# pyforge-ffi
This crate provides [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/) FFI declarations for Python 3.
It supports both the stable and the unstable component of the ABI through the use of cfg flags.
Python 3.11+ is supported (CPython only).
It is meant for advanced users only - regular PyForge users shouldn't
need to interact with this crate at all.
The contents of this crate are not documented here, as it would entail
basically copying the documentation from CPython. Consult the [Python/C API Reference
Manual][capi] for up-to-date documentation.
# Minimum supported Rust and Python versions
Requires Rust 1.83 or greater.
`pyforge-ffi` supports CPython 3.11 or greater.
# Example: Building Python Native modules
PyForge can be used to generate a native Python module. The easiest way to try this out for the
first time is to use [`maturin`]. `maturin` is a tool for building and publishing Rust-based
Python packages with minimal configuration. The following steps set up some files for an example
Python module, install `maturin`, and then show how to build and import the Python module.
First, create a new folder (let's call it `string_sum`) containing the following two files:
**`Cargo.toml`**
```toml
[lib]
name = "string_sum"
# "cdylib" is necessary to produce a shared library for Python to import from.
#
# Downstream Rust code (including code in `bin/`, `examples/`, and `tests/`) will not be able
# to `use string_sum;` unless the "rlib" or "lib" crate type is also included, e.g.:
# crate-type = ["cdylib", "rlib"]
crate-type = ["cdylib"]
[dependencies]
pyforge-ffi = "0.1.0"
[build-dependencies]
# This is only necessary if you need to configure your build based on
# the Python version or the compile-time configuration for the interpreter.
pyforge_build_config = "0.1.0"
```
If you need to use conditional compilation based on Python version or how
Python was compiled, you need to add `pyforge-build-config` as a
`build-dependency` in your `Cargo.toml` as in the example above and either
create a new `build.rs` file or modify an existing one so that
`pyforge_build_config::use_pyforge_cfgs()` gets called at build time:
**`build.rs`**
```rust,ignore
fn main() {
pyforge_build_config::use_pyforge_cfgs()
}
```
**`src/lib.rs`**
```rust,no_run
#[cfg(Py_3_15)]
use std::ffi::c_void;
use std::ffi::{c_char, c_long};
use std::ptr;
use pyforge_ffi::*;
#[cfg(not(Py_3_15))]
static mut MODULE_DEF: PyModuleDef = PyModuleDef {
m_base: PyModuleDef_HEAD_INIT,
m_name: c"string_sum".as_ptr(),
m_doc: c"A Python module written in Rust.".as_ptr(),
m_size: 0,
m_methods: (&raw mut METHODS).cast(),
m_slots: (&raw mut SLOTS).cast(),
m_traverse: None,
m_clear: None,
m_free: None,
};
static mut METHODS: [PyMethodDef; 2] = [
PyMethodDef {
ml_name: c"sum_as_string".as_ptr(),
ml_meth: PyMethodDefPointer {
PyCFunctionFast: sum_as_string,
},
ml_flags: METH_FASTCALL,
ml_doc: c"returns the sum of two integers as a string".as_ptr(),
},
// A zeroed PyMethodDef to mark the end of the array.
PyMethodDef::zeroed(),
];
#[cfg(Py_3_15)]
PyABIInfo_VAR!(ABI_INFO);
const SLOTS_LEN: usize =
1 + cfg!(Py_3_12) as usize + cfg!(Py_GIL_DISABLED) as usize + 4 * (cfg!(Py_3_15) as usize);
static mut SLOTS: [PyModuleDef_Slot; SLOTS_LEN] = [
#[cfg(Py_3_15)]
PyModuleDef_Slot {
slot: Py_mod_abi,
value: (&raw mut ABI_INFO).cast(),
},
#[cfg(Py_3_15)]
PyModuleDef_Slot {
slot: Py_mod_name,
// safety: Python does not write to this field
value: c"string_sum".as_ptr() as *mut c_void,
},
#[cfg(Py_3_15)]
PyModuleDef_Slot {
slot: Py_mod_doc,
// safety: Python does not write to this field
value: c"A Python module written in Rust.".as_ptr() as *mut c_void,
},
#[cfg(Py_3_15)]
PyModuleDef_Slot {
slot: Py_mod_methods,
value: (&raw mut METHODS).cast(),
},
#[cfg(Py_3_12)]
PyModuleDef_Slot {
slot: Py_mod_multiple_interpreters,
value: Py_MOD_PER_INTERPRETER_GIL_SUPPORTED,
},
#[cfg(Py_GIL_DISABLED)]
PyModuleDef_Slot {
slot: Py_mod_gil,
value: Py_MOD_GIL_NOT_USED,
},
PyModuleDef_Slot {
slot: 0,
value: ptr::null_mut(),
},
];
// The module initialization function
#[cfg(not(Py_3_15))]
#[allow(non_snake_case, reason = "must be named `PyInit_<your_module>`")]
#[no_mangle]
pub unsafe extern "C" fn PyInit_string_sum() -> *mut PyObject {
PyModuleDef_Init(&raw mut MODULE_DEF)
}
#[cfg(Py_3_15)]
#[allow(non_snake_case, reason = "must be named `PyModExport_<your_module>`")]
#[no_mangle]
pub unsafe extern "C" fn PyModExport_string_sum() -> *mut PyModuleDef_Slot {
(&raw mut SLOTS).cast()
}
/// A helper to parse function arguments
/// If we used PyForge's proc macros they'd handle all of this boilerplate for us :)
unsafe fn parse_arg_as_i32(obj: *mut PyObject, n_arg: usize) -> Option<i32> {
if PyLong_Check(obj) == 0 {
let msg = format!(
"sum_as_string expected an int for positional argument {}\0",
n_arg
);
PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, msg.as_ptr().cast::<c_char>());
return None;
}
// Let's keep the behaviour consistent on platforms where `c_long` is bigger than 32 bits.
