[Python-Dev] Possible optimization for LOAD_FAST ?

[Reid Kleckner]

On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 8:21 AM, Alex Gaynor <alex.gaynor at gmail.com> wrote:
> Ugh, I can't be the only one who finds these special cases to be a little
> nasty?
> Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
> Alex

+1, I don't think nailing down a few builtins is that helpful for
optimizing Python.  Anyone attempting to seriously optimize Python is
going to need to use more general techniques that apply to
non-builtins as well.

In unladen swallow (I'm sure something similar is done in PyPy) we
have some infrastructure for watching dictionaries for changes, and in
particular we tend to watch the builtins and module dictionaries.

Reid