From 10a65539d4d7ef0467edd970c413981815757662 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Fan Jiang <fan.jiang@gatech.edu>
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 2026 13:15:35 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Bind std::function variables as named Python functions

---
 DOCS.md                                     |  7 ++++-
 gtwrap/pybind_wrapper.py                    | 35 ++++++++++++++++++++-
 tests/expected/python/namespaces_pybind.cpp | 31 ++++++++++++++++--
 3 files changed, 69 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/DOCS.md b/DOCS.md
index 2d25ce0..8303045 100644
--- a/DOCS.md
+++ b/DOCS.md
@@ -128,7 +128,12 @@ The python wrapper supports keyword arguments for functions/methods. Hence, the
 
 - Global variables
     - Similar to global functions, the wrapper supports global variables as well.
-    - Currently we only support primitive types, such as `double`, `int`, `string`, etc.
+    - Primitive types such as `double`, `int`, and `string` become Python module attributes.
+    - Variables whose C++ type is `std::function`, including type aliases, become
+      named Python functions with signatures that `pybind11-stubgen` can discover.
+      Declare the alias in an included C++ header and use it as the variable type
+      in the interface file. Empty `std::function` values become `None`.
+      MATLAB continues to ignore global variables.
     - E.g.
         ```cpp
         const double kGravity = -9.81;
diff --git a/gtwrap/pybind_wrapper.py b/gtwrap/pybind_wrapper.py
index 6ee569c..7b6dbf5 100755
--- a/gtwrap/pybind_wrapper.py
+++ b/gtwrap/pybind_wrapper.py
@@ -43,6 +43,35 @@ class PybindWrapper:
   return PyArgPolicy<typename std::decay<T>::type>::make(name);
 }
 
+}  // namespace internal
+}  // namespace gtwrap
+"""
+
+    VARIABLE_BINDING_SUPPORT = """
+#include <pybind11/functional.h>
+
+namespace gtwrap {
+namespace internal {
+
+// Let C++ resolve aliases rather than guessing callable types in the parser.
+template <typename T>
+void bind_variable(pybind11::module_& module, const char* name, const T& value) {
+  module.attr(name) = value;
+}
+
+template <typename Return, typename... Args>
+void bind_variable(pybind11::module_& module, const char* name,
+                   const std::function<Return(Args...)>& value) {
+  if (!value) {
+    module.attr(name) = pybind11::none();
+  } else if (auto target = value.template target<Return (*)(Args...)>()) {
+    // Preserve pybind11's direct C++ callback path for function pointers.
+    module.def(name, *target);
+  } else {
+    module.def(name, value);
+  }
+}
+
 }  // namespace internal
 }  // namespace gtwrap
 """
@@ -443,7 +472,9 @@ def wrap_variable(self,
         else:
             variable_value = variable.default
 
-        return '{prefix}{module_var}.attr("{variable_name}") = {namespace}{variable_value};'.format(
+        return ('{prefix}gtwrap::internal::bind_variable('
+                '{module_var}, "{variable_name}", '
+                '{namespace}{variable_value});').format(
             prefix=prefix,
             module_var=module_var,
             variable_name=variable.name,
@@ -936,6 +967,8 @@ def wrap_file(self,
             ])
 
         includes += self.ARG_POLICY_SUPPORT
+        if 'gtwrap::internal::bind_variable(' in wrapped_bindings:
+            includes += self.VARIABLE_BINDING_SUPPORT
 
         return self.module_template.format(
             module_def=module_def,
diff --git a/tests/expected/python/namespaces_pybind.cpp b/tests/expected/python/namespaces_pybind.cpp
index 763254a..ee5cecd 100644
--- a/tests/expected/python/namespaces_pybind.cpp
+++ b/tests/expected/python/namespaces_pybind.cpp
@@ -29,6 +29,33 @@ pybind11::arg py_arg(const char* name) {
 }  // namespace internal
 }  // namespace gtwrap
 
+#include <pybind11/functional.h>
+
+namespace gtwrap {
+namespace internal {
+
+// Let C++ resolve aliases rather than guessing callable types in the parser.
+template <typename T>
+void bind_variable(pybind11::module_& module, const char* name, const T& value) {
+  module.attr(name) = value;
+}
+
+template <typename Return, typename... Args>
+void bind_variable(pybind11::module_& module, const char* name,
+                   const std::function<Return(Args...)>& value) {
+  if (!value) {
+    module.attr(name) = pybind11::none();
+  } else if (auto target = value.template target<Return (*)(Args...)>()) {
+    // Preserve pybind11's direct C++ callback path for function pointers.
+    module.def(name, *target);
+  } else {
+    module.def(name, value);
+  }
+}
+
+}  // namespace internal
+}  // namespace gtwrap
+
 
 
 
@@ -98,7 +125,7 @@ void gtwrap_bind_namespaces_py(py::module_ &m_) {
     gtwrap_class_m_ns2_ClassC
         .def(py::init<>());
 
-    m_ns2.attr("aNs2Var") = ns2::aNs2Var;
+    gtwrap::internal::bind_variable(m_ns2, "aNs2Var", ns2::aNs2Var);
     m_ns2.def("aGlobalFunction",static_cast<gtsam::Vector (*)()>(&ns2::aGlobalFunction));
     m_ns2.def("overloadedGlobalFunction",static_cast<ns1::ClassA (*)(const ns1::ClassA&)>(&ns2::overloadedGlobalFunction), gtwrap::internal::py_arg<const ns1::ClassA&>("a"));
     m_ns2.def("overloadedGlobalFunction",static_cast<ns1::ClassA (*)(const ns1::ClassA&, double)>(&ns2::overloadedGlobalFunction), gtwrap::internal::py_arg<const ns1::ClassA&>("a"), gtwrap::internal::py_arg<double>("b"));
@@ -106,7 +133,7 @@ void gtwrap_bind_namespaces_py(py::module_ &m_) {
     gtwrap_class_m__ClassD
         .def(py::init<>());
 
-    m_.attr("aGlobalVar") = aGlobalVar;
+    gtwrap::internal::bind_variable(m_, "aGlobalVar", aGlobalVar);
     pybind11::module m_gtsam = py::reinterpret_borrow<pybind11::module>(m_.attr("gtsam"));
 
     auto gtwrap_class_m_gtsam_Values = py::reinterpret_borrow<py::class_<gtsam::Values, std::shared_ptr<gtsam::Values>>>(m_gtsam.attr("Values"));