python comes bundled with the Boost C++ Libraries.

[edit] The C++ source code (hellomodule.cpp)

#include <iostream>
 
using namespace std;
 
void say_hello(const char* name) {
    cout << "Hello " <<  name << "!\n";
}
 
#include <boost/python/module.hpp>
#include <boost/python/def.hpp>
using namespace boost::python;
 
BOOST_PYTHON_MODULE(hello)
{
    def("say_hello", say_hello);
}

[edit] setup.py

#!/usr/bin/env python
 
from distutils.core import setup
from distutils.extension import Extension
 
setup(name="blah",
    ext_modules=[
        Extension("hello", ["hellomodule.cpp"],
        libraries = ["boost_python"])
    ])

Now we can build our module with

python setup.py build

The module `hello.so` will end up in e.g `build/lib.linux-i686-2.4`.

[edit] Using the extension module

Change to the subdirectory where the file `hello.so` resides. In an interactive python session you can use the module as follows.

>>> import hello
>>> hello.say_hello("World")
Hello World!