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Extending Python with C or C++ "> <META name="keywords" content="ext"> <META name="resource-type" content="document"> <META name="distribution" content="global"> <title>1. Extending Python with C or C++ </title> </head> <body> <DIV CLASS="navigation"> <div id='top-navigation-panel'> <table align="center" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"> <tr> <td class='online-navigation'><a rel="prev" title="Contents" href="contents.html"><img src='../icons/previous.png' border='0' height='32' alt='Previous Page' width='32' /></A></td> <td class='online-navigation'><a rel="parent" title="Extending and Embedding the" href="ext.html"><img src='../icons/up.png' border='0' height='32' alt='Up One Level' width='32' /></A></td> <td class='online-navigation'><a rel="next" title="1.1 A Simple Example" href="simpleExample.html"><img src='../icons/next.png' border='0' height='32' alt='Next Page' width='32' /></A></td> <td align="center" width="100%">Extending and Embedding the Python Interpreter</td> <td class='online-navigation'><a rel="contents" title="Table of Contents" href="contents.html"><img src='../icons/contents.png' border='0' height='32' alt='Contents' width='32' /></A></td> <td class='online-navigation'><img src='../icons/blank.png' border='0' height='32' alt='' width='32' /></td> <td class='online-navigation'><img src='../icons/blank.png' border='0' height='32' alt='' width='32' /></td> </tr></table> <div class='online-navigation'> <b class="navlabel">Previous:</b> <a class="sectref" rel="prev" href="contents.html">Contents</A> <b class="navlabel">Up:</b> <a class="sectref" rel="parent" href="ext.html">Extending and Embedding the</A> <b class="navlabel">Next:</b> <a class="sectref" rel="next" href="simpleExample.html">1.1 A Simple Example</A> </div> <hr /></div> </DIV> <!--End of Navigation Panel--> <H1><A NAME="SECTION003000000000000000000"><!--x--></A><A NAME="intro"><!--z--></A> <BR> 1. Extending Python with C or C++ </H1> <P> It is quite easy to add new built-in modules to Python, if you know how to program in C. Such <i class="dfn">extension modules</i> can do two things that can't be done directly in Python: they can implement new built-in object types, and they can call C library functions and system calls. <P> To support extensions, the Python API (Application Programmers Interface) defines a set of functions, macros and variables that provide access to most aspects of the Python run-time system. The Python API is incorporated in a C source file by including the header <code>"Python.h"</code>. <P> The compilation of an extension module depends on its intended use as well as on your system setup; details are given in later chapters. <P> <p><br /></p><hr class='online-navigation' /> <div class='online-navigation'> <!--Table of Child-Links--> <A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"><STRONG>Subsections</STRONG></a> <UL CLASS="ChildLinks"> <LI><A href="simpleExample.html">1.1 A Simple Example</a> <LI><A href="errors.html">1.2 Intermezzo: Errors and Exceptions</a> <LI><A href="backToExample.html">1.3 Back to the Example</a> <LI><A href="methodTable.html">1.4 The Module's Method Table and Initialization Function</a> <LI><A href="compilation.html">1.5 Compilation and Linkage</a> <LI><A href="callingPython.html">1.6 Calling Python Functions from C</a> <LI><A href="parseTuple.html">1.7 Extracting Parameters in Extension Functions</a> <LI><A href="parseTupleAndKeywords.html">1.8 Keyword Parameters for Extension Functions</a> <LI><A href="buildValue.html">1.9 Building Arbitrary Values</a> <LI><A href="refcounts.html">1.10 Reference Counts</a> <UL> <LI><A href="refcountsInPython.html">1.10.1 Reference Counting in Python</a> <LI><A href="ownershipRules.html">1.10.2 Ownership Rules</a> <LI><A href="thinIce.html">1.10.3 Thin Ice</a> <LI><A href="nullPointers.html">1.10.4 NULL Pointers</a> </ul> <LI><A href="cplusplus.html">1.11 Writing Extensions in C++</a> <LI><A href="using-cobjects.html">1.12 Providing a C API for an Extension Module</a> </ul> <!--End of Table of Child-Links--> </div> <DIV CLASS="navigation"> <div class='online-navigation'><hr /> <table align="center" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"> <tr> <td class='online-navigation'><a rel="prev" title="Contents" rel="prev" title="Contents" href="contents.html"><img src='../icons/previous.png' border='0' height='32' alt='Previous Page' width='32' /></A></td> <td class='online-navigation'><a rel="parent" title="Extending and Embedding the" rel="parent" title="Extending and Embedding the" href="ext.html"><img src='../icons/up.png' border='0' height='32' alt='Up One Level' width='32' /></A></td> <td class='online-navigation'><a rel="next" title="1.1 A Simple Example" rel="next" title="1.1 A Simple Example" href="simpleExample.html"><img src='../icons/next.png' border='0' height='32' alt='Next Page' width='32' /></A></td> <td align="center" width="100%">Extending and Embedding the Python Interpreter</td> <td class='online-navigation'><a rel="contents" title="Table of Contents" rel="contents" title="Table of Contents" href="contents.html"><img src='../icons/contents.png' border='0' height='32' alt='Contents' width='32' /></A></td> <td class='online-navigation'><img src='../icons/blank.png' border='0' height='32' alt='' width='32' /></td> <td class='online-navigation'><img src='../icons/blank.png' border='0' height='32' alt='' width='32' /></td> </tr></table> <div class='online-navigation'> <b class="navlabel">Previous:</b> <a class="sectref" rel="prev" href="contents.html">Contents</A> <b class="navlabel">Up:</b> <a class="sectref" rel="parent" href="ext.html">Extending and Embedding the</A> <b class="navlabel">Next:</b> <a class="sectref" rel="next" href="simpleExample.html">1.1 A Simple Example</A> </div> </div> <hr /> <span class="release-info">Release 2.3.4, documentation updated on May 20, 2004.</span> </DIV> <!--End of Navigation Panel--> <ADDRESS> See <i><a href="about.html">About this document...</a></i> for information on suggesting changes. </ADDRESS> </BODY> </HTML>
