[Python-Dev] extended bitwise operations

[Dennis Heuer]

I often experiment with touring machine algorithms and play around with
alternative arithmetics. I'd like to do that with python but it offers
only the standard bitwise operators. They're fine if one wants to do
manipulations on the full integer. However, I'd like to have direct
(single) bit access to be able to implement own rules, like how to deal
with the carry. There is a very nice and very very small implementation
of a BitArray that can do this. It is under the LGPL. However, it
provides only a handful of functions. Possibly you like to implement an
own version as a python module (I'd rather like to see a default syntax
that can restrict the implemented bitwise operators to single bits or
groups of bits.) Please have a look at bitarray.c:

http://michael.dipperstein.com/bitlibs/bitlibs.html

There are several other versions on the net. This one is more
comfortable:

http://www.koders.com/c/fid7F57E63EAE4B6028AAF3DCDB6414AD240CFB6CDD.aspx

Thanks,
Dennis