Standardizing RPython - it's time.

[alex23]

John Nagle <na... at animats.com> wrote:
>      All the schemes to speed up Python as defined by CPython seem to hit
> a wall on speed improvement.  Some of the numeric benchmarks go faster
> on implementations that don't box all numbers, but 2x seems to be about
> as good as it gets, even with a JIT compiler.

That hasn't been the case with PyPy for quite some time: http://goo.gl/dA7v
(link to specific speed.pypy.org comparison).

Comparing the latest PyPy+JIT to CPython 2.6.2, there are 6 tests that
perform worse and 12 that perform better. Of the 12 improvements, 9
are of an improvement of 3x or better, with one exceeding 12x and one
15x. The django benchmark is 6x faster under PyPy+JIT than CPython.
(The PyPy guys have done a fantastic job with http://speed.pypy.org to
help show the gains that they're getting.)

Don't be so quick to condemn PyPy, especially as they're _actively_
working on this project, not just engaging in endless online rhetoric
about how great life would be if only Python was faster. Achieving
performance gains _without_ sacrificing the power of the language
should be the ultimate goal.