[CentralOH] Borland C++ Builder and Python

[William McVey]

On Thu, 2009-02-26 at 18:25 -0500, Mark Erbaugh wrote:
> I have taken over maintenance of a program written in Borland C++
> Builder 5.0. Eventually, I would like to rewrite the whole thing in
> Python, but in the meantime, is there a way combine the two in the same
> executable so I can add new pieces in Python?  At one time there was
> work on a component that would allow you to embed Python in Delphi (and
> presumably C++ builder).

I really don't know how difficult it will be to use Borland C++, but I
do know there are some tools for interfacing C++ code into/from python
(and possibly vice-versa). Check out Boost.Python
http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_38_0/index.html
http://www.boostpro.com/writing/bpl.html

> I've never compiled Python from source, and I don't even know how hard
> it would be to compile with Borland C++.
> 
> The thing I really need is Python data structures such as lists and
> dictionaries. Is a library for C++ that provides data structures such as
> these?

I'm no C++ programmer, but it was my impression that these kinds of
basic data structures would be covered by the C++ Standard Template
Library (STL). Even if Borland C++ doesn't ship with STL, I am pretty
sure there are freely available implementations you could incorporate.
Using the native data structures of your implementation language seems
like a better approach than to try and bridge two languages just to get
something as basic as a container.
      * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Template_Library
      * http://www.sgi.com/tech/stl/
      * http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/stl/

  -- William