[pypy-dev] Question on the future of RPython

[Saravanan Shanmugham]

I have heard repeatedly in this alias that PyPy's RPython is very difficult to 
use.

I have also heard here and elsewhere that Shedskin fast and is great for what it 
does i.e. translate its version of Restricted Python to C++.

Which then begs the question, would it make sense for PyPy to adopt Shedskin to 
compile its PyPy RPython code into C++/binary.

Sarvi


----- Original Message ----
From: Jacob Hallén <jacob at openend.se>
To: Saravanan Shanmugham <sarvi at yahoo.com>
Cc: pypy-dev at codespeak.net
Sent: Thu, September 2, 2010 1:54:01 PM
Subject: Re: [pypy-dev] Question on the future of RPython

Thursday 02 September 2010 you wrote:
> This makes sense.
> But wouldn't the answer to this problem be to invite people like the
> Shedskin/Cython developers to join forces with PyPy?
> So that they can pursue the general RPython usecase you mention above while
> the others focus on JIT and stuff on a common code base?
> 
> Wouldn't that be a win-win for everybody?
> 
> This collaboration feels so obvious to me, that I am confused why it isn't
> to others.
> Considering that Shedskin's goals feel almost like a strict subset of PyPy.

It is a matter of personal pride, I think. If we made the invitation to the 
Shedskin people they would see this as "Pypy thinks they are way cooler than 
us, so they invite us to be part of their project". This would naturally 
generate a refusal, because even though we don't make such value statements, 
it would be viewed that way.

So, we don't make such invitations, even if they make sense.

What we hope is that some people examine the Pypy project and find that it 
actually is a really cool piece of technology with lots of possible side 
projects and expansion possibilities. If they decide to join the project we 
will give them all the help we are capable of.

Most people have actually joined Pypy in this way. The most recent example is 
Håkan Ardö who wanted to expand Pypy in the direction of numeric calculations. 
The learning curve is fairly steep, but there are quite a few people on the 
IRC channel who are ready to help you overcome the hurdles.

Jacob Hallén