Differences between revisions 1 and 20 (spanning 19 versions)

Sprint topics following the NeedForSpeed theme

You can add additional topics below. Please discuss the specific goals and possible approaches to these tasks!

RichardJones: In revision 11, editor "66" removed the Python Package Index item from this page. Does that indicate that PyPI is not appropriate work for this sprint?

JohnBenediktsson: The focus of this sprint is on performance and the use of python in areas that might not previously have been considered. This can mean many things, but please keep that in mind when suggesting topics.

RichardJones: PyPI work was specifically suggested to me. Even though I do have a lot I'd like to do to PyPI, I'm happy to work on other things. I just need a clear call so I can focus my pre-sprint attention on appropriate things.

CPython

Evaluate the PEPs for optimizing global and attribute lookups
- [http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0266/ PEP 266], [http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0267/ PEP 267], and [http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0280/ PEP 280]
Can floating point ops be sped-up by avoiding flag/exception checks at every step? Can some floating point ops be in-lined in ceval.c?
Implement portions of the decimal module in C
Build-out struct module to support fast, high-volume binary conversions -- perhaps with regexp analogs such struct.compile() and struct.finditer()
Create a string subclass that provides lazy slicing without copying
Allow selective removal of unused features such as profiling support
Faster parsing of strings and bytes into int, long, etc.
Buffer for use with network I/O
Build-out the collections module for optimized data structures:
- ordered dictionary
- alternate list implementation optimized for fast insertion and deletion
- red/black tree
- pivot tables
- skip list
Create a 64 bit PyInt type (for 32 bit machines)
Optimize methods in stringobject.c
Add itertools.imerge() and itertools.izip_longest()
Guido has a standing request to have threading.py written in C
Revisit Armin's zombie frame idea for reducing function call overhead. IIRC, the unsolved problem was how to save partially constructed frames without impacting the performance of recursive functions.

Pure Python Projects

Improve [http://dada.perl.it/shootout/python.html language shootout] submissions
Improve the API for timeit.py. Guido thinks that much of the intelligence in the command-line interface should be shifted to importable functions.
Update PythonSpeed/PerformanceTips

Twisted

Speed improvements to select and poll reactors
Reactor based on /dev/epoll
Better integration with psyco
Improvements against twisted benchmark

Psyco

Support for generator expressions
Support for nested scopes
Support for more dictionary operations
Speedup float arithmetic
Support for more built-ins (e.g. int(), long(), float(), etc.)
Upgrade for python 2.5
Better tools for profiling psyco-ness of application
Investigate usefulness of IVM (with aim to producing a more streamlined dispatch loop)
LLVM backend
Virtualized longs (for long longs)
Virtualized slots (Ability to cache getattribute() values)

PyPy

JIT compiler
LLVM backend
RPython extension modules for CPython

Py3000

Make a wishlist for possible performance gains in Py3.0

-  ⇤ ← Revision 1 as of 2006-05-01 22:48:04 → 
  Size: 1030
  Editor: SteveHolden
  Comment:
+   ← Revision 20 as of 2006-05-04 02:18:47 → ⇥
  Size: 3499
  Editor: RichardJones
  Comment:
-Deletions are marked like this.
+Additions are marked like this.
 Line 1:
-The following goals were included in the sprint announcement. Please use this area as a staging point to indicate interest in specific goals and discuss possible approaches, recruit support for half-baked ideas and so on. This is a '''''Wiki''''', people! Create new pages at will.
+'''Sprint topics following the NeedForSpeed theme'''
 Line 3:
- * Improving the decimal module by implementing portions in C
+You can add additional topics below.  Please discuss the specific goals and possible approaches to these tasks!
 Line 5:
- * Investigate whether RPython offers sufficient speedup over the regular CPython interpreter to replace tailored C and C++ code in MMP gaming applications
+RichardJones: ''In revision 11, editor "66" removed the Python Package Index item from this page. Does that indicate that PyPI is not appropriate work for this sprint?''
 Line 7:
- * Implement an ordered dictionary in both C and Python
+JohnBenediktsson: ''The focus of this sprint is on performance and the use of python in areas that might not previously have been considered.  This can mean many things, but please keep that in mind when suggesting topics.''
 Line 9:
- * Implement data-structure-specific algorithms, which rely heavily on certain data structures, as RPython
+RichardJones: ''PyPI work was specifically suggested to me. Even though I do have a lot I'd like to do to PyPI, I'm happy to work on other things. I just need a clear call so I can focus my pre-sprint attention on appropriate things.''
 Line 11:
- * Adding an iterator interface (similar to re.finditer) to the struct module
+= CPython =
 * Evaluate the PEPs for optimizing global and attribute lookups 
   [http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0266/ PEP 266],
   [http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0267/ PEP 267],
   and [http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0280/ PEP 280]
-Line 13:
+Line 17:
- * Further refine the PyPy LLVM back end to improve general execution speeds
+ * Can floating point ops be sped-up by avoiding flag/exception checks at every step?  Can some floating point ops be in-lined in ceval.c?
-Line 15:
+Line 19:
- * Offer the PyPy team a sprint venue to continue their development work on Python implementations written in Python
+ * Implement portions of the decimal module in C
-Line 17:
+Line 21:
- * Create a string subtype that provides lazy slicing without copying
+ * Build-out struct module to support fast, high-volume binary conversions -- perhaps with regexp analogs such struct.compile() and struct.finditer()

 * Create a string subclass that provides lazy slicing without copying

 * Allow selective removal of unused features such as profiling support

 * Faster parsing of strings and bytes into int, long, etc.

 * Buffer for use with network I/O

 * Build-out the collections module for optimized data structures:
   * ordered dictionary
   * alternate list implementation optimized for fast insertion and deletion
   * red/black tree
   * pivot tables
   * skip list

 * Create a 64 bit PyInt type (for 32 bit machines)

 * Optimize methods in stringobject.c

 * Add itertools.imerge() and itertools.izip_longest()

 * Guido has a standing request to have threading.py written in C

 * Revisit Armin's zombie frame idea for reducing function call overhead.  IIRC, the unsolved problem was how to save partially constructed frames without impacting the performance of recursive functions.


= Pure Python Projects =

 * Improve [http://dada.perl.it/shootout/python.html language shootout] submissions

 * Improve the API for timeit.py.  Guido thinks that much of the intelligence in the command-line interface should be shifted to importable functions.

 * Update PythonSpeed/PerformanceTips


= Twisted =

 * Speed improvements to select and poll reactors

 * Reactor based on /dev/epoll

 * Better integration with psyco

 * Improvements against twisted benchmark


= Psyco =
 * Support for generator expressions
 * Support for nested scopes
 * Support for more dictionary operations
 * Speedup float arithmetic 
 * Support for more built-ins (e.g. int(), long(), float(), etc.)
 * Upgrade for python 2.5
 * Better tools for profiling psyco-ness of application
 * Investigate usefulness of IVM (with aim to producing a more streamlined dispatch loop)
 * LLVM backend
 * Virtualized longs (for long longs)
 * Virtualized slots (Ability to cache __getattribute__() values)

= PyPy =
 * JIT compiler
 * LLVM backend
 * RPython extension modules for CPython

= Py3000 =
 * Make a wishlist for possible performance gains in Py3.0

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