[Paul introduces himself] My question is for performance: isn't binary code faster than p code? So If I can vote, I would vote for c or c++ in the numerics functions and data transfer areas. even assembler. The quicker the better.

Hello, and welcome. Thanks for your input on what kinds of things you value in Python. (The Python developers, who use the python-dev list) DO pay attention to such opinion (although don't expect sudden changes... you are one in a sea of users). You are not alone in caring about performance -- it's been a popular topic lately. I'll comment briefly on your specific suggestions. Binary code is faster than "p code" usually, but in some cases the "p code" is more ammenable to automated optimization. That is why certain kinds of code can run FASTER in java than in C. Python code too will often run faster than the equivalent C code... not because of a powerful just-in-time optimizer, but because the Python code is written using better algorithms and data structures than one would bother with in C. But you specifically mention numerics functions and data transfer... two areas where well-written C code is likely to be much better performing. We certainly share the goal of better performance (so long as it doesn't come at the cost of other things like usability and maintainability). If you know of some specific areas where we could improve, please submit a patch (through SourceForge's patch manager) -- we'd love to have the help! Finally, you mention the possibility of dropping into assembler. Unfortunately, this is sure to be rejected because it conflicts with an important design principle -- Python is designed to be VERY portable, and should compile on just about any system with a standards-compliant C compiler. -- Michael Chermside