// In particular, it is an i32 on Windows but i64 on most Linux systems
let mut overflow = 0;
let i_long: c_long = PyLong_AsLongAndOverflow(obj, &mut overflow);
#[allow(
irrefutable_let_patterns,
reason = "some platforms have c_long equal to i32"
)]
if overflow != 0 {
raise_overflowerror(obj);
None
} else if let Ok(i) = i_long.try_into() {
Some(i)
} else {
raise_overflowerror(obj);
None
}
}
unsafe fn raise_overflowerror(obj: *mut PyObject) {
let obj_repr = PyObject_Str(obj);
if !obj_repr.is_null() {
let mut size = 0;
let p = PyUnicode_AsUTF8AndSize(obj_repr, &mut size);
if !p.is_null() {
let s = std::str::from_utf8_unchecked(std::slice::from_raw_parts(
p.cast::<u8>(),
size as usize,
));
let msg = format!("cannot fit {} in 32 bits\0", s);
PyErr_SetString(PyExc_OverflowError, msg.as_ptr().cast::<c_char>());
}
Py_DECREF(obj_repr);
}
}
pub unsafe extern "C" fn sum_as_string(
_self: *mut PyObject,
args: *mut *mut PyObject,
nargs: Py_ssize_t,
) -> *mut PyObject {
if nargs != 2 {
PyErr_SetString(
PyExc_TypeError,
c"sum_as_string expected 2 positional arguments".as_ptr(),
);
return std::ptr::null_mut();
}
let (first, second) = (*args, *args.add(1));
let first = match parse_arg_as_i32(first, 1) {
Some(x) => x,
None => return std::ptr::null_mut(),
};
let second = match parse_arg_as_i32(second, 2) {
Some(x) => x,
None => return std::ptr::null_mut(),
};
match first.checked_add(second) {
Some(sum) => {
let string = sum.to_string();
PyUnicode_FromStringAndSize(string.as_ptr().cast::<c_char>(), string.len() as isize)
}
None => {
PyErr_SetString(PyExc_OverflowError, c"arguments too large to add".as_ptr());
std::ptr::null_mut()
}
}
}
```
With those two files in place, now `maturin` needs to be installed. This can be done using
Python's package manager `pip`. First, load up a new Python `virtualenv`, and install `maturin`
into it:
```bash
$ cd string_sum
$ python -m venv .env
$ source .env/bin/activate
$ pip install maturin
```
Now build and execute the module:
```bash
$ maturin develop
# lots of progress output as maturin runs the compilation...
$ python
>>> import string_sum
>>> string_sum.sum_as_string(5, 20)
'25'
```
As well as with `maturin`, it is possible to build using [setuptools-rust] or
[manually][manual_builds]. Both offer more flexibility than `maturin` but require further
configuration.
While most projects use the safe wrapper provided by PyForge,
you can take a look at the [`orjson`] library as an example on how to use `pyforge-ffi` directly.
For those well versed in C and Rust the [tutorials] from the CPython documentation
can be easily converted to rust as well.
[tutorials]: https://docs.python.org/3/extending/
[`orjson`]: https://github.com/ijl/orjson
[capi]: https://docs.python.org/3/c-api/index.html
[`maturin`]: https://github.com/PyO3/maturin "Build and publish crates with pyo3, cffi bindings as well as rust binaries as python packages"
[`pyforge-build-config`]: https://docs.rs/pyforge-build-config
[feature flags]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/features.html "Features - The Cargo Book"
[manual_builds]: https://github.com/abdulwahed-sweden/pyforge/latest/building-and-distribution.html#manual-builds "Manual builds - Building and Distribution - PyForge user guide"
[setuptools-rust]: https://github.com/PyO3/setuptools-rust "Setuptools plugin for Rust extensions"
[PEP 384]: https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0384 "PEP 384 -- Defining a Stable ABI"
[Features chapter of the guide]: https://github.com/abdulwahed-sweden/pyforge/latest/features.html#features-reference "Features Reference - PyForge user guide"