Python 3 - Second Edition

40    Alternative Interpreters and Compilers

In the previous chapters, we have always regarded the Python language and its interpreter as a single entity. Implicitly, we have referred to the Python language in combination with its reference implementation, the CPython interpreter. This quibble becomes relevant only in this chapter, where we discuss alternative interpreters and compilers.

In addition to CPython, several other interpreters and compilers exist that implement the Python language. Some approaches are limited to a subset of the language's scope, while others extend the language.

Often, the development of an alternative interpreter is driven by a desire for more efficient program execution, as the CPython reference implementation focuses ...