'Integrating C++ with Python: How, Why, and When' with Austin Bingham

This meetup is listed here on Oslo Python and on Oslo C++ . Please RSVP on only one of these to avoid double counting.

C++ is a great language for some tasks, but in many places it causes more problems than it solves. Python complements C++ well, and it's often an ideal language for writing those pieces of a system for which C++ is awkward. In this presentation I'll talk about how you can - and why you might want to - build C++ APIs on top of Python modules and use them directly from your C++ programs. This presentation is based in large part on actual experience with a large, complex, mission-critical C++ application, and I'll cover everything from technical challenges to political issues you might face.

The topics will include:

• Identifying where Python might be useful
• How to make the case for Python to your peers
• Technical aspects of interfacing the two languages
• Python runtime management: initialization, module loading, etc.
• Working with the “impedance mismatches” between the languages (e.g. duck-typing vs. static typing)

I will also discuss the reasons why C++ APIs on Python code represent a very useful and often powerful technique. The reasons range from simple pragmatism (you want to use an existing Python module in an existing C++ program) to productivity (writing Python code plus a C++ wrapper can be easier and faster than writing pure C++.)

Austin works professionally in Norway with both Python and C++ and is creator of and contributor to several Python open source projects.