a while ago someone suggested that we use the group mailing list to discuss ideas for YAS grants. I have one, which would make sense done as a group.
The idea is a research project into the difference it would make to the speed of perl if all (or a significant number of them, anyway) of the flags-based dynamic differences in the basic operations on scalar variables were replaced with an array of virtual function-pointer tables each designed to handle a particular flag state. We would create this perl by adding a field to the basic data types to hold a pointer to the vtable, modifying all the code in the basic data access macros (such as SvOK and SvIV -- everything mentioned in perldoc perlapi and perldoc perlguts) to become calls to an offset in a vtable instead of macros. This would be a lot of work, but it could be made a couple orders of magnitude smaller by using a naming scheme and conditional compilation directives and including a file with function definitions very similar to what already exists 64 times (if we are virtualizing on six flags) with different settings for the preprocessor defines. Anyone want to work on this, YAS grant or no? We could treat it like a group project, with assigned tasks and dependency graphs and everything, and it would at least give us something to talk about at the meetings besides the quality of the wardriving in different neighborhoods. David Nicol -- Although efforts are under way to mitigate the problem, this message may contain flippancy, hyperbole and/or confusing assertions. Please reply directly to [EMAIL PROTECTED] for clarification of any points appearing unclear, vague, cruel, frustrating, threatening, negative, dilletantish or otherwise unprofessional before taking action based on misintepretation or misconstruction of such points. _______________________________________________ kc mailing list [email protected] http://mail.pm.org/mailman/listinfo/kc
