Steven D'Aprano wrote: > On Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:22:13 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> On Feb 5, 11:44 am, Steve Holden <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >>>>> Why not a Python COMPILER? >>>> What about a Python JIT hardware chip, so the CPU doesn't have to >>>> translate. Although it seems to me that with today's dual and quad >>>> core processors that this might be a mute point because you could >>>> just use one of the cores. >>> What about a chip that reads your mind and does what you want it to? >>> >>> I am sure that would be popular with all the frustrated computer users >>> there are in the world. >>> >>> regards >>> Steve >>> -- >>> Steve Holden +1 571 484 6266 +1 800 494 3119 Holden Web LLC >>> http://www.holdenweb.com/ >> I'm not sure where that came from. Microsoft had talked about a hardware >> JIT for .NET a few years back. I was just wondering if anyone had >> thought of it for python or anything like that. > > > Okay, you know how hard it is to create a software JIT compiler for a > language as dynamic as Python? It's REALLY HARD, which is why it hasn't > already been done[1]. Now you want that done in *hardware*, which is much > harder. Who's going to spend the money on R&D? > > I'm sure there are thousands of l33t hax0rs out there who have thought > "Wouldn't it be c00l if there was a chip I could put into my PC to make > Python run a million times faster!!!". When I was younger and more > stupi^W innocent I had a mad fegairy for Forth and Lisp chips, but their > lack of financial viability and their unfortunate habit of actually being > *slower* than running the language in software put a big dent in the > idea. As general purpose CPUs got faster, the idea of making a specialist > language chip is now pretty much dead. Even if you could find a niche > market prepared to pay for it, "people who run Python programs" is > probably not that market. > > [1] Apart from some specializing compilers like Pysco > http://psyco.sourceforge.net/introduction.html > > Quite.
regards Steve -- Steve Holden +1 571 484 6266 +1 800 494 3119 Holden Web LLC http://www.holdenweb.com/ -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
