[pypy-dev] Question about extension support

[Kevin Modzelewski]

Hi all, I've been trying to learn about how PyPy supports (unmodified)
Python extensions, and one thing I've heard is that it's much slower than
cPython, and/or uses more memory.  I tried finding some documentation about
why, and all I could find is this, from 2010:
https://bitbucket.org/pypy/compatibility/wiki/c-api

Sorry if this should be obvious, but is there more up-to-date information
about this stuff?  And secondly, assuming the info that I linked to is
still valid, is there a reason you guys settled on this method of bridging
the refcount/tracing divide, as opposed to other possibilities (can you pin
the objects in the GC)?

I'm curious, since I've heard a number of people mention that extension
modules are the primary reason that PyPy is slower than cPython for their
code; definitely an improvement over "PyPy doesn't run my code at all", but
it's made me curious about whether or not / why it has to be that way.

kmod
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