[pypy-dev] a faster Python not a primary goal of PyPy?

[Martijn Faassen]

Jacob Hallén wrote:
> torsdagen den 15 september 2005 12.42 skrev Martijn Faassen:
> 
>> holger krekel wrote: [snip]
>> 
>>> PyPy is not primarily - at least not only - about making Python
>>> faster although many people like to view it this way :-)
>> 
>> This correction is a bit confusing... It is not surprising that
>> people view "a faster Python" as a primary goal of your project, as
>> that's the message that's been spread repeatedly by you all over
>> the years:
>  
> I think you misunderstand Holger.

I'm not sure how to understand Holger. He said PyPy is "not primarily -
at least not only" about making a faster Python, and was in the context 
of correcting someone. I figured that perhaps the PyPy project is not 
bringing the message out as well as possible, whatever this message is.

> Making Python faster is _a_ goal with Pypy, but it is not _the_ goal.
> The most important goals, as I see it are to produce something that
> is flexible and which has a clear implementation. However, this
> becomes an academic exercise if we produce something that is slower
> than competing implementations of Python. We want to build something
> that produces actual benefits in real world applications.

So, is making a faster Python a *primary* goal of PyPy or not? I 
understand that the way to go about this is to produce a clear, flexible 
implementation, and that this is also cool, and also a primary goal by 
itself, but is making a faster Python *also* a primary goal or not? If 
it's a primary goal, why the correction? If not, the message you all are 
putting across might need some clarification, as you're certainly 
implying to me in the texts I quoted that it is a primary goal.

Regards,

Martijn