Create a C function and Call it from Python

Create the C function:

First, create a file named add.c with the following content:

// add.c
#include <stdio.h>

int add(int a, int b) {
    return a + b;
}

Compile the C function:

Next, you need to compile the C code into a shared library. If you’re on Linux or macOS, you can use gcc:

gcc -shared -o libadd.so -fPIC add.c

On Windows, you might use gcc from MinGW:

gcc -shared -o add.dll -Wl,--out-implib,libadd.a add.c

Call the C function from Python:

Create a Python script named call_add.py with the following content:

import ctypes

# Load the shared library into ctypes
if __name__ == "__main__":
    lib = ctypes.CDLL('./libadd.so')  # Use 'add.dll' on Windows

    # Define the argument and return types of the C function
    lib.add.argtypes = [ctypes.c_int, ctypes.c_int]
    lib.add.restype = ctypes.c_int

    # Call the C function
    result = lib.add(3, 5)
    print(f'The result of adding 3 and 5 is: {result}')

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