Easiest way to access C module in Python

[Chris Angelico]

On Tue, Nov 7, 2017 at 10:43 AM, John Pote <johnpote at jptechnical.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi all,
> I have successfully used Python to perform unit and integration tests in the
> past and I'd like to do the same for some C modules I'm working with at
> work. There seem to be a number of ways of doing this but being busy at work
> and home I looking for the approach with the least learning curve.
>
> I don't want to add the C modules into the CPython build itself as I've
> never done this and at work it's a real pain getting admin rights to do
> this, and when you do it lasts just 24 hours. The C modules are likely to
> change frequently as bugs are found and features added.

Fortunately, you don't have to modify CPython to do this :)

> The other option I'm considering is to use sockets and write a C wrapper
> round the C modules I want to test. This has the advantage for me that I
> know about sockets from Python & C points of view and I get complete control
> of the C compile process. This may be important as the C modules come from
> an embedded project and I don't want to change them in any way.
>
> Are there any other approachs to this problem?
> I'll be using Python 3.5 (work) and 3.6 (home).
> Feedback appriciated.

This. The best way to do this is to create a wrapper... but the best
way to create that wrapper is with Cython. (Not to be confused with
CPython.) Check out http://cython.org/ to see what it takes to carry
information into and out of the C module. You'd compile the Cython
wrapper and then import that from Python directly.

ChrisA