[section boost/python/lvalue_from_pytype.hpp]
[section Introduction]
<boost/python/lvalue_from_pytype.hpp> supplies a facility for extracting C++ objects from within Python instances of a given type. This is typically useful for dealing with "traditional" Python extension types. 
[endsect]
[section Class template `lvalue_from_pytype`]
Class template lvalue_from_pytype will register from_python converters which, given an object of the given Python type, can extract references and pointers to a particular C++ type. Its template arguments are:

 In the table below, x denotes an object of type PythonObject& 
[table
[[Parameter][Requirements][Semantics]]
[[Extractor][a model of [link concepts.extractor `Extractor`] whose execute function returns a reference type.][Extracts the lvalue from the Python object once its type has been confirmed]]
[[python_type][A compile-time constant [@http://www.python.org/doc/2.2/ext/dnt-type-methods.html `PyTypeObject*`]][The Python type of instances convertible by this converter. Python subtypes are also convertible.]]
]
``
namespace boost { namespace python
{
   template <class Extractor, PyTypeObject const* python_type>
   struct lvalue_from_pytype
   {
       lvalue_from_pytype();
   };
}}
``
[section Class template `lvalue_from_pytype` constructor]
``lvalue_from_pytype();``
[variablelist
[[Effects][Registers converters which can convert Python objects of the given type to lvalues of the type returned by Extractor::execute.]]
]
[endsect]
[endsect]
[section Class template `extract_identity`]
extract_identity is a model of [link concepts.extractor `Extractor`] which can be used in the common case where the C++ type to be extracted is the same as the Python object type.
``
namespace boost { namespace python
{
   template <class InstanceType>
   struct extract_identity
   {
      static InstanceType& execute(InstanceType& c);
   };
}}
``
[section Class template `extract_identity` static functions]
``InstanceType& execute(InstanceType& c);``
[variablelist
[[Returns][c]]
]
[endsect]
[endsect]
[section Class template `extract_member`]
`extract_member` is a model of [link concepts.extractor `Extractor`] which can be used in the common case in the common case where the C++ type to be extracted is a member of the Python object.
``
namespace boost { namespace python
{
   template <class InstanceType, class MemberType, MemberType (InstanceType::*member)>
   struct extract_member
   {
      static MemberType& execute(InstanceType& c);
   };
}}
``
[section Class template `extract_member` static functions]
``static MemberType& execute(InstanceType& c);``
[variablelist
[[Returns][`c.*member`]]
]
[endsect]
[endsect]
[section Example]
This example presumes that someone has implemented the standard noddy example module from the Python documentation, and we want to build a module which manipulates Noddys. Since noddy_NoddyObject is so simple that it carries no interesting information, the example is a bit contrived: it assumes you want to keep track of one particular object for some reason. This module would have to be dynamically linked to the module which defines noddy_NoddyType. 

In C++:
``
#include <boost/python/module.hpp>
#include <boost/python/handle.hpp>
#include <boost/python/borrowed.hpp>
#include <boost/python/lvalue_from_pytype.hpp>

// definition lifted from the Python docs
typedef struct {
   PyObject_HEAD
} noddy_NoddyObject;

using namespace boost::python;
static handle<noddy_NoddyObject> cache;

bool is_cached(noddy_NoddyObject* x)
{
   return x == cache.get();
}

void set_cache(noddy_NoddyObject* x)
{
   cache = handle<noddy_NoddyObject>(borrowed(x));
}

BOOST_PYTHON_MODULE(noddy_cache)
{
   def("is_cached", is_cached);
   def("set_cache", set_cache);

   // register Noddy lvalue converter
   lvalue_from_pytype<extract_identity<noddy_NoddyObject>,&noddy_NoddyType>();
}
``
In Python:
``
>>> import noddy
>>> n = noddy.new_noddy()
>>> import noddy_cache
>>> noddy_cache.is_cached(n)
0
>>> noddy_cache.set_cache(n)
>>> noddy_cache.is_cached(n)
1
>>> noddy_cache.is_cached(noddy.new_noddy())
0
``
[endsect]
[endsect]