Java and Python for embedded applications (was: Java and Python)

[Cameron Laird]

In article <3C9836B8.150B4DA at engcorp.com>,
Peter Hansen  <peter at engcorp.com> wrote:
			.
		[lots of other
		entirely reasonable
		stuff]
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			.
>If by "embedded" you mean truly embedded systems, with 
>microcontrollers in dedicated-purpose systems and generally 
>limited user interfaces, Python is somewhat less suitable
>than Java, since there are the KVM and similar Java variants
>focussed specifically in this area.  Python is in use in
>some PC104-based embedded systems (that's what we use it 
>for in the embedded area) and has also been ported (in
>early forms) to the Palm Pilot, for example.  The language
>itself is perhaps slightly less effective for embedded
>systems in some respects, because it is higher level than
>Java.  If your constraint is performance and code size,
>Java might be better (but then, C might be much much
>better...) whereas if development time and cost is the
>constraint, Python may well be the winner.  (This is 
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I'm unconvinced about even the mild Java-is-smaller-and-faster claim.
While I don't keep up with embedded Java now, there certainly have
been times in the recent past when its start-of-the-art has been ...
disappointing in these regards.  Python was competitive, and sometimes
better.

If you like Python's productivity, but put a premium on performance
and code size, several alternative languages might give more satis-
faction.  I expect to be presenting Lua in this context over the next
few months.
-- 

Cameron Laird <Cameron at Lairds.com>
Business:  http://www.Phaseit.net
Personal:  http://starbase.neosoft.com/~claird/home.html