[Python-3000] the future of the GIL

[tomer filiba]

[Talin]
> Note that Jython and IronPython don't have the same restrictions in this
> regard as CPython. Both VMs are able to run in multiprocessing
> environments. (I don't know whether or not Jython/IronPython even have a
> GIL or not.)

they don't. they rely on jvm/clr for GC, and probably per-thread locking when
they touch global data.

[Giovanni Bajo]
> You seem to believe that the only way to parallelize your programs is to use
> threads. IMHO, threads is just the most common and absolutely the worst, under
> many points of views.

not at all. personally i hate threads, but there are many place where you can
use them properly to distribute workload -- without mutual dependencies or
shard state. this makes them essentially like light-weight processes, using
background workers and queues, etc., only without the overhead of multiple
processes.

there could be a stdlib threading module that would provide you with all
kinds of queues, schedulers, locks, and decorators, so you wouldn't have
to manually lock things every time.


-tomer