On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 2:02 AM, Alan Gauld <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> "S. Doron" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote > > Hello, I'm new to this list. What I'd like to do is add support for >> pointers >> to an old version of python (2.2) in an existing application (a game). >> > > What do you mean by "add support for pointers"? > Pointers are a very low level memory specific thing in C. > In Pascal they are a much higher level logical concept. > In Python every variable is a reference to a value, a pointer if you like. > > So what kind of pointer do you want and why? > What do you intend to do with these pointers? > > I found the ctypes module which is supposed to add >> this capability to python. >> > > Not exactly. As the name suggests ctypes allows Python > to access code written in C. On Windows that usually means > code stored in a DLL. It does not add any new pointer > capability to Python itself. > > Alternatively, if it's possible (or easier) to just replace the >> preexisting >> version of python with 2.5 by messing around with the dll's somehow, >> instructions on how to do so would be welcome. >> > > Again, I don't know what replacing 2.2 with 2.5 would give you > that you need? > > highschool programming, and online python tutorials), but have little >> experience in interfacing with windows, dlls, files, etc. In case you're >> wondering what I need the pointers for, it's for accessing lower-level >> functions from the game's console/script files, that aren't otherwise >> available (I've used dir() to get a list of object methods). >> > > OK, that probably does need ctypes which wuill let you access the > functions and convert from the C types to the more usual Python types. > There are some ctypes tutorials and examples around which should help. > > Alan G. > > I've tried reading tutorials, but I can't make heads or tails of the installation instructions. For instance, I'm not sure whether the installation instructions included in ctypes are even relevant. Do I need to set it up if I just want to add the module to the application, or do I just copy relevant .py files? Am I supposed to compile anything? The ctypes\__init__.py file tries to import _ctypes, but there is no _ctypes.py file (there is a _ctypes.c file, though). And do I need libffi installed if I'm using windows? If so, where and how do I install it? (the libffi readme is kind of fuzzy) Lastly, should the need to compile the _ctypes.c file arise, what free C compiler would you recommend?
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