[SciPy-dev] Cython, f2py and GSoC

[Dag Sverre Seljebotn]

David Huard wrote:
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 6:23 PM, Dag Sverre Seljebotn 
> <dagss at student.matnat.uio.no <mailto:dagss at student.matnat.uio.no>> wrote:
>
>     This is in preparation for a GSoC project application; Kurt Smith has
>     approached me about doing a project on Fortran integration in Cython
>     with myself as mentor.
>
>     Although we started out with a Fortran/Cython perspective, we think
>     that this potentially affects the SciPy community and f2py as well.
>
>     The main issues:
>      1) f2py doesn't work that well for Cython, as it requires Python
>     packing/unpacking of arguments. A more direct call approach is needed.
>      2) f2py and Cython has a certain overlap in their implementation
>     (both
>     generate Python extension modules), and need to tackle many of the
>     same
>     issues both now and especially in the future
>
>     Could we solve this so that in getting Fortran/Cython integration, we
>     also set up a development path for further development of f2py with
>     Cython as a backend?
>
>     Below is a scetch of our current plan to give you an idea. More full
>     specifications etc. will come later and we can have any
>     discussions then.
>
>      1) Add a Cython syntax and API for passing acquired PEP-3118
>     buffers/NumPy arrays to external C functions (i.e. as a struct
>     with the
>     necesarry information (pointer, shape, strides)). This simply means
>     defining a syntax for passing information that Cython already has
>     to an
>     external C function.
>
>      2) Create a new tool which uses the parser part of f2py (with any
>     necesarry improvements) but adds a different backend which
>     generates a C
>     interface to the given Fortran module, along with a Cython pxd
>     file for
>     it. (Adding a C .h file target, to get "f2c" functionality, would be
>     trivial.)
>
>     This will be done using the Fortran 2003 C bindings. So a .f90 file is
>     generated which compiles to a C interface to the library. Array
>     parameters will be passed as the PEP-3118-like structs we define
>     in 1),
>     and so the functions will be callable directly with e.g. NumPy arrays
>     from Cython. Copy-in/out might be necesarry for Fortran to be able to
>     work with the arrays, if so this will happen in the Fortran wrapper
>     generated by this new tool.
>
>
> Do you plan to write a modified copy of the entire subroutine or just 
> a wrapper subroutine accepting C types, which then calls the original 
> function ?
The latter.

Though we could always skip wrapping of functions which already are 
declared BIND(C), that's actually a nice idea. This would make it 
possible to write a wrapper manually and skip this overhead in extreme 
situations (where the Fortran compiler also cannot inline the call), 
while still having Python bindings generated.

Dag Sverre