[Python.NET] Generating MSIL code
Brian Lloyd
brian at zope.com
Fri Nov 7 13:39:52 EST 2003
> Now I gotta explain the subject. I think that the "dream" feature for a
> Python .NET implementation is generation of standard IL code (not only
> bridging). I mean something like the previous [1] effort made by Mark
> Hammond with his Python .NET implementation (I've talked to him by email
> months ago and he told me that he stopped working on it cause he was no
> longer an ActiveState employee and nobody financed him to
> continue working).
>
> Do you, Brian, ever thougth to do something like that? What do you
> think about that?
I think it would be great if there were a "native" Python implementation
for .NET. Mark's whitepaper makes a lot of good points, and I agree
with his assessment that it would doable given the commitment to make
it happen. I think the result would end up looking a whole lot like
Jython (a pure-Java implementation of Python, for anyone who hasn't
heard of it).
The main obstacle is that it would be a _lot_ of work, both up front
and over time to update the implementation to track the evolution of
the Python language. Jython is a good example of both the potential
and the challenge - it is a great solution, but it struggles to keep
up with CPython over time.
I chose to do a bridge rather than try to carry on Mark's work mainly
because it was something I had a shot at finishing in the limited
amount of time I have to work on it (nights and weekends - my job
doesn't really involve .net).
While I was convinced that there was enough business value to justify
the effort to do the bridge, it may still be too early in the .NET
adoption curve to know whether there is enough business value in a
full managed implementation to justify the (much higher) effort.
I hope it does happen one day - if nothing else because I'm a big
Python fan and would like to see it flourish. But it won't be me
doing it on nights & weekends :^)
Brian Lloyd brian at zope.com
V.P. Engineering 540.361.1716
Zope Corporation http://www.zope.com
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