C++ API

The following files and libraries are part of the PyNE C++ interface:

• PyNE Globals – libpyne
• Nuclide Naming – libpyne_nucname
• Reaction Naming – libpyne_rxname
• Nuclear Data – libpyne_data
• Materials – libpyne_material
• Enrichement – libpyne_enrichment
• Extra Data Types (header only)
• h5wrap: An HDF5 Wrapper (header only)

Using the C++ API

While PyNE is a Python package, much of its core functionality exists purely in C/C++. The python wrappers that expose these C-level utilities exist independently of the the C-code. Therefore it is possible to use, compile, and link directly to PyNE core libraries from lower-level languages without having to touch Python at all. Additionally, this enables PyNE to be used from within other Python extension modules!

The API for PyNE functions on the C++ level is very similar to that which is exposed to Python. The differences lie largely in that C functions are strongly typed, whereas PyNE’s wrappers take heavy advantage of Python’s duck typing. For most use cases, the User’s Guide, the Python API, and the header files should be sufficient to describe the C++ API.

All PyNE shared objects are installed into the pyne/lib/ directory. The headers for both C/C++ and Cython are always installed into the pyne/includes/ directory. Unfortunately, where pyne/ is located often changes from one system to another. However, these locations may be found from the pyne_config module.

In [1]: from pyne import pyne_config

In [2]: pyne_config.lib
Out[2]: '/usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/site-packages/pyne/lib'

In [3]: pyne_config.includes
Out[3]: '/usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/site-packages/pyne/include'

The following table displays the C++ shared objects that are currently built (in Linux) and which names to use when dynamically linking to them. For an example of how to link please refer to PyNE’s own setup.py file. Additionally, feel free to contact the authors if you require additional assistance.

Pure C++ Shared Object Libraries

Module	Filename	Link With
pyne	libpyne.so	‘pyne’
nucname	libpyne_nucname.so	‘pyne_nucname’
data	libpyne_data.so	‘pyne_data’
rxname	libpyne_rxname.so	‘pyne_rxname’
material	libpyne_material.so	‘pyne_material’
enrichment	libpyne_enrichment.so	‘pyne_enrichment’