diff options
-rw-r--r-- | Doc/ref/ref1.tex | 52 |
1 files changed, 51 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/Doc/ref/ref1.tex b/Doc/ref/ref1.tex index 6634895..15bcf36 100644 --- a/Doc/ref/ref1.tex +++ b/Doc/ref/ref1.tex @@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ It is dangerous to add too many implementation details to a language reference document --- the implementation may change, and other implementations of the same language may work differently. On the other hand, there is currently only one Python implementation in -widespread use (although a second one now exists!), and +widespread use (although alternate implementations exist), and its particular quirks are sometimes worth being mentioned, especially where the implementation imposes additional limitations. Therefore, you'll find short ``implementation notes'' sprinkled throughout the @@ -34,6 +34,56 @@ built-in modules are mentioned when they interact in a significant way with the language definition. +\section{Alternate Implementations\label{implementations}} + +Though there is one Python implementation which is by far the most +popular, there are some alternate implementations which are of +particular interest to different audiences. + +Known implementations include: + +\begin{itemize} +\item[CPython] +This is the original and most-maintained implementation of Python, +written in C. New language features generally appear here first. + +\item[Jython] +Python implemented in Java. This implementation can be used as a +scripting language for Java applications, or can be used to create +applications using the Java class libraries. It is also often used to +create tests for Java libraries. More information can be found at +\ulink{the Jython website}{http://www.jython.org/}. + +\item[Python for .NET] +This implementation actually uses the CPython implementation, but is a +managed .NET application and makes .NET libraries available. This was +created by Brian Lloyd. For more information, see the \ulink{Python +for .NET home page}{http://www.zope.org/Members/Brian/PythonNet}. + +\item[IronPython] +An alternate Python for\ .NET. Unlike Python.NET, this is a complete +Python implementation that generates IL, and compiles Python code +directly to\ .NET assemblies. It was created by Jim Hugunin, the +original creator of Jython. For more information, see \ulink{the +IronPython website}{http://workspaces.gotdotnet.com/ironpython}. + +\item[PyPy] +An implementation of Python written in Python; even the bytecode +interpreter is written in Python. This is executed using CPython as +the underlying interpreter. One of the goals of the project is to +encourage experimentation with the language itself by making it easier +to modify the interpreter (since it is written in Python). Additional +information is available on \ulink{the PyPy project's home +page}{http://codespeak.net/pypy/}. +\end{itemize} + +Each of these implementations varies in some way from the language as +documented in this manual, or introduces specific information beyond +what's covered in the standard Python documentation. Please refer to +the implementation-specific documentation to determine what else you +need to know about the specific implementation you're using. + + \section{Notation\label{notation}} The descriptions of lexical analysis and syntax use a modified BNF |