[Python-Dev] The memo of pickle

[Tim Peters]

[Guido]
> Maybe we should just drop indirect interning then.  It can save 31
> bits per string object, right?  How to collect those savings?

Make the flag a byte insted of a pointer and it will save 3 or 7 bytes
(depending on native pointer size) "on average".  Note, assuming a 32-bit
box:  since pymalloc 8-byte aligns, the smallest footprint a string object
can have now is 24 bytes, 20 of which are consumed by bookkeeping overheads
(type pointer, refcount, ob_size, ob_shash, ob_sinterned).  Strings through
length 3 fit in this size (one byte is needed for the trailing \0 we always
put in ob_sval[]).  Saving 3 bytes wouldn't actually change the memory
burden of the smallest string object, but would allow all strings of lengths
4, 5 and 6 to consume 8 fewer bytes than at present (assuming compilers are
happy not to pad between a char member and char[] member).  That's probably
a significant savings for many string-slinging apps (count the number of
words of lengths 4, 5 and 6 in this msg (even <wink> benefits <wink>)).