53 lines
2.0 KiB
Plaintext
53 lines
2.0 KiB
Plaintext
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From: wtanksle at dolphin.openprojects.net (William Tanksley)
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Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 17:54:02 GMT
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Subject: Python IS slow ! [was] Re: Python too slow for real world
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References: <613145F79272D211914B0020AFF6401914DAD8@gandalf.digicool.com> <p5g15lmb35.fsf@bidra241.bbn.hp.com>
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Message-ID: <slrn7ieipq.8uk.wtanksle@dolphin.openprojects.net>
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Content-Length: 1583
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X-UID: 245
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On 28 Apr 1999 09:57:18 +0200, Markus Kohler wrote:
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>>>>>> "Brian" == Brian Lloyd <Brian at digicool.com> writes:
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>[deltia]
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> Brian> Arne,
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>Python would be appropriate for much more problems if it would only be as fast
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>as other scripting languages. The bytecode interpreter IS significantly slower
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>than other byte code interpreted languages. Since we all know that python
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>is more productive than most other languages, this becomes sooner or later an
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>issue because one would not be able some tasks in python because it is just
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>to slow.
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Your data is correct (Python is slow for many things, slower than it needs
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to be), but your conclusion is wrong. Python isn't slow because its
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bytecode engine is slow; actually, although there's a lot of room for
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improvement, its bytecode engine is faster than many of the others out
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there.
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The reason it's slow is its runtime model. _Every_ function call requires
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a lookup in a hash table, just on the off-chance that the programmer
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changed the meaning of the function.
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>It seems to me that without a redesign of at least the bytecode for
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>function calls python's speed will not take off.
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Bytecode won't help enough -- the whole calling model needs to be
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examined. Fortunately, that's one of the things the 2.0 design process
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will be looking at. Like you, I hope that they consider Smalltalk as an
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example.
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And Oberon (SlimBinaries), and Eiffel (typing and general compile-time
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error catching), and ...
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>Markus
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--
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-William "Billy" Tanksley
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"But you shall not escape my iambics."
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-- Gaius Valerius Catullus
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