Integrate the C language module for accelerating Program Development in Python (1)

Python is a programming language for rapid software development. It has simple syntax and is easy to master, but it has slow execution speed and is insufficient to handle some problems, such as access to computer hardware systems and access to media files. As a traditional programming language for software development, C language can well make up for the shortcomings of Python on these issues.

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Overview

Python is a programming language for rapid software development. It has simple syntax and is easy to master, but it has slow execution speed and is insufficient to handle some problems, such as access to computer hardware systems and access to media files. C language, a traditional programming language for software development, can make up for the shortcomings of the Python language. Therefore, this article uses examples to study how to integrate existing C language modules in Python programs, including source programs written in C language and dynamic link libraries, so as to give full play to the advantages of the Python language and C language.

Features of Python

As a program development language, Python is increasingly used for rapid program development. Python is an interpreted, interactive, and object-oriented programming language that includes modular operations, exception handling, dynamic data formats, and type usage. Its syntax is easy to read and has many excellent scripting languages: Explanatory, object-oriented, built-in high-level data structure, supporting modules and packages, and supporting multiple platforms, scalable. It also supports interactive and graphical operations. It has many programming interfaces supporting various operating system platforms and a variety of function libraries. It can be expanded using C and C ++.

Features of C Language

C language, as one of the most popular languages, has a broad development foundation. Simple, compact, flexible, and convenient. In addition, C language is an intermediate language. It combines the basic structure and statements of advanced languages with the practicability of low-level languages. Because you can directly access the physical address, you can easily operate on the hardware. Therefore, many system software is written in C language.

Interaction between Python and C

To save software development costs, software developers hope to shorten the software development time and develop stable products in a short time. Python is powerful and easy to use, allowing you to quickly develop applications. However, due to Python's own execution speed limitations, modules with high performance requirements need to be developed in a more efficient programming language.

For example, C language, other modules of the system use Python for rapid development, and finally integrate the C language development modules with the Python development modules. In this context, it makes sense to use C language to expand existing Python programs based on the characteristics of the Python language and C language. This article first introduces several common methods to integrate Python and C language programs, and finally provides the corresponding example.

Integrate Python and C programs using the ctypes Module

Ctypes Module

Ctypes is a standard module of Python, which is included in Python2.3 and later versions. Ctypes is an advanced Python external function interface that allows Python programs to call static and dynamic libraries compiled by C language. Using the ctypes module, you can create, access, and operate simple or complex C Language Data Types in the Python source program.

Most importantly, the ctypes module can work on multiple platforms, including Windows, WindowsCE, MacOSX, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD. Next, let's take a few simple examples to see how the ctypes module integrates Python and C Programs.