[Python-Dev] Parrot -- should life imitate satire?

[Tim Peters]

[Simon Cozens
 on Thursday, August 02, 2001 1:30 PM]

> ...
> Oh, and here's our divide, for comparison:
>
> PP(pp_divide)
> {
>     dSP; dATARGET; tryAMAGICbin(div,opASSIGN);
>     {
>       dPOPPOPnnrl;
>       NV value;
>       if (right == 0.0)
>         DIE(aTHX_ "Illegal division by zero");
>       value = left / right;
>       PUSHn( value );
>       RETURN;
>     }
> }
>
> See, this is why we need a new interpreter. :)

Yes, I've tried to read the Perl source before <snarl/wink>.  What does "/"
mean here?  You're using native C arithmetic, or is this a C++ overload?
Even simple arithmetic is long-winded in Python, because, for example, the
int operations check for overflow, while the float operations allow for
catching IEEE-754 exceptions (or SIGFPE in general) and translating them
into Python-level exceptions.  We also go thru piles and piles of code
coercing among different numeric types.  If you were to step thru the Python
line

    x = 3.0 / 4

in a debugger, it's a race on Windows between your finger getting numb and
the OS crashing ...