Add PayFlow Pro wrapper to standard library?

[Duncan Booth]

Mark McEahern <mark at mceahern.com> wrote in 
news:mailman.1127.1075730146.12720.python-list at python.org:

> What I imagine is there would be a pure Python module that provides a
> high level interface to process transactions like this:
> 
>   import pfpro
>   result = pfpro.process(details)
> 
> This will then use a C wrapper to call the PayFlow Pro dynamic library.
> 
> The Python wrapper would also support using the context functions:
> 
>   import pfpro
>   context = pfpro.context(details)
>   for tx in transactions:
>     tx.result = context.process(tx.details)
>   
>   # context's __del__ could handle destroying itself, etc.
> 
> What's the next step?  I don't know since I've never been involved in
> adding anything to the standard library.

First off, forget about adding it to the standard library until a long way 
down the line, if at all. This sounds like a useful but specialised module, 
so it doesn't need to be shipped as standard.

Next, I suggest you have a look at Greg Ewing's Pyrex, which is a language 
specifically for writing Python Extension modules. This should make your 
life much easier than handling the C api directly. (There are plenty of 
other options, but I prefer Pyrex).

Pyrex should make it easy for you to define an appropriate context type 
directly in your extension module. This is probably a better solution than 
trying to put a Python wrapper around a set of procedures as it means you 
can control access to the C functions much more tightly.