Python, C++, Java, Smalltalk, Eiffel,...

[Andrew Kuchling]

philh at comuno.freeserve.co.uk (phil hunt) writes:
> Supposedly, Microsoft's C# and CLR system will provide a fix for
> this, by allowing the programmer to use any language that compiles
> to CLR to call a routine in any other language that does.
> 
> Does anyone have details on this?

I'm a bit doubtful that the CLR will really be suited for languages
other than C# or VB.  Sure, with some hammering you can compile Python
to CLR, just as you can compile it to Java bytecodes, but there seems
to be a sizable performance hit, judging by a message from David
Ascher archived at
http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Mail/Message/638072.  I suspect
.NET's multilanguage will turn out to be a feature used more as a
selling point than in practical use.  In much the same way, Internet
Explorer is theoretically multiplatform, but I expect almost no one
out there uses the Solaris and HP-UX IE ports.

--amk