Cython Basics

Cython is a programming language that looks almost exactly like Python and compiles to C. Take a .py file, add a few type annotations to the hot loop, rename it to .pyx, run cythonize, and the result is a Python extension module that runs at C speeds. For numeric kernels and tight loops, the speedup is typically 10x to 100x over pure Python with the same algorithm. This lesson covers when Cython fits, the basic syntax, the build process, and how it compares to other "make Python faster" options.