[swift-evolution] Python Interop with Swift 4+

[David Hart]

For what it’s worth, the Lua Programming language also has a similar C API to Ruby. So it might be worth writing very simple glue code for the most common dynamic languages to see how the DynamicMemberLookupProtocol and DynamicCallable protocols hold up before the proposals are considered for approval.

David.

> On 20 Nov 2017, at 09:16, David Hart via swift-evolution <swift-evolution at swift.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Chris,
> 
> I’ve had a quick look into how your proposals will allow interop with other dynamic languages. It seems that the model that you chose, where calling a function is a two-step process (getting a DynamicCallable function from a DynamicMemberLookupProtocol type) fits Python like a glove, where everything (including functions) is a PyVal. But in other languages, like Ruby, this model makes less sense.
> 
> For example, here is how one uses the Ruby C API to call a method of an object:
> 
> result = rb_funcallv(obj, rb_intern(“methodName"), arg_count, args);
> 
> And here is how one gets and sets instance variables:
> 
> x = rb_iv_get(obj, "@x");
> rb_iv_set(obj, "@x", x);
> 
> Moreover, Ruby allows classes to have instance variables with the same name as methods:
> 
> class Foo
>   def initialize()
>     @bar = 5
>   end
> 
>   def bar()
>     puts “Hello"
>   end
> end
> 
> In that case, how would one implement DynamicMemberLookupProtocol for the lookup of bar, and what would the return value be? Its entirely context sensitive.
> 
> If we want a model that fits the most languages, shouldn’t we redefine DynamicCallable to specify the function name?
> 
> protocol DynamicCallable {
>     associatedtype DynamicCallableArgument
>     associatedtype DynamicCallableResult
> 
>     func dynamicCall(function: String, arguments: [(String, DynamicCallableArgument)]) throws -> DynamicCallableResult
> }
> 
> This would work in both languages:
> 
> extension PyVal: DynamicMemberLookupProtocol, DynamicCallable {
>     func dynamicCall(function: String, arguments: [(String, PyVal)]) throws -> PyVal {
>         let functionVal = self[function]
>         functionVal.call(arguments)
>     }
> }
> 
> extension RbVal: DynamicMemberLookupProtocol, DynamicCallable {
>     func dynamicCall(function: String, arguments: [(String, PyVal)]) throws -> PyVal {
>         return rb_funcallv(self, rb_intern(function), arguments.count, arguments);
>     }
> }
> 
> Thoughts?
> David.
> 
>> On 20 Nov 2017, at 03:16, Chris Lattner via swift-evolution <swift-evolution at swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution at swift.org>> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> As I mentioned on a couple other threads, I’ve been working on improving Swift interoperability with Python.  I have two pitches out: one to improve Python member lookup and one to improve calls to Python values.  While those proposals are important, I think it is also useful to see what can be accomplished with Swift today.
>> 
>> To show you how far we can get, here is a Swift playground (tested with Xcode 9) that has an example interoperability layer, and a tutorial for using it.  If you’re interested in the pitches, or in Python, please check it out:
>> 
>> <PythonInterop.playground.zip>
>> 
>> In addition to showing how far the interop can go today (which is really quite far) it shows what the future will look like assuming the member lookup and call issues are resolved.  To reiterate what I said on the pitch threads, I am not attached at all to the details of the two pitches themselves, I simply want the problems they address to be solved.
>> 
>> Finally, of course I also welcome questions and feedback on the actual approach, naming, and other suggestions to improve the model!  Thanks,
>> 
>> -Chris
>> 
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> 
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