tiny python

[Noel Burton-Krahn]

I would like to make the smallest python interpreter possible.  Is it
possible to build a python interpreter which just reads byte code?
Can I cut out the compiler?  The stock python (1.5.2) compiles to over
480K on my redhat-5.2 linux box.  I need to get that below 200K to fit
on my system.

I am working on a tiny embeded Linux system where disk space is very
restricted.  I've found that compiled binaries are huge compared to
their program text.  Right now I write most of my system binaries in
perl and use a stripped down (200K) perl4 interpreter.  That may seem
strange, but it saves me a lot of space. A perl4 source is about 10%
the size of an equivalent compiled C program.  However, I would prefer
to use python since perl4 lacks data structures.


Thanks

--Noel