Re: [Jython-dev] funding jython development

[Tobias K. <jy...@to...>]

  Hello Everyone,

As I am a research associate at the computer laboratory in Cambridge,  
I would also be interested in collaborating on a project to move  
Jython forward within an academic setting.

/> Also, it's always interesting to hear what people are doing with  
Jython, where it provides a unique advantage, both your work and in  
Fiji./

On the danger of going slightly off topic, may I add that I have found  
Jython to be a great and outstandingly helpful tool in my work, too.   
While I was teaching programming in high schools, I found Python to be  
a superb language, while IDLE and Python's standard packages were  
quite limited and limiting.  Since I was not allowed to install any  
software on the computers, but could run a Java application, I turned  
to Jython and built an education programming environment "TigerJython"  
on top of Jython [1, 2].  My initial "hack" turned into a PhD thesis  
and quickly gained large popularity in Switzerland.  It is by now one  
of the most frequently used programming environment in schools, and is  
being adopted in other countries as well.

Indeed, the easy integration with Java turned out to be an essential  
feature and great asset, as it allowed to continue using libraries  
formerly designed for Java.  This also led to a collaboration where we  
used Jython as a basis for music-based programming [3].

So, yes, Jython is really great work and extremely useful.  Thank you all!

Kind regards,
Tobias Kohn

[1]  http://jython.tobiaskohn.ch/
[2]  https://tobiaskohn.ch/index.php/research/research-tigerjython/
[3]  https://jythonmusic.me/

Quoting fwi...@gm...:

> Thanks very much for the offer to help! Others have given great
> answers to (1) and (2), I can give a more detailed answer for (3):
>
> On Thu, Mar 7, 2019 at 6:40 AM Albert Cardona <sap...@gm...> wrote:
>> Question 3: rpython (from pypy) used to have a jvm backend in its git
>> tree. I assume jython developers have considered pursuing that route,
>> and if not, why not?
>
> I discussed this with the PyPy folks some years back. It's a very
> interesting prospect but it has a major stumbling block: a big
> advantage that Jython has is the ability to leverage the advances in
> the underlying JVM. It would be very difficult to utilize these
> advances in a JVM oriented PyPy because PyPy has its own technologies
> in these areas deeply baked in. To take one major example, Jython uses
> the garbage collection technologies provided by the JVM, where a JVM
> PyPy implementation would use the PyPy developed garbage collection
> mechanisms which would not be as effective as the JVM native version.
> The expense of trying to route around PyPy's technology in these areas
> was deemed to high (for these reasons I think work on the JVM PyPy has
> been stalled for a very long time).
>
> -Frank
>
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