GIL in the new glossary

[Alan Kennedy]

[Python Glossary]
>> global interpreter lock
>>
>> The lock used by Python threads to assure that only one thread
>> can be run at a time. This simplifies Python by assuring that no
>> two processes can access the same memory at the same time. Locking
>> the entire interpreter makes it easier for the interpreter to be
>> multi-threaded, at the expense of some parallelism on
>> multi-processor machines.

[Luis P Caamano wrote]
> Some parallelism???  Wouldn't it be more accurate to say
> "at the expense of parallelism?"  The GIL doesn't eliminate
> "some" paralellism, it completely eliminates any chance of
> parallelism within the same interpreter.

I just wanted to point out a relation that I have noticed has held
true for almost all GIL discussion threads that have come up in this
forum recently. That relation is:-

The amount of loud complaining and misinformation that originates from
people who have just found out about the GIL is inversely proportional
to the amount of factual knowledge that they have about the GIL.

Or:- The less they understand the subject, the more loudly they
complain.

dont-complain-before-finding-out-the-facts-ly y'rs,

-- 
alan kennedy
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