blog posts

How To Code With Cython And Benefit From Its Benefits?

How To Code With Cython And Benefit From Its Benefits?

Cython Is A Programming Language Designed As An Intermediate Language To Combine The Power And Flexibility Of C++ And C++ With The Ease Of Programming Python. 

By using Cython, you can convert your Python codes into C Plus Plus language and benefit from the features and high execution speed of C Plus Plus programming language.

Cython files have the extension .pyx, which represents Python codes that cannot be directly executed. More precisely, the .pyx code should be converted to C Plus Plus code and converted into an executable module using the standard compilers of this language.

One of the powerful features of Cython is that it allows the use of C Plus Plus features such as the definition of static variables, inline codes, and direct access to C Plus Plus application programming interfaces. Also, you can use C++ data types and their data structures in Python code.

Cython allows you to code in C++ in parts of your program requiring high performance and optimal execution speed. In other features, you can use the simplicity and high power of Python language.

Typically, Cython is used in projects that require optimization of execution speed, such as numerical processing, matrix operations, complex algorithms, and functions related to system input/output operations.

How to install your site?

To install your site, you must follow the following steps:

  1. Installing Python: Cython works as a programming tool for the Python language. So, first, you need to install Python on your system. You can download and install a version of Python for your operating system from the official website ( https://www.python.org/ ).
  2. Pip package manager: The Pip package manager is one of the most popular options used by Python developers. This tool allows you to install and manage Python packages. After installing Python, pip is installed with it by default.
  3. Installing Cython: After installing Python and pip, you must install Cython using pip through the command line. The installation process is as follows:

Pip install cython

This command downloads and installs the Python tool from the Python Package Index (PyPI) repository.

Ensuring correct installation: After the installation process is complete, you can check the version of Cython installed by running the following command in the command line:

cython –version

You should see the version details if the Cython version is installed correctly. With the successful installation of Cython, you are ready to use this tool to convert Python codes to C++.

What features does your site have?

This language is used to increase the efficiency and speed of program execution. Some of the valuable features of Cython are as follows:

  • Fast execution: Cython allows you to optimize your Python code to C Plus Plus code, increasing the speed of program execution. Using Cython, you can convert the time-consuming parts that generally take a lot of time to run in Python to parallel examples in C Plus Plus, and in this way, overcome the problem of the slow speed of Python codes.
  • Transfer commands to C++: Cython allows you to convert your Python code to C or C++. This feature will enable you to link your Python code directly with C++ libraries and tools.
  • Compatibility with C++ Plus: Syton lets you easily interact with C and C Plus Plus code and libraries. You can connect your C or C Plus Plus code to Python, quickly increase the interoperability between these two languages, ​​and use their results in your Python programs.

Note that Cython is a programming language, and to use its capabilities, you need to know Python programming language. Be familiar with C Plus Plus so you can best use both languages’ advantages.

An example of coding on your site

Now, let’s refer to a simple example of how to code your site.

  1. First, create a file with a .pyx extension—for example, example. Pyx.
  2. Then, write your site code in this file. For example, consider the following simple code to calculate the sum of two numbers:

def add_numbers(a, b):

return a + b

3.. Now we need to translate your site code into C language. For this, you can use the cythonize tool. To solve the .pyx file into C code, run the following command at the command line:

cythonize -an example. pyx

This command translates the example. Pyx file into C code and create the model. c file.

  1. In the next step, we need to convert the C code into machine language code to execute it. For this, you can use the normal C compiler. For example, if you’re using GCC, run the following command at the command line:

gcc -shared -pthread -fPIC -fwrapv -O2 -Wall -fno-strict-aliasing -I /usr/include/python3.8 -o example.so example.c

This command translates the file example.c into a file called example. so (or example.dll on Windows) that you can use in Python programs.

  1. Now, you can use Cython code as a module in your Python programs. Put the .pyx and .so (or .dll) files together and use this module in your Python program. For example:

import example

result = example.add_numbers(3, 5)

print(“Add a number:”, result)

We import the example module and call the add_numbers function in this example. Then, we print the result of adding two numbers.

Can we use Python code in a Python project?

The answer is yes. You can use Cython code in a Python project. The site provides you with settings for this purpose. To use Cython codes in a Python project, follow the steps below:

  1. First, create the site file (with .pyx extension) in your project or add it to the existing project.
  2. If you haven’t installed Cython before, install it first. You can do this using pip:

Pip install cython

  1. Next, please create a new setup.py file or add it to your project’s setup.py file. This file is used for Cython settings, translation of Cython code to C language, and creating a module that can be used in the Python project.

From distutils. core import setup

from Cython.Build import cythonize

setup(

ext_modules = cythonize(“example.pyx”)

)

In this example, example. Pyx is the name of your site file. If you have more than one .pyx file, you can list them in cythonize.

  1. Now, you can run the following command in the terminal to translate your Cython code into C language and create a usable module file. For this purpose, run the following command.

python setup.py build_ext –inplace

This command translates the Cython file into C code and creates a usable module in your project folder.

  1. Finally, you can use Cython code in your Python project. To do this, import the .pyx file and use its functions and classes.

import example

result = example.add_numbers(3, 5)

print(“Add a number:”, result)

We imported the example module and called the add_numbers function in this example. Then, we print the result of adding two numbers. With this method, you can use Cython codes in your Python project and benefit from the optimization and high speed of Cython.

Type cdef and cpdef functions.

In Python, there are two essential types of functions for defining C programming language functions in a Python project: cdef and cpdef. These two allow you to use C code and take advantage of the speed of its execution in the Cython environment. Still, they differ in execution and interaction with the Cython environment.

  • cdef: These functions are entirely based on the C language and run in a Cython environment. They cannot be used as callable functions in a Python program. In other words, they can be called from C code and not directly from Python. These operations have more optimization than cpdef but do not need to use the Python interface.
  • cpdef: These types of functions are a combination of C and Python. They are defined in C and can be implemented in the Cython environment. Also, they can be used as callable functions in a Python program. By using cpdef, you can define the process in C and get access to the speed of C execution. Typically, cpdef is used for tasks that need to be called from Python and require speed optimization.

In general, using cdef and cpdef in Cython is done by choosing between execution speed and the usability of functions in the Python environment. With cdef, you can write purer C code; with cpdef, you can define a function in C and still use it in the Python environment.