mirror of
https://github.com/kennethreitz/python-guide.git
synced 2026-06-05 14:50:19 +00:00
Elena ``of Valhalla'' Grandi
98 lines
3.0 KiB
ReStructuredText
98 lines
3.0 KiB
ReStructuredText
Picking an Interpreter
|
|
======================
|
|
|
|
Which Python to use?
|
|
|
|
|
|
2.x vs 3.x
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
|
|
**tl;dr**: Python 2.x is the status quo, Python 3.x is the shiny new thing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
`Further Reading <http://wiki.python.org/moin/Python2orPython3>`_
|
|
|
|
|
|
Today
|
|
-----
|
|
|
|
If you're choosing a Python interpreter to use, I *highly* recommend you Use Python 2.7.x, unless you have a strong reason not to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Future
|
|
----------
|
|
|
|
As more and more modules get ported over to Python3, the easier it will be for
|
|
others to use it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Which Python to Support?
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
|
|
If you're starting work on a new Python module, I recommend you write it for
|
|
Python 2.5 or 2.6, and add support for Python3 in a later iteration.
|
|
|
|
Implementations
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
|
|
There are several popular implementations of the Python programming language on
|
|
different back-ends.
|
|
|
|
CPython
|
|
-------
|
|
|
|
`CPython <http://www.python.org>`_ is the reference implementation of Python,
|
|
written in C. It compiles Python code to intermediate bytecode which is then
|
|
interpreted by a virtual machine. When people speak of *Python* they often mean
|
|
not just the language but also this implementation. It provides the highest
|
|
level of compatibility with Python packages and C extension modules.
|
|
|
|
If you are writing open-source Python code and want to reach the widest possible
|
|
audience, targeting CPython is your best bet. If you need to use any packages
|
|
that are rely on C extensions for their functionality (eg: numpy) then CPython
|
|
is your only choice.
|
|
|
|
Being the reference implementation, all versions of the Python language are
|
|
available as CPython. Python 3 is only available in a CPython implementation.
|
|
|
|
PyPy
|
|
----
|
|
|
|
`PyPy <http://pypy.org/>`_ is a Python interpreter implemented in a restricted
|
|
statically-typed subset of the Python language called RPython. The interpreter
|
|
features a just-in-time compiler and supports multiple back-ends (C, CLI, JVM).
|
|
|
|
PyPy aims for maximum compatibility with the reference CPython implementation
|
|
while improving performance.
|
|
|
|
If you are looking to squeeze more performance out of your Python code, it's
|
|
worth giving PyPy a try.
|
|
|
|
Currently PyPy supports Python 2.7.
|
|
|
|
Jython
|
|
------
|
|
|
|
`Jython <http://www.jython.org/>`_ is a Python implementation that compiles
|
|
Python code to Java byte code that then executes on a JVM. It has the additional
|
|
advantage of being able to import and use any Java class the same as a Python
|
|
module.
|
|
|
|
If you need to interface with an existing Java codebase or have other reasons to
|
|
need to write Python code for the JVM, Jython is the best choice.
|
|
|
|
Currently Jython supports up to Python 2.5.
|
|
|
|
IronPython
|
|
----------
|
|
|
|
`IronPython <http://ironpython.net/>`_ is an implementation of Python for .NET
|
|
framework. It can use both Python and .NET framework libraries, and can also
|
|
expose Python code to other .NET languages.
|
|
|
|
`Python Tools for Visual Studio <http://ironpython.net/tools/>`_ integrate
|
|
IronPython directly in to the Visual Studio development environment, making it
|
|
an ideal choice for Windows developers.
|
|
|
|
IronPython supports Python 2.7.
|