[Python-Dev] Looking for master thesis ideas involving Python
Brett C.
bac at OCF.Berkeley.EDU
Wed Oct 29 20:28:13 EST 2003
Neil Schemenauer wrote:
> Hi Brett,
>
> Some ideas:
>
> * Finish of the AST compiler. Make it possible to manipulate
> ASTs from Python and allow them to be feed to the compiler to
> generate code. This is one half of macros for Python. The
> other half is harder.
>
I actually wanted to originally do that, but there is no real research
involved; its just coding at this point, right?
> * Build a refactoring code editor that works using the AST.
>
Would probably require the AST to be done.
> * Implement an object system that supports multiple dispatch.
> You can look at Dylan and Goo for ideas.
>
Huh, cool. Just looked at Dylan quickly.
> * Optimize access to global variables and builtins. See PEP 267 for
> some ideas. If we can disallow inter-module shadowing of names
> the job becomes easier. Measure the performance difference.
>
... and watch my head explode from reading the latest threads. =)
Maybe, though.
> * Look at making the GC mark-and-sweep. You will need to provide
> it explict roots. Is it worth doing? Mark-and-sweep would
> require changes to extension modules since they don't expose
> roots to the interpreter.
>
I don't know if it is worth it, although having so far two people
suggest changing the GC to something else is interesting.
> * More radically, look at Chicken? and it's GC. Henry Baker's
> "Cheney on the M.T.A"? is very clever, IMHO, and could be used
> instead of Python's reference counting. Build a limited Python
> interpreter based on this idea and evaluate it.
>
>
> 1. http://www.call-with-current-continuation.org/chicken.html
> 2. http://citeseer.nj.nec.com/baker94cons.html
I will have a read.
Thanks, Neil.
-Brett
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