As regards RPython: using this would entail rewriting the entire perl runtime in rpython: somewhere between about 30-100K lines of C, depending on what bits are required. This would be very hard and time-consuming, and at the end, there's no guarantee that it would be any faster.

You're basically replacing mature, tightly honed C code with python, then hoping that the tracing JIT will not only bring the python code back up to the speed of the original C, but past that point and even faster.

You'd have to deal with impedance mismatches. For example, if python-style arrays and hashes provide a superset of the semantics of perl arrays and hashes then you may be able to use them directly; if not, you'd have to implement perlish hashes in python!

Also, you'd have to say goodbye to XS. It's not clear to me whether the existing perl regex engine could still be used, but if it could, it wouldn't benefit from JIT.

Etc etc.

Dave.

In reply to Re: Perl 5 Optimizing Compiler, Part 2 by dave_the_m
in thread Perl 5 Optimizing Compiler, Part 2 by Will_the_Chill

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.