[Python-ideas] python on mobile

[Stephen J. Turnbull]

Fetchinson . writes:

 > Hi all, maybe the best list would be python-dev

No, this is the right place if you eventually want to get Python-Dev
involved.  It's not obvious that's the right thing to do, though,
since that list's primary development environment (for the
interpreter) is C.  Android might work better with a Jython
derivative, and I don't know what would be the right environment to
develop for iOS.  So perhaps mobile platforms would develop as
independent implementations of Python-the-Language like Jython or
IronPython, rather than as a branch of CPython.

Also, as Sturla points out, it might be better to use something like
Cython.

 > So my question is this: is there a coherent mobile strategy among
 > core dev people?

Not yet.  Until recently (say a couple years ago), Apple officially
forbid use of non-blessed languages on iDevices.  Android was a little
more friendly in principle but there are stringent restrictions for
security reasons that require rethinking concepts that involve
interactions with the OS.  These mobile ports hardly get mentioned on
python-dev or on this list.

 > Or there are some issues which preclude this from the start?

I think there are a lot of people who would like to see something
solid.  But AFAICS the problem is more the lack of interest (ie, no
promise that something that works today will work tomorrow) from the
OS vendors than the lack of interest from core, plus the resources
constraints Sturla mentions, which I suppose would make programming
Python on a mobile device less fun.  That would also help explain the
proliferation of different implementations, as each would have its own
approach to working around the resource restrictions.

So I would say there's no "preclusion", but it's an uphill road for
now.