[OT] Compilable Python-like language?

[Peter Hansen]

Carl Banks wrote:
> You know what?  I'd like to have a fast, compiled language that looks
> like Python, too.

Great.  Now _why_ would it have to be compiled?  "Fast" is 
understandable (though not an absolute measure), but "compiled" is 
meaningless without some reason behind it.

Compilation is not something which inherently delivers any particular 
value to anyone.  Depending on the specifics of the problem at hand, it 
_might_ be a way of getting better performance, or better packaging, etc.

So I'd like a faster Python too (at least, for purposes of the current 
discussion... it's actually plenty fast for me), but I couldn't care 
less if it were compiled because that's an implementation detail or 
something.

-Peter