Microsoft's C# (Sharp) & .NET -- A Heads Up

[dkuhlman at netcom.com.bbs]

This is *very* exciting news for me.  Here's why: We make a Web
server add-on that has the CPython interpreter embedded in it.
This enables our users to extend the mainframe applications that we
deliver/host with Python scripts.  At some time in the future, if
all the silliness about Java does not quiet down, we will be able
to embed JPython into our product so that our users would be able
to extend their applications with Python code which integrates with
their Java code.  And, if the sillines about C# turns out not to be
a hoax, with the work Mark is doing, we might be able to embed
C#Python into our product so that our users could extend their
applications with Python code which integrates with their C# code.

Now, I ask you, what other scripting language would enable me to
support that breadth of users? Incredible.

One thing (among many) that I do not understand is how C#Python can
both compile directly to IL (intermediate language?) and produce a
.DLL/.EXE.  Does the .EXE contain both an interpreter (VM ?) and
the IL (byte code?) that it interprets?  Or does IL mean that the
machine code is in there, but augmented with some meta-information
for debuggers and other tools?  Or, what?

  - Dave


Mark Hammond (MarkH at ActiveState.com) wrote:
> In article <Epxa5.13351$Tb7.89807 at news-server.bigpond.net.au>,
>   "Neil Hodgson" <neilh at scintilla.org> wrote:
> >    Now that Microsoft have revealed their Intermediate Language (IL)
> >    virtual machine, are we going to see a version of Python that
> >    compiles directly to IL? Or will Python byte codes still be
> >    interpreted by C code?
>
> Directly to IL - although there is still a runtime that handles some of
> the Python semantics.
>
> This new compiler could be compared, conceptually, with JPython - it is
> a completely new implementation of Python.  It has a compiler that
> generates native Windows .DLL/.EXE files.  It uses a runtime that
> consists of a few thousand lines of C# (C-Sharp) code.  The Python
> programs can be debugged at the source level with Visual Studio 7, as
> well as stand-alone debuggers for this environment.  Python can sub-
> class VB or C# classes, and vice-versa.
>
> Unfortunately, there will not be a public release of their SDK for a
> couple of months - so the only people able to use this compiler are
> people who attended the PDC, and hence have the pre-beta SDK on their
> conference CDs.
>
> The compiler is looking pretty reasonable.  pystone.py (amongst others,
> of course) compiles and runs.
>
> However, this should be quite exciting for the Python community.  The
> general feel of the conference here is that the MS .NET technology is
> exciting and a good thing.  I predict that the Windows community will
> embrace this technology, and having Python be a first-class citizen is a
> good thing!  It _is_ a radical change.

>
> Future work on this compiler will be under the ActiveState banner.
> However, the compiler and the runtime are all open source.  The
> compiler is written in CPython, and uses win32com to get at the
> Reflection::Emit APIs provided by .NET.  All the existing work has been
> done mainly by me, with some code and advice from Greg Stein.  Now the
> NDA is lifted, I hope (some of) the Python community will get behind
> this, and take advantage of the open-sourceness of the compiler and
> runtime, and help us turn this into an excellent language for this
> environment.
>
> All good stuff (IMO, of course)
>
> None of this is speaking for ActiveState - just my personal opinion.
>
> Mark (still at the PDC!)
>
>
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Before you buy.