JavaVM compiler for Python?

Dan Connolly (connolly@www18.cern.ch)
16 Apr 1995 14:25:47 GMT

The list of features supported by the Python class library is
very nice for the applications I'm interested in -- distributed
hypermedia apps, incl. WWW apps.

But python's runtime is a little clunky -- threads are iffy,
and all the dictionary lookups seem to hamper speed significantly.
(It seems memory hungry, compared to perl e.g, also. Try something
like:

a = {}
for i in [0..1000]:
a['indx' + `i`] = 'value' + `i`

and watch the heap grow!)

Reference counting makes for some nasty situations too.

Anyway... the language and libraries are great.

And I think the Java VM addresses some of the runtime problems.
Plus, I expect it to be widely deployed.

Is anybody (besides me!) thinking about a JavaVM compiler for Python?

I know this implies a lot of re-engineering of the library modules,
but I think it's a win.

Dan

--
Daniel W. Connolly        "We believe in the interconnectedness of all things"
Research Technical Staff, MIT/W3C
<connolly@w3.org>             http://www.w3.org/hypertext/WWW/People/Connolly