Re: Safe-Python?

Steven D. Majewski (sdm7g@virginia.edu)
Wed, 28 Sep 1994 12:49:29 -0400 (EDT)

On Wed, 28 Sep 1994, Donald Beaudry wrote:

> >>>>> On Tue, 27 Sep 94 16:59:59 PDT, lance@fox.com said:
> > One of the biggest problems with making a safe-python as far as I see it
> > is that there is only one interpreter with only one main name space.
>
> This issue was discussed briefly well over a year ago. I think making
> the necessary changes is a good idea, but since Guido has already
> accused me of trying to rewrite the entire Python object system (quite
> possibly a justifiable accusation) I think I need to be careful
> here.
>

If you add a mechanism, when instantiating a new interpreter, to
specify that some modules, if imported, will be shared R/W, some
will be shared-ReadOnly, and others will be independently imported,
then you have a safe communication path between modules other than
the final return value. Which makes threads and co-routines IN python
( rather than implemented by OS thread support ) possible.

What's more, I suspect some of the changes to the interpreter needed
to make separate interpreters possible are quite similar to the
changes we discussed when that thread ( threads and coroutines IN
python ) was last discussed. So, we might kill two (or more) birds
with one stone here!

-- Steve Majewski (804-982-0831) <sdm7g@Virginia.EDU> --
-- UVA Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics --
-- Box 449 Health Science Center Charlottesville,VA 22908 --
[ "Cheese is more macho?" ]