# Cython

> programming language compatible with Python

**Wikidata**: [Q975594](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q975594)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cython)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/cython

## Summary
Cython is a programming language that is compatible with Python and designed to enable C extensions for Python code. It serves as a source-to-source compiler that translates Python-like code into C code, allowing for performance optimization of Python applications.

## Key Facts
- Inception: 2007-07-28
- License: Apache Software License 2.0 and Apache License
- Based on: Python and Pyrex
- Website: https://cython.org
- Instance of: free and open-source software, implementation of a programming language, source-to-source compiler, programming language, Python package
- Named after: Python
- Influenced by: Python
- Implementation of: Python
- Dialect of computer language: Python
- Operating systems: Linux, Unix-like operating systems, Microsoft Windows, macOS
- Version history includes releases from 0.9.6.14 through 0.11.3 (2012)
- Source code repository: https://github.com/cython/cython

## FAQs
### Q: What is Cython used for?
A: Cython is used to write C extensions for Python, allowing developers to optimize performance-critical Python code by compiling it to C. It bridges the gap between Python's ease of use and C's execution speed.

### Q: How does Cython differ from Python?
A: Cython is a superset of Python that adds optional static typing and direct C-level manipulation capabilities. While Python code runs through an interpreter, Cython code compiles to C, resulting in significantly faster execution for performance-critical applications.

### Q: Is Cython compatible with existing Python code?
A: Yes, Cython is fully compatible with Python. Any valid Python code is also valid Cython code, though Cython adds additional syntax and capabilities for performance optimization that aren't available in standard Python.

## Why It Matters
Cython matters because it solves a fundamental problem in Python development: the trade-off between development speed and execution performance. Python is renowned for its simplicity and rapid development capabilities, but it can be slow for computationally intensive tasks. Cython bridges this gap by allowing developers to write Python-like code that compiles to highly optimized C, achieving performance close to native C while maintaining Python's readability. This makes it invaluable for scientific computing, data analysis, machine learning, and other domains where Python's ecosystem is strong but performance demands are high. By enabling seamless integration of C extensions without requiring developers to write pure C code, Cython has become an essential tool for scaling Python applications and has contributed significantly to Python's viability in high-performance computing contexts.

## Notable For
- Being a source-to-source compiler that translates Python-like code to C
- Enabling C extensions for Python without requiring pure C programming
- Providing optional static typing to optimize Python code performance
- Maintaining full compatibility with Python while adding C-level capabilities
- Supporting multiple operating systems including Linux, Windows, and macOS

## Body
### Technical Foundation
Cython is built as a superset of Python, meaning it extends Python's syntax with additional features while maintaining backward compatibility. The language adds optional static typing declarations that allow the compiler to generate more efficient C code. This static typing is the key to Cython's performance benefits, as it enables the compiler to make optimizations that would be impossible with Python's dynamic typing system.

### Compilation Process
The Cython compilation process works by translating Cython source files (typically with .pyx extension) into C code, which is then compiled using a standard C compiler. This generated C code interfaces with Python's C API, allowing the resulting modules to be imported and used just like regular Python modules. The compilation step adds a build-time overhead but results in significantly faster runtime performance.

### Performance Characteristics
Cython can achieve performance improvements of 10-100x over pure Python code for appropriate use cases. The performance gains are most significant for numerical computations, loops, and other CPU-intensive operations. By allowing direct manipulation of C data types and providing access to C libraries, Cython eliminates much of the overhead associated with Python's dynamic features.

### Integration with Python Ecosystem
Cython integrates seamlessly with the broader Python ecosystem. It can call C functions and declare C types on variables and class attributes, allowing direct manipulation of C data structures from Python syntax. This makes it possible to wrap existing C libraries or optimize specific bottlenecks in Python applications without rewriting entire systems in C.

### Development and Community
The project is actively maintained with development occurring on GitHub at https://github.com/cython/cython. The community provides support through IRC channels (irc://irc.freenode.net/#cython) and maintains comprehensive documentation at https://cython.org. Cython is packaged for major Linux distributions and available through package managers like pip, making it accessible to developers across different platforms.

## Schema Markup
```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "Cython",
  "description": "programming language compatible with Python",
  "url": "https://cython.org",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cython",
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1234567"
  ],
  "additionalType": "ProgrammingLanguage"
}

## References

1. [Source](https://github.com/cython/cython/blob/master/LICENSE.txt)
2. [Cython: C-Extensions for Python](http://cython.org/)
3. [The cython Open Source Project on Open Hub: Languages Page. Open Hub](https://www.openhub.net/p/cython/analyses/latest/languages_summary)
4. [Source](https://docs.cython.org/en/latest/src/quickstart/install.html)
5. [Release 0.9.6.14. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.9.6.14)
6. [Release 0.9.8. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.9.8)
7. [Release 0.9.8.1. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.9.8.1)
8. [Release 0.10. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.10)
9. [Release 0.10.1. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.10.1)
10. [Release 0.10.2. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.10.2)
11. [Release 0.10.3. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.10.3)
12. [Release 0.11.1. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.11.1)
13. [Release 0.11.2. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.11.2)
14. [Release 0.11.3. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.11.3)
15. [Release 0.12. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.12)
16. [Release 0.12.1. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.12.1)
17. [Release 0.13. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.13)
18. [Release 0.14. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.14)
19. [Release 0.14.1. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.14.1)
20. [Release 0.15. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.15)
21. [Release 0.15.1. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.15.1)
22. [Release 0.16. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.16)
23. [Release 0.17. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.17)
24. [Release 0.17.1. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.17.1)
25. [Release 0.17.2. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.17.2)
26. [Release 0.17.3. 2012](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.17.3)
27. [Release 0.17.4. 2013](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.17.4)
28. [Release 0.18. 2013](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.18)
29. [Release 0.19. 2013](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.19)
30. [Release 0.19.1. 2013](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.19.1)
31. [Release 0.19.2. 2013](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.19.2)
32. [Release 0.20. 2014](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.20)
33. [Release 0.20.1. 2014](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.20.1)
34. [Release 0.20.2. 2014](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.20.2)
35. [Release 0.21. 2014](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.21)
36. [Release 0.21.1. 2014](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.21.1)
37. [Release 0.21.2. 2014](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.21.2)
38. [Release 0.22. 2015](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.22)
39. [Release 0.22.1. 2015](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.22.1)
40. [Release 0.23. 2015](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.23)
41. [Release 0.23.1. 2015](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.23.1)
42. [Release 0.23.2. 2015](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.23.2)
43. [Release 0.23.3. 2015](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.23.3)
44. [Release 0.23.4. 2015](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.23.4)
45. [Release 0.23.5. 2016](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.23.5)
46. [Release 0.24. 2016](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.24)
47. [Release 0.24.1. 2016](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.24.1)
48. [Release 0.25. 2016](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.25)
49. [Release 0.25.1. 2016](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.25.1)
50. [Release 0.25.2. 2016](https://github.com/cython/cython/releases/tag/0.25.2)