[MMTK] MMTK 2.5.6

[khinsen at cea.fr]

A new development release of MMTK, 2.5.6, is available now at the 
standard locations. The new feature is the possibility to implement 
additional force field terms in Pyrex instead of C.

Using Pyrex instead of C simplifies the writing of Python extension 
modules significantly, as Pyrex does all the boring bookkeeping 
automatically. Moreover, Pyrex makes it possible to start with a pure 
Python implementation, test and debug it, and then optimize it step by 
step. Well-optimized Pyrex code is no slower than hand-written C code.

For those who don't know it yet, Pyrex is a Python-like language 
(actually an extension of Python) for writing Python extension modules. 
The Pyrex compiler compiles a Pyrex module into a C module. If used on 
standard Python code, Pyrex yields negligible speedup, because it just 
calls routines from the Python standard library. However, Pyrex allows 
the addition of C type specifications to variables and functions. Code 
that uses only C typed variables is turned into very predictable C 
code, which makes it possible to program in C using Python syntax, and 
mix C and Python freely in one routine.

For more information on Pyrex, see

  	http://nz.cosc.canterbury.ac.nz/~greg/python/Pyrex/

I expect Pyrex to become quite important for numerical work in Python.

Konrad.
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Konrad Hinsen
Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, CEA Saclay,
91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
Tel.: +33-1 69 08 79 25
Fax: +33-1 69 08 82 61
E-Mail: khinsen at cea.fr
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