CFFI, Ctypes, Cython The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
summary
Produces a Mandelbrot image in pure Python and C, then reuses the C code from Python via Ctypes vs CFFI vs Cython and times each approach. Pure Python needs 5.2 s, native C 200 ms (~26× faster). The pipeline makes 1.5 million calls into the inner function; Ctypes yields ~2.5 s for that pattern, CFFI and Cython land near C (about 200 ms vs 5.2 s reported). Notes cover pointer ownership, memory copying, header/compile requirements, and maintainability tradeoffs.
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chapters (8)
- 0:00Introduction and goals
- 1:02Defining the test case
- 3:05Python and C implementation
- 6:56Performance benchmarking
- 10:32Using Ctypes
- 17:34Using CFFI
- 20:45Using Cython
- 24:23Final comparison and tips
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