[Ann] ctypes 0.9.5 released

[Thomas Heller]

ctypes 0.9.5 released - Mar 11, 2005
====================================

Overview

    ctypes is an advanced ffi (Foreign Function Interface) package for
    Python 2.3 and higher.

    ctypes allows to call functions exposed from dlls/shared libraries
    and has extensive facilities to create, access and manipulate
    simple and complicated C data types in Python - in other words:
    wrap libraries in pure Python.  It is even possible to implement C
    callback functions in pure Python.

    ctypes runs on Windows, MacOS X, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, OpenBSD.
    It may also run on other systems, provided that libffi supports
    this platform.

    For windows, ctypes contains a ctypes.com package which allows to
    call and implement custom COM interfaces.

Important

    If you download the source distribution, please choose the ZIP
    file for Windows, and the .tar.gz file for other machines.
    These archive have different contents!

    There have been lots of changes - if you are the author or user of
    a package that uses ctypes, please test it with this release
    and report problems on the ctypes-users mailing list.

Additions

    New package ctypes.wrap. This contains decorators usable for
    easier creation of wrapper functions.

    This package also contains a toolchain for (semi)automatic
    creation of wrappers for external libraries - it can parse
    C header files and generate ctypes code for the declarations in
    them.  It can even handle preprocessor definitions! For details,
    see http://starship.python.net/crew/theller/ctypes/codegen.html


Changes in 0.9.5

    On systems where sizeof(int) == sizeof(long), c_int/c_long and
    c_uint/c_ulong are now aliases.  Similar for c_long/c_longlong and
    c_ulong/c_ulonglong.  This prevents unneeded type errors.

    If an exception occurs in a callback function, a full traceback is
    now printed.  Raising SystemExit in a callback function now
    correctly exists Python.

    HRESULT is now a proper ctype - no longer a function.  This allows
    to use it in the argtypes sequence for function prototypes.

    An easier way to define structures and unions that reference
    themselves, or have dependencies to other data types.  The
    _fields_ attribute can now be set *after* the Structure/Union
    class has been created.  This makes the SetPointerType function
    obsolete.

    The semantics of the _fields_ attribute in sub-subclasses of
    Structure and Union has been fixed.  The baseclasses _fields_ list
    is extended, not replaced, in subclasses.  Assigning _fields_ when
    it is no longer possible raises an error now.

    Structures and unions now work as restype and in the argtypes list
    for functions.

    An important bug has been fixed with pointers.


    Detailed changelogs are in CVS:
    
    <http://cvs.sourceforge.net/viewcvs.py/ctypes/ctypes/ChangeLog?rev=HEAD>

    <http://cvs.sourceforge.net/viewcvs.py/ctypes/ctypes/win32/com/ChangeLog?rev=HEAD>


Download

    Downloads are available in the sourceforge files section
    <http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=71702>

    Separate source distributions are available for windows and non-windows systems.
    Please use the .zip file for Windows (it contains the ctypes.com framework),
    and use the .tar.gz file for non-Windows systems (it contains the
    complete cross-platform libffi sources).

    Binary windows installers, which contain compiled extension
    modules, are also available, be sure to download the correct one
    for the Python version you are using.


Homepage

    <http://starship.python.net/crew/theller/ctypes/>

Enjoy,

Thomas