Background

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There are two basic models for combining C++ and Python:

extending, in which the end-user launches the Python interpreter executable and imports Python “extension modules” written in C++. Think of taking a library written in C++ and giving it a Python interface so Python programmers can use it. From Python, these modules look just like regular Python modules.
embedding, in which the end-user launches a program written in C++ that in turn invokes the Python interpreter as a library subroutine. Think of adding scriptability to an existing application.

The key distinction between extending and embedding is the location of the C++ main() function: in the Python interpreter executable, or in some other program, respectively. Note that even when embedding Python in another program, extension modules are often the best way to make C/C++ functionality accessible to Python code, so the use of extension modules is really at the heart of both models.

Except in rare cases, extension modules are built as dynamically-loaded libraries with a single entry point, which means you can change them without rebuilding either the other extension modules or the executable containing main().

Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. (See accompanying file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt)