Python Speed Question and Opinion

[Jacek Generowicz]

Peter Hickman <peter at semantico.com> writes:

> There are very few 'pure' interpreted languages.

Well, every native machine language is purely interpreted, for a
start.

> If you want pure speed you need assembler! No ifs, ands or buts.

Lots of "if"s and "but"s actually. While it is theoretically possible
to write any program you want, in some assembly language, and to write
it in a way which overcomes some low-level inefficiencies introduced
by higher-level languages, in practice you won't find many people
writing efficent large-scale programs in assembler. Higher-level, more
expressive, languages allow you to try out different approaches more
easily. Getting the architecture of your program right, is far more
important for overall speed of execution that the low-level details
are.