[Python-Dev] pyc files, constant folding and borderline portability issues (original) (raw)

Guido van Rossum guido at python.org
Mon Apr 6 23:27:29 CEST 2009

On Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 7:28 AM, Cesare Di Mauro <cesare.dimauro at a-tono.com> wrote:

The Language Reference says nothing about the effects of code optimizations. I think it's a very good thing, because we can do some work here with constant folding.

Unfortunately the language reference is not the only thing we have to worry about. Unlike languages like C++, where compiler writers have the moral right to modify the compiler as long as they stay within the weasel-words of the standard, in Python, users' expectations carry value. Since the language is inherently not that fast, users are not all that focused on performance (if they were, they wouldn't be using Python). Unsurprising behavior OTOH is valued tremendously.

-- --Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)

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