[Python-Dev] SIGCHECK() in longobject.c

[Eric Smith]

> On Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 11:49 AM, Nick Coghlan <ncoghlan at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Mark Dickinson wrote:
>>> This high-precision inefficiency could easily be fixed by
>>> using a dedicated 'decimal natural number' extension
>>> type for the Decimal coefficient, stored internally in base
>>> a suitable power of 10. [...]
>>
>> Didn't you already start work on that concept with the deccoeff patch?
>
> I did:  the code can be seen at:
>
> http://svn.python.org/view/sandbox/trunk/decimal/decimal_in_c/
>
> This code defines a Deccoeff type as above, providing base 10 natural
> number arithmetic, along with a skeletal _Decimal type.  The work on
> Deccoeff is pretty much complete, but the _Decimal type is only just
> a beginning;  the original intent was to slowly translate the Decimal
> code into C and move it into the _Decimal type.
>
> The code was working a few months ago (with all Decimal tests
> passing), but there have been some changes and bugfixes since
> then.  I might try to resurrect that code, dropping the _Decimal type and
> just concentrating on Deccoeff.

My only concern about this is the effect it would have on IronPython,
Jython, PyPy, and other alternate implementations that use the stdlib.