Docs on plugins for building extension modules?

[codeandfire]

Hi,

From the docs on building extension modules, I can see that Setuptools has in-built functionality for building C/C++ extension modules, and Cython extensions can be built with an extra build-time cython dependency. For other tools like CMake or other languages like Rust and Go, I believe the solution is to write a plugin that overrides the Setuptools build_ext command. However, I can't find much documentation on writing such plugins: this page in the Setuptools docs doesn't cover the build_ext command, and the Distutils docs (here, here and here) don't seem to cover them either.

Is there any place where I can find documentation on this?

P.S. I know that there are existing plugins for Rust and Go and possibly even CMake, and that I probably do not have write them myself. But I still want to understand how this really works, hence the question.

[abravalheri]

Sorry for the delay in replying @codeandfire.

Is there any place where I can find documentation on this?

I am afraid that the official documentation still does not cover that.

The following doc may be related https://setuptools--3485.org.readthedocs.build/en/3485/userguide/ext_modules.html

In preparation for the upcoming PEP 660 implementation I would also advise about having a look on https://setuptools--3485.org.readthedocs.build/en/3485/userguide/extension.html#customizing-commands.

In terms of implementation, I would take advantage of the setuptools.finalize_distribution_options entry-point to modify the cmdclass attribute of the distribution object and, this way, inject a custom build_ext or define a separated custom build step.

[codeandfire]

Cool, thank you very much!