Python: Essential Reference

26. Extending and Embedding Python

One of the most powerful features of Python is its ability to interface with software written in C. There are two common strategies for integrating Python with foreign code. First, foreign functions can be packaged into a Python library module for use with the import statement. Such modules are known as extension modules because they extend the interpreter with additional functionality not written in Python. This is, by far, the most common form of Python-C integration because it gives Python applications access to high-performance programming libraries. The other form of Python-C integration is embedding. This is a process by which Python programs and the interpreter are accessed as a library from C. This ...