Question :
I’d like to call a custom function that is defined in a python module from C. I have some preliminary code to do that, but it just prints the output to stdout.
mytest.py
import math
def myabs(x):
return math.fabs(x)
test.cpp
#include <Python.h>
int main() {
Py_Initialize();
PyRun_SimpleString("import sys; sys.path.append('.')");
PyRun_SimpleString("import mytest;");
PyRun_SimpleString("print mytest.myabs(2.0)");
Py_Finalize();
return 0;
}
How can I extract the return value into a C double and use it in C?
Answer #1:
As explained before, using PyRun_SimpleString seems to be a bad idea.
You should definitely use the methods provided by the C-API (http://docs.python.org/c-api/).
Reading the introduction is the first thing to do to understand the way it works.
First, you have to learn about PyObject that is the basic object for the C API. It can represent any kind of python basic types (string, float, int,…).
Many functions exist to convert for example python string to char* or PyFloat to double.
First, import your module :
PyObject* myModuleString = PyString_FromString((char*)"mytest");
PyObject* myModule = PyImport_Import(myModuleString);
Then getting a reference to your function :
PyObject* myFunction = PyObject_GetAttrString(myModule,(char*)"myabs");
PyObject* args = PyTuple_Pack(1,PyFloat_FromDouble(2.0));
Then getting your result :
PyObject* myResult = PyObject_CallObject(myFunction, args)
And getting back to a double :
double result = PyFloat_AsDouble(myResult);
You should obviously check the errors (cf. link given by Mark Tolonen).
If you have any question, don’t hesitate. Good luck.
Answer #2:
Here is a sample code I wrote (with the help of various online sources) to send a string to a Python code, then return a value.
Here is the C code call_function.c:
#include <Python.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main()
{
// Set PYTHONPATH TO working directory
setenv("PYTHONPATH",".",1);
PyObject *pName, *pModule, *pDict, *pFunc, *pValue, *presult;
// Initialize the Python Interpreter
Py_Initialize();
// Build the name object
pName = PyString_FromString((char*)"arbName");
// Load the module object
pModule = PyImport_Import(pName);
// pDict is a borrowed reference
pDict = PyModule_GetDict(pModule);
// pFunc is also a borrowed reference
pFunc = PyDict_GetItemString(pDict, (char*)"someFunction");
if (PyCallable_Check(pFunc))
{
pValue=Py_BuildValue("(z)",(char*)"something");
PyErr_Print();
printf("Let's give this a shot!n");
presult=PyObject_CallObject(pFunc,pValue);
PyErr_Print();
} else
{
PyErr_Print();
}
printf("Result is %dn",PyInt_AsLong(presult));
Py_DECREF(pValue);
// Clean up
Py_DECREF(pModule);
Py_DECREF(pName);
// Finish the Python Interpreter
Py_Finalize();
return 0;
}
Here is the Python code, in file arbName.py:
def someFunction(text):
print 'You passed this Python program '+text+' from C! Congratulations!'
return 12345
I use the command gcc call_function.c -I/usr/include/python2.6 -lpython2.6 ; ./a.out to run this process. I’m on redhat. I recommend using PyErr_Print(); for error checking.
Answer #3:
A complete example of calling a Python function and retrieving the result is located at http://docs.python.org/release/2.6.5/extending/embedding.html#pure-embedding:
#include <Python.h>
int
main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
PyObject *pName, *pModule, *pDict, *pFunc;
PyObject *pArgs, *pValue;
int i;
if (argc < 3) {
fprintf(stderr,"Usage: call pythonfile funcname [args]n");
return 1;
}
Py_Initialize();
pName = PyString_FromString(argv[1]);
/* Error checking of pName left out */
pModule = PyImport_Import(pName);
Py_DECREF(pName);
if (pModule != NULL) {
pFunc = PyObject_GetAttrString(pModule, argv[2]);
/* pFunc is a new reference */
if (pFunc && PyCallable_Check(pFunc)) {
pArgs = PyTuple_New(argc - 3);
for (i = 0; i < argc - 3; ++i) {
pValue = PyInt_FromLong(atoi(argv[i + 3]));
if (!pValue) {
Py_DECREF(pArgs);
Py_DECREF(pModule);
fprintf(stderr, "Cannot convert argumentn");
return 1;
}
/* pValue reference stolen here: */
PyTuple_SetItem(pArgs, i, pValue);
}
pValue = PyObject_CallObject(pFunc, pArgs);
Py_DECREF(pArgs);
if (pValue != NULL) {
printf("Result of call: %ldn", PyInt_AsLong(pValue));
Py_DECREF(pValue);
}
else {
Py_DECREF(pFunc);
Py_DECREF(pModule);
PyErr_Print();
fprintf(stderr,"Call failedn");
return 1;
}
}
else {
if (PyErr_Occurred())
PyErr_Print();
fprintf(stderr, "Cannot find function "%s""n"", argv[2])
