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Interesting! Thanks for the link. After browsing that page, I observe that even when Cython is wrapping an external C library, there's still a notable differe

by jboy 11y ago

Interesting! Thanks for the link. After browsing that page, I observe that even when Cython is wrapping an external C library, there's still a notable difference between the way Cython does things & the way Pymod does things. The explanation on that Cython page begins: "To get started, the first step is to redefine the C API in a .pxd file, say, cqueue.pxd". So to wrap an external C library using Cython, you still need to define an entirely new header-like definition file in Cython's intermediate language. In contrast, Pymod only requires an `exportpy` pragma annotation at the end of an existing Nim procedure function header -- you don't need to create any intermediate definition files. And the `exportpy` pragma is inert unless you invoke the "pmgen.py" script (a Python script in Pymod that determines the Python C-API system configuration & automates all the compilation), so your Nim code is still completely valid Nim code after you apply the `exportpy` annotation.

maxerickson 11y ago
I'm now largely out of my depth, but much of that will just come down to what is available from Nim and what is available from C? And perhaps some of it from the complexity of supporting arbitrary C code in a flexible way? The Cython wrapper code is still pretty trivial compared to the C code ( https://github.com/fragglet/c-algorithms/blob/master/src/queue.c https://github.com/fragglet/c-algorithms/blob/master/src/que... ), and this is a pretty small piece of C.
- jboy 11y ago
  Oh absolutely, Nim should definitely get the vast majority of the credit. It's not just because Nim compiles to C; it's also due to Nim's powerful macro system, which: (1) allows me to define my own first-class pragmas such as `exportpy`; (2) supplies my pragma with a detailed & expressive AST of the Nim function onto which my pragma was annotated; (3) enables my pragma to auto-generate the C-API boilerplate code, and write it to disk as a newly-created C source file, all within the Nim compilation pass. Nim is a fantastic language, perfectly suited to this scenario. I merely spotted an opportunity. :)

by jboy 11y ago

maxerickson 11y ago

I'm now largely out of my depth, but much of that will just come down to what is available from Nim and what is available from C? And perhaps some of it from the complexity of supporting arbitrary C code in a flexible way? The Cython wrapper code is still pretty trivial compared to the C code ( https://github.com/fragglet/c-algorithms/blob/master/src/queue.c https://github.com/fragglet/c-algorithms/blob/master/src/que... ), and this is a pretty small piece of C.

jboy 11y ago
Oh absolutely, Nim should definitely get the vast majority of the credit. It's not just because Nim compiles to C; it's also due to Nim's powerful macro system, which: (1) allows me to define my own first-class pragmas such as `exportpy`; (2) supplies my pragma with a detailed & expressive AST of the Nim function onto which my pragma was annotated; (3) enables my pragma to auto-generate the C-API boilerplate code, and write it to disk as a newly-created C source file, all within the Nim compilation pass. Nim is a fantastic language, perfectly suited to this scenario. I merely spotted an opportunity. :)