Who uses Python?

[Cameron Laird]

In article <mailman.8777.1181193493.32031.python-list at python.org>,
Hendrik van Rooyen <mail at microcorp.co.za> wrote:
>
>"Stef Mientki" <S.Mi......am at mailbox.kun.nl> wrote:
>
>> I use Python as  a replacement for MatLab,
>> and intend to use it as replacement for Delphi, AutoIt, PHP, VB.
>> And I'ld love to use it as a replacement for micro controller programming.
>
>If you have a little sub - 64k micro this is not really practical.
>
>What we have done is to define a limited virtual machine with
>a simple "assembler" language and used Python to write the
>"compiler" for it.
>
>Then you have to write the interpreter for the virtual machine
>in the native micro's code - Either using C or assembler, and
>you are away from the hardware, into a useful layer of abstraction.
>
>... well sort of - in such a small thing, you are never really far from
>the hardware, as that is what its supposed to be controlling - but
>what it definitely buys you is that your apps written in your special
>language become portable between disparate processors like say
>an ARM at the upper end and an 8031/8051 at the lower...
>
>Such "interpreters" are surprisingly little code, and they work
>well - faster than what one would expect. - often outperforming
>C code that does pass by value...
>
>- Hendrik
>

Amen!  That is, while it is indeed easy to construct examples
where Python computes a numerical result only a hundredth as 
fast as the corresponding C code, what I find far more interesting
to discuss are the (surprisingly frequent) cases where Python and
litte languages result in solutions which are *faster* at run-time,
along with being more maintainable and quick to develop.

Yet more chatter on a role for Python with specialized hardware ap-
pears in <URL: http://www.unixreview.com/documents/s=9133/ur0404e/ >.