[C++-sig] Boost.Python code generator

[Nicodemus]

David Abrahams wrote:

>
>I'd like to encourage you to step back and think about the
>implications of where this is going.
>
>You're already getting very close to C++. 
>

Indeed... the more classes that I pass to the interface file, more I see 
that the entire process could be more automated.

>So,
>
>  1. Can you support a model where the user just annotates an existing
>     class declaration with comments, for people who are developing
>     the C++ interface as well as publishing bindings?
>

Pyste was originally written by my colleague, and it used this approach. 
We opted by a interface file in the new version because we find that 
this design is intrusive to the library that will be exported, 
especially with 3rd party libraries. But it is certainly a viable 
solution, so much that this form is already implemented, but supports 
only boost v1.

>  2. Can you support a model where the user just says "export class
>     X", and then describes the /differences/ from some default way of
>     exposing all of X's public interface, perhaps using Pure Python?
>

I think that this is a nice approach: export all methods using some 
default rule, and everything that should not follow this rule must be 
explicitly specified like so.

The only thing (from the top of my head) that couldn't work in a 
automated fashion is functions that return a pointer, since the user 
must specify the call policy. For this cases, what do you think would be 
a good approach? A separate file, or embedded tags?

The separate file would be nice in my opinion, but the more I think 
about it the more it looks like SWIG, and then the "reinventing the 
weel"-sense starts tingling.

I'm really excited by this project, and would appreciate any 
comments/ideas from the readers of the list.

>P.S. There are a number of tools available which can parse C++. For
>example, see the OCC implementation in Synopsis (synopsis.sf.net) and
>GCC_XML, which I've mentioned before.
>

I knew GCC_XML, and I will take a look at Synopsis. Thanks.


Regards,
Nicodemus.