py-cxx-builder 0.1.4

Build C++ extensions for Python with cross-platform support (MSVC/GCC)

py-cxx-builder

A Python library for building C++ extensions with cross-platform support for MSVC (Windows) and GCC (Linux/macOS).

Installation

pip install py-cxx-builder

Features

• Cross-platform support: MSVC on Windows, GCC on Linux/macOS
• Automatic detection of Python include directories
• Parallel compilation using multiprocessing
• Static library generation before linking
• Automatic dependency detection (header files)
• Generation of compile_commands.json for IDE integration

Quick Start

from py_cxx_builder import CXXBuilder
import glob

# Create a builder instance
builder = CXXBuilder()

# Add macros
builder.add_macro('MY_MACRO', 1)

# Add source files
builder.add_files(['src/module.cpp', 'src/utils.cpp'])

# Set the main extension file
builder.set_main_file('src/main.cpp')

# Add include directories
builder.include_dirs.append('include')

# Build the extension
builder.build('my_extension')

API Reference

CXXBuilder

The main class for building C++ extensions.

Methods

• add_macro(key, value=None): Add a preprocessor macro
• add_files(files, directory=None, kind=None): Add source files to compile
• remove_files(files, directory=None): Remove source files from the build
• set_main_file(fn, directory=None): Set the main extension source file
• detect(hdr, lib, macros=None): Detect if a header exists and add library
• build(name, nprocess=None): Build the extension module

Attributes

• include_dirs: List of include directories
• libdirs: List of library directories
• macros: List of preprocessor macros
• libs: List of libraries to link
• extra_compile_args: Extra compiler arguments
• extra_link_args: Extra linker arguments

Platform-Specific Notes

Windows (MSVC)

The builder automatically configures:

• /O2 optimization
• /std:c++20 standard
• Debug symbols with PDB files
• UTF-8 source encoding

Linux/macOS (GCC)

The builder automatically configures:

• -O2 optimization
• -std=c++20 standard
• Position-independent code (-fpic)
• Dead code stripping

Requirements

• Python >= 3.10
• setuptools >= 61.0
• A C++ compiler (MSVC on Windows, GCC on Linux/macOS)

License

MIT License