[Python-Dev] Google Summer of Code proposal: improvement of long int and adding new types/modules. (original) (raw)

Fernando Perez fperez.net at gmail.com
Sat Apr 29 23:19:17 CEST 2006

Hi all,

Mateusz Rukowicz wrote:

I wish to participate in Google Summer of Code as a python developer. I have few ideas, what would be improved and added to python. Since these changes and add-ons would be codded in C, and added to python-core and/or as modules,I am not sure, if you are willing to agree with these ideas.

First of all, I think, it would be good idea to speed up long int implementation in python. Especially multiplying and converting radix-2^k to radix-10^l. It might be done, using much faster algorithms than already used, and transparently improve efficiency of multiplying and printing/reading big integers. Next thing I would add is multi precision floating point type to the core and fraction type, which in some cases highly improves operations, which would have to be done using floating point instead. Of course, math module will need update to support multi precision floating points, and with that, one could compute asin or any other function provided with math with precision limited by memory and time. It would be also good idea to add function which computes pi and exp with unlimited precision. And last thing - It would be nice to add some number-theory functions to math module (or new one), like prime-tests, factorizations etc.

Sorry for pitching in late, I was away for a while. I'd just like to point out in the context of this discussion:

http://sage.scipy.org/sage/

SAGE is a fairly comprehensive system built on top of python to do all sorts of research-level number theory work, from basic things up to unpronouncable ones. It includes wrappers to many of the major number-theory related libraries which exist with an open-source license.

I am not commenting one way or another on your proposal, just bringing up a project with a lot of relevance to what you are talking about.

Cheers,

f

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