Python execution speed

[Fernando Pérez]

> I'm curious, however, why you believe you need to optimize Python's
> execution speed so much?  Do you have some application which is not
> performing adequately?  The usual approach is simply to profile the
> code and recode the "hot spot" in C.

I can mention one: scientific computing. Python is becoming very popular in 
that field, and Numeric goes a long way.  But sometimes it's not enough, and 
being saved from dropping down to C for anything but the truly ugliest would 
be a big blessing. And yes, in scientific computing, things are *never* fast 
enough. If you can improve the speed of a code even by a factor of 2 only, 
that can be big news. Waiting for 2 days is still better than waiting for 4 
days for your simulation to finish.

Cheers,

f.