Can I create a static Cython library using distutils?

Question

I'd like to build a static Cython library using distutils. I don't care about having it be a true Python extension module that can be import'ed. I just want to compile the code and put the objects in a static library. The code to create a dynamic library is very simple,

from distutils.core import setup
from distutils.extension import Extension
from Cython.Distutils import build_ext

setup(
   cmdclass = {'build_ext':build_ext},
   ext_modules = [Extension("test",["test.pyx"])]
)

Is there a simple way to make it static instead?

Answer 1

Distutils is very limited and not set up for static builds. I would advise you to use something else to compile the static library part of your project.

If your use case is to call into Cython code from other C code, then you want to use the public or api declarations along with your cdef declared functions and variables in your Cython code. Cython will allow the so-declared objects to be called from external C code, and it will generate a .h file alongside the .c file for you.