[Python-Dev] Alternative implementation of interning, take 2

[Tim Peters]

[Tim, to Oren]
> It would help if you could get Marc-Andre and /F to pronounce on whether
> their code benefits from it -- they're the most prolific extension
> authors we've got.

[/F]
> no problem here, from what I can tell.  we can live with or
> without this change.

Note that there are (at least) two parts to Oren's agenda:

1. Removing the possibility for indirect interning.

2. Making interned strings mortal, via the usual refcount rules.

In context, I was asking only about #1, and I'm sure your reply was meant to
include #1.  What I remain unclear about is whether you've also got no fear
of #2.

I'm also wondering whether we somehow broke indirect interning since it was
introduced -- so far nobody has found a program or extension module where it
even triggers (not counting the 6 instances in the Python test suite in
intern-in-place, since no use of the indirect interning was made in those
cases).