does python have useless destructors?

[Marcin 'Qrczak' Kowalczyk]

On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 20:18:07 -0400, Humpty Dumpty wrote:

> I have been hearing a lot of reference to Jython. This is yet another
> example how coupling languages can stifle their progress: C++ is stifled by
> its need for compatilibity with C, now clearly Python is becoming stifled by
> a need for compatibility with Jython.

I have a different point of view.

Relying on timely finalization is stifling progress of the Python runtime.
It prevents using better, more efficient GC techniques, which all happen
to not have this property, and it prevents porting Python to other
architectures like JVM and .NET.

It's better to drop compatibility with this artifact of the poor but
conceptually simple GC scheme used in CPython, and declare programs which
rely on that implementation detail as broken.

-- 
   __("<         Marcin Kowalczyk
   \__/       qrczak at knm.org.pl
    ^^     http://qrnik.knm.org.pl/~qrczak/