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Re: bytecode interpreter + dynamic compilation


Doug Evans <dje@transmeta.com> writes:

> Here's a wild half-baked thought.
> 
> Suppose Guile used a bytecode interpreter and used dynamic compilation
> for speed when needed?  A dynamic compiler for Scheme doesn't appear
> to require any rocket science, and I think the speed up would be substantial.

Great idea.  Not very wild though ...

> No claim is made that this is a new idea.  It's old (if not ancient).

Yep.  It's exactly what Kawa does when running on JVM containing a JIT.
(Acronym expansion: "JVM" is "Java Virtual Machine" or Java interpreter.
JIT is "Just-In-Time compiler" - i.e. dynamic compilation.  The fastest
JVMs use dynamic compilation for speeding up frequently used methods.
Kaffe, which is available under a GPL license, compiles all methods
to native code.)
-- 
	--Per Bothner
per@bothner.com   http://www.bothner.com/~per/

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