[Python-Dev] GIL, Python 3, and MP vs. UP

[Michael Hudson]

Florian Weimer <fw at deneb.enyo.de> writes:

> By the way, has anybody ever tried to create a CPython variant which
> uses a (mostly) copying garbage collector (or something else except
> reference counting or Boehm GC)?

Not to my knowledge.  I've always thought that it would be pretty
hard.  I'd be interested in being proved wrong.

PyPy will hopefully experiment with this sort of thing.

> Copying GC might help to get rid of the GIL *and* improve performance
> in the accept+fork model (because read-only object access does not
> trigger copy-on-write anymore).

How does a copying gc differ much from a non-copying non-refcounted gc
here?

Cheers,
mwh

-- 
  Darn!  I've only got 10 minutes left to get falling-down drunk!  I
  suppose I'll have to smoke crack instead now.
                     -- Tim Peters is checking things in on 2002-12-31