Commit 461342a2 authored by Stefan Behnel's avatar Stefan Behnel

Improve some wordings in the primes tutorial.

parent de2a01e2
......@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ def primes(int nb_primes):
if nb_primes > 1000:
nb_primes = 1000
len_p = 0 # The number of elements in p
len_p = 0 # The current number of elements in p.
n = 2
while len_p < nb_primes:
# Is n prime?
......@@ -12,12 +12,12 @@ def primes(int nb_primes):
if n % i == 0:
break
# If no break occurred in the loop
# If no break occurred in the loop, we have a prime.
else:
p[len_p] = n
len_p += 1
n += 1
# Let's put the result in a python list:
# Let's return the result in a python list:
result_as_list = [prime for prime in p[:len_p]]
return result_as_list
......@@ -146,11 +146,15 @@ The result is stored in the C array ``p`` during processing,
and will be copied into a Python list at the end (line 22).
.. NOTE:: You cannot create very large arrays in this manner, because
they are allocated on something called the stack.
they are allocated on the C function call stack, which is a
rather precious and scarce resource.
To request larger arrays,
or even arrays with a length only known at runtime
you can learn how to use :ref:`Python arrays<array-array>`
or :ref:`NumPy arrays<memoryviews>` with Cython.
or even arrays with a length only known at runtime,
you can learn how to make efficient use of
:ref:`C memory allocation <memory_allocation>`,
:ref:`Python arrays <array-array>`
or :ref:`NumPy arrays <memoryviews>` with Cython.
::
if nb_primes > 1000:
......@@ -179,9 +183,11 @@ You will notice the way we iterate over the ``p`` C array. ::
for i in p[:len_p]:
The loop gets translated into C code transparently. As if it was a Python list
or a NumPy array. If you don't use ``[:len_p]`` then Cython will loop
over the 1000 elements of the array. ::
The loop gets translated into a fast C loop and works just like iterating
over a Python list or NumPy array. If you don't slice the C array with
``[:len_p]``, then Cython will loop over the 1000 elements of the array.
::
# If no break occurred in the loop
else:
......@@ -191,29 +197,31 @@ over the 1000 elements of the array. ::
If no breaks occurred, it means that we found a prime, and the block of code
after the ``else`` line 16 will be executed. We add the prime found to ``p``.
If you find having an ``else`` after a ``for-loop`` strange, just know that it's a
lesser known features of the Python language of the python syntax, and
actually doesn't exist in C! But since Cython is made to be written with the
Python syntax, it'll work out, but at C speed in this case.
If the ``for-else`` syntax still confuses you, see this excellent
`blog post <https://shahriar.svbtle.com/pythons-else-clause-in-loops>`_. ::
If you find having an ``else`` after a for-loop strange, just know that it's a
lesser known features of the Python language, and that Cython executes it at
C speed for you.
If the for-else syntax confuses you, see this excellent
`blog post <https://shahriar.svbtle.com/pythons-else-clause-in-loops>`_.
::
# Let's put the result in a python list:
result_as_list = [prime for prime in p[:len_p]]
return result_as_list
Line 22, before returning the result, we need to copy our C array into a
Python list, because Python can't read C arrays. Cython can automatically
In line 22, before returning the result, we need to copy our C array into a
Python list, because Python can't read C arrays. Cython can automatically
convert many C types from and to Python types, as described in the
documentation on :ref:`type conversion <type-conversion>`. But not C arrays. We can trick
Cython into doing it because Cython knows how to convert a C int to a Python int.
By doing a list comprehension, we "cast" each C int prime from ``p`` into a Python int.
You could have also iterated manually over the C array and used
documentation on :ref:`type conversion <type-conversion>`, so we can use
a simple list comprehension here to copy the C ``int`` values into a Python
list of Python ``int`` objects, which Cython creates automatically along the way.
You could also have iterated manually over the C array and used
``result_as_list.append(prime)``, the result would have been the same.
You'll notice we declare a Python list exactly the same way it would be in Python.
Because the variable ``result_as_list`` hasn't been explicitly declared with a type,
it is assumed to hold a Python object.
it is assumed to hold a Python object, and from the assignment, Cython also knows
that the exact type is a Python list.
Finally, at line 18, a normal
Python return statement returns the result list.
......@@ -279,9 +287,9 @@ Now the ``setup.py`` looks like this::
from Cython.Build import cythonize
setup(
ext_modules=cythonize(['example.pyx', # has the primes() function
'example_py_cy.py'], # has the primes_python_compiled() function
annotate=True), # produces the html annotation file
ext_modules=cythonize(['example.pyx', # Cython code file with primes() function
'example_py_cy.py'], # Python code file with primes_python_compiled() function
annotate=True), # enables generation of the html annotation file
)
Now we can ensure that those two programs output the same values::
......
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