[OT] Compilable Python-like language?

[Carl Banks]

Fran?ois Pinard wrote:
> [Ed Cogburn]
> 
>> I'm just curious if such a beast exists out there.  I've googled
>> around some and read some programming language websites but I have yet
>> to find a language similar to Python that can be compiled to binary.
>> [...] Is there such a thing?
> 
> What is your real need?  Why do you consider important to compile
> something to an executable binary?  The goal is executing a program
> written in Python, or Python-like language, isn't it?

I really don't think why he needs it is necessary to answer this
question: he stated what he wanted clearly enough.  And I would say
questioning his need for a complied language is quite presumptuous.

Maybe he does need speed.  Maybe he needs ease of distribution.  Maybe
he need something tiny to run on a old computer of embedded system.
These are very reasonable needs.

And it's certainly reasonable to want this need filled by something
that's like Python.


> If the goal is speed, you might not obtain much by the mere fact of
> having a binary, and might be surprised anyway by the bloat of size.

He asked for a Python-like compiled language, not the ability to
compile Python itself.  Such a thing certainly would have an advantage
in speed, and there's no reason it would be bloated.  And, it would be
much better than the statically-typed languages we're all used to,
since it would have a better indenting, and is more concise and
readable.  (It would probably be better in other ways, too.)


> There are avenues, Pyrex is a good example, in which you may write
> Python-like code which runs at C speed, if you do proper compromises.

Pyrex can improve speed, but does not offer some of the other benefits
of compiled binary.  That might be enough for him, I don't know.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any statically-typed that are like
Python.  Pyrex is probably the closest thing.


-- 
CARL BANKS                      http://www.aerojockey.com/software
"If you believe in yourself, drink your school, stay on drugs, and
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