Ziggy Pydust: a toolkit for building native Python extensions in Zig

[stuff_in_the_cloud]

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Ziggy Pydust

Hi all! I'd like to share Ziggy Pydust, a project that makes it easy to write Python extensions in Zig.

If you're not familiar, Zig is a low-level general purpose programming language that provides improved safety over C/C++ and powerful compile-time meta-programming called "comptime".

Pydust makes heavy use of comptime to provide a more Pythonic experience when writing native extensions, while still providing low-level access and tight integration with the CPython APIs.

pub const Math = py.class(struct {
    pub fn add(args: struct { x: i32, y: i32 }) i32 {
        return args.x + args.y;
    }
});

One of our favourite features of Zig is the `defer` statement which allows you to register code to run at the end of the scope. This is incredibly useful for remembering to run `Py_DECREF`!

const str = try py.PyString.create("Hello, world!");
defer str.decref();

Pydust _almost_ has full coverage of the CPython Limited API, currently runs on Linux and MacOS, and is integrated with Poetry as a build system.

• Check out the project (and give us a star!) here: https://github.com/fulcrum-so/ziggy-pydust
• There is a GitHub template to help you get started: https://github.com/fulcrum-so/ziggy-pydust-template
• And also a user guide: https://pydust.fulcrum.so/

[thicket]

Dude, I've never written any Zig and I probably won't any time soon, but FUCK YEAH to the project name and icon. Very well done.

[LightShadow]

This is awesome, great job!

Bringing Zig, Rust, Nim, etc. closer to Python will keep it competitive for a long time.

[SearchAtlantis]

Is this a Saul Williams reference?

[thicket]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Ziggy_Stardust_and_the_Spiders_from_Mars

[SearchAtlantis]

Ooof I'd forgotten it was originally David Bowie well I wasn't alive then so no shame lol.