[Python-3000] Cross-interpreter FFI for Python 3000? (original) (raw)

Samuele Pedroni pedronis at strakt.com
Wed Aug 9 01🔞06 CEST 2006

Guido van Rossum wrote:

On 8/8/06, Terry Reedy <tjreedy at udel.edu> wrote:

I would suggest that PyPy's use of ctypes, coupled with the inclusion of ctypes in the Python 2.5 stdlib, means that ctypes could reasonably be considered a defacto standard for a C FFI in Python at this point. Intriguing idea. I know that the Pygame folks, for example, are experimenting with rewrapping the SDL (Simple Directmedia Library, the core of Pygame) in ctypes. Isn't a problem with ctypes that such extensions can no longer guarantee "no segfaults"? This pretty much completely rules them out for use in sandboxes such as what Brett Cannon is currently working on. With hand-written extensions at least you can audit them to decide whether they are safe enough.

in PyPy rctypes approach the extensions still get compiled to c code, and ctypes-like calls get resolved to normal c calls, although at some point a ctypes module is going to be exposed by PyPy, in the rctypes approach such an exposed ctypes is not a requirement at all. Rctypes gives ctypes-like C gluing to RPython, a different level from normal application-level full Python. And indeed (although with rough edges and some missing features at the moment) PyPy tool-chain can produce CPython extensions from such rpython+rctypes extension code.

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