Compile python and c++ together

Question

I am basically looking to see if it's possible to compile Python code into a C++ program such that a single binary is produced, then call the (compiled) python code as/with a function from within the C++ code.

Background: I have a C++ code that does some work and produces data that I want to plot. I then wrote a seperate Python script using SciPy that reads in the output data, processes it, and plots it to files. This all works as it is.

Basically, I am picturing:

void plotstuff() {
    my_python_func(); // This is the python script compiled into the c++ binary
}

I don't need to pass anything between the python code and the C++ code other than being sure it's executed in the same directory. It may make things easier if I can pass string arguments, but again - not essential.

Can this be accomplished? Or is it generally a bad idea and I should just stick to having my C++ and python separate?

Look into the Python/C API reference: https://docs.python.org/2/c-api/ — Nick Beeuwsaert, Jun 30 '15 at 18:04
What you are trying to do is called Embedding.that means that some parts of your application occasionally calls the **python** **interpreter** to run some Python code.although the application itself has nothing to do with python. — marc_s, Jun 30 '15 at 18:35

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 30 '15 at 18:14

5

Yes: this is called embedding.

The best place to start is the official Python documentation on the topic. There's some sample code that shows how to call a Python function from C code.

Here's an extremely basic example, also from the Python docs:

#include <Python.h>

int
main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
  Py_SetProgramName(argv[0]);  /* optional but recommended */
  Py_Initialize();
  PyRun_SimpleString("from time import time,ctime\n"
                     "print 'Today is',ctime(time())\n");
  Py_Finalize();
  return 0;
}

answered Jun 30 '15 at 18:14

Thomas Orozco

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This looks like what I want to use. Question though - when compiling everything, how can I include my python script inside the C++ executable (instead of in two seperate files)? Should I simply write another function which returns the python full script as a string, or is there a more elegant way (g++ -options)? – fergu Jun 30 '15 at 18:20
@kjfergu , to see how to embed an arbitrary file (for example, a Python script) into a C++ program, check out this question: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4864866/c-c-with-gcc-statically-add-resource-files-to-executable-library – Robᵩ Jun 30 '15 at 18:24

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 30 '15 at 18:03

0

Make a native extension (Python 2 or Python 3) out of your C++ code, and have your Python program import it. Then use py2exe or your favorite platform's counterpart to turn the Python program and your native extension into an executable.

answered Jun 30 '15 at 18:03

Damian Yerrick

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Compile python and c++ together

2 Answers2