Dear All
I wrote a large C++ program which used embedded Perl. Later, this was changed to
embedded Python. The reasons for this included:
1) Python allows you to pass a pointer to an object from C/C++ to the embedded Python
interpreter, wheras Perl makes you push and pop off the stack (as far as I am aware -
but I'm open to correction :-)
2) Embedded Perl generates vast numbers of Purify errors and memory leaks, although
this is not the case with embedded Python.
3) Speed (I guess partially as a consequence of (1))
Python has a very large C/Perl API, unlike Perl. Of course, the downside of this is
that it is potentially more complicated. Also, in Python you have to keep careful
track of reference counts to your embedded Python objects, so that's hard too.
Basically, my comment is that a lot of commercial applications seem to be mixing and
matching languages together (like C++ and Perl), so it would be really great if the
issues such as Purify errors for embedded Perl were addressed (I realise that
stand-alone Perl is well-Purify'd and tested). I should also stress that I have no
particular axe to grind - I like both languages and have used both of them as
appropriate.
Sorry if you're not the person I should have sent this to! But I'd welcome any
comments.
Thanks.
Yours Sincerely
Matthew Gillman
