[Python-Dev] Int FutureWarnings and other 2.4 TODOs

[Aahz]

On Thu, Dec 04, 2003, Michael Chermside wrote:
>
> To my mind, the *ideal* is that there's a single type, probably
> called "int" or "integer" which can take on an arbitrary size and
> precision BUT which, if it happens to be small enough to fit in
> a C int will take up less memory and run faster. The fact that
> it's stored differently should be an implementation detail not
> visible to the user.

Hmmmm...  How important is the "less memory" angle versus the "faster"
angle?  Why not just add a few bytes to the long type to store an int?
If you're using the int, the pointer is NULL, and you're saving that
memory, at least.  The only harm is some extra memory in the type
object.
-- 
Aahz (aahz at pythoncraft.com)           <*>         http://www.pythoncraft.com/

Weinberg's Second Law: If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote 
programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.