[Python-Dev] Re: pirate (python+parrot)

[Dan Sugalski]

At 2:37 PM -0400 8/4/03, Michal Wallace wrote:
>On Mon, 4 Aug 2003, Dan Sugalski wrote:
>
>>  >If your efforts save Dan Sugalski time in implementing Python on
>>  >Parrot, realize that it may cost me a round of drinks and a laundry
>>  >run (if Dan has a good aim).
>
>>  Nah, this isn't something to worry about, since I can't use it by the
>>  terms of the challenge--I have to use the bytecode, not the source.
>
>Okay, that's just silly. :)
>
>What do you guys think about changing the bet
>to allow using the source?

To be honest, I'd rather leave it as it is--not because I don't think 
that parsing python and compiling to parrot isn't worthwhile (I think 
it is) but because I can be reasonably assured that the conversion 
will take place (because I want it to happen and have wagered pie on 
that want, and thus will make it happen :). Besides, I'm not much of 
a parser guy, thus the parsing part's actually more difficult than 
the bytecode translation, which is reasonably straightforward. 
There's also the matter of effort at bet-time--when I get a good 
working python bytecode->parrot bytecode translation program, folks 
can use the current python install as a compiler, which gets a goal 
(running python programs on parrot) achieved faster, since there's 
less effort in writing a bytecode translator than there is writing a 
compiler.

OTOH, the... 'interesting' task that is parsing perl may well have 
skewed by feelings on the difficulties of bytecode translation vs 
source compilation. ;-P
-- 
                                         Dan

--------------------------------------"it's like this"-------------------
Dan Sugalski                          even samurai
dan at sidhe.org                         have teddy bears and even
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