PyCon Pune 2017

For most of us developers working with Python, the Python implementation developed at python.org (known as CPython, since it is implemented in the C Programming Language) is what we might be familiar with and using in day to day work. But are you aware of aware of the existence of multiple other Python language implementations?
There is a multitude of fascinating implementations of Python in various other languages having their own unique features, some more experimental and some actually being used in production. For example, you might have heard a few of these: PyPy, Pyston, Pyjion, Jython, IronPython, Stackless, Brython, etc

In this talk, we will find out more about these Python implementations, what new unique things they bring to the table, how the cross-pollination of their ideas enhances the Python ecosystem as a whole, when can you actually use them for your work and why their existence is useful even if you never end up actually using any of them.

At the end of the talk, we expect Users to gain a useful knowledge of various Python implementations and know when they can leverage these for their benefit, and how they are helping the Python ecosystem move forward.

Outline

CPython vs the rest of the Pythons: competition or cousins?

Major difference points of various Pythons

• Their goals
• Promoters of the implementation
• Production users if any
• Implementation language
• Foreign language interface
• Their take on the GIL
• JIT compilation
• Performance
• Python version compatibility
• Existing python package compatibility
• Development status
• Benefits to the Python ecosystem
• When can you use them

Speaker bio

I have been working with Python language for about a decade now, and as a Python software developer at Enthought since last 5 years. Having worked in scientific software development, I am particularly interested in performance of Python (GIL, JIT, parallelization) and interoperability with other languages, and have experimented with various Python implementations fairly regularly and follow their development with deep interest.

Slides

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ae79o3Xj3tiS9bZ83OnoVP8zHVR3nIry9e8LtHq_2mY/edit?usp=sharing