What backends support packed native arrays at this point? And what's the performance like?
Native access to packed arrays is the big thing I'm looking for before I port a pile of source filtered Perl 5 code to Perl 6. It's a simple 3D engine, so all of the libraries I need to work with want to work with pointers to huge arrays of simple and structured C data types -- and I need the Perl code to be able to directly manipulate those arrays. In Perl 5 I'm using PDL for this, and for certain operations it's not too bad, but it's REALLY slow to cross any of the Perl <-> PDL <-> C borders (even "give me a pointer to the raw data inside a PDL object" is a slow operation). Apropos of the recent thread about specification lockdown: To those wondering why I haven't started the Perl 6 port already, in anticipation of this feature working: I'm still adding features (and even some major rewrites) in the Perl 5 version. When I do the port, I want to be able to cut over from one working code base to another. I don't want a period of bitrot in which the Perl 6 port is "done" but not working, and continuously at risk of being out of sync with changes to the working Perl 5 codebase. I also want to be able to quickly graduate from a "pure port" design to a colloquial Perl 6 design, which I can't safely do and still keep syncing updates reasonable. If I could expect packed arrays to be working at some *known* point in the future, I could probably aim for that. However, my recollection of the Perl 6 history so far is that itch-scratching and bootstrapping are the two forces driving the implementations, so I've no idea when I could expect the feature to appear if it hasn't already -- and hence no desire to start now and risk the aforementioned bitrot for an unknown and possibly long period. (I'm *NOT* complaining about the state of implementation -- the spec lockdown thread just reminded me that the core team might want to know why someone who is very excited about Perl 6 isn't jumping in with both feet. My gut feeling is that the details may change, but my hesitation is probably not unusual.) -'f
