[Python-Dev] Re: native code compiler? (or, OCaml vs. Python)

[Samuele Pedroni]

From: "Guido van Rossum" <guido@python.org>
> > Really? It surprises me that after 10 years, this isn't something that
> > has been given more priority. Is the problem simply too difficult?
>
> Yes.  It surprises me that you think so lightly of something that if
> it was easy obviously would have been done already.
>

a "data" point from

Towards a Universal Implementation Substrate for Object-Oriented Languages,
Mario Wolczko, Ole Agesen, David Ungar, paper presented at the OOPSLA 99
workshop on Simplicity, Performance and Portability in Virtual Machine Design,
OOPSLA '99, Denver, CO, Nov 2, 1999.

http://research.sun.com/kanban/oopsla-vm-wkshp.pdf

1 Building virtual machines is hard
Building a high-performance virtual machine (VM) for an object-oriented
language such as Smalltalk or JavaT 2 is a major undertaking.
...
In summary, building a high-performance VM typically requires several man-years
of
effort by those experienced in the field (e.g., the Self VM, in its present
form, is the result
of some 25 man-years of work), and results in a large, complex program, which
is difficult
to modify and adapt.