[Python-Dev] Let's update CObject API so it is safe and regular!

[Larry Hastings]

Guido van Rossum wrote:
> On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 6:22 AM, Jim Fulton <jim at zope.com> wrote:
>   
>> The original use case for CObjects was to export an API from a module, in
>> which case, you'd be importing the API from the module.
>>     
> I consider this the *only* use case. What other use cases are there?

Exporting a C/C++ data structure:

    http://wiki.cacr.caltech.edu/danse/index.php/Lots_more_details_on_writing_wrappers
    http://www.cacr.caltech.edu/projects/ARCS/array_kluge/array_klugemodule/html/misc_8h.html
    http://svn.xiph.org/trunk/vorbisfile-python/vorbisfile.c

Some folks don't register a proper type; they just wrap their objects in 
CObjects and add module methods.

The "obscure" method in the "Robin" package ( 
http://code.google.com/p/robin/ ) curiously wraps a *Python* object in a 
CObject:

    http://code.google.com/p/robin/source/browse/trunk/src/robin/frontends/python/module.cc

I must admit I don't understand why this is a good idea.


There are many more wild & wooly use cases to be found if you Google for 
"PyCObject_FromVoidPtr".  Using CObject to exporting C APIs seems to be 
the minority, outside the CPython sources anyway.


/larry/
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