From the early days of IronPython, my presentation at Sydney Python User's Group

1. IronPython combines the best of
Python and .NET.
IronPython
Nick Hodge
Professional Geek, Microsoft Australia
@nickhodge
nhodge@microsoft.com

4. General Courtney Hicks Hodges

5. “Gold” Arromanches,
Normandy, France

6. Inspiration
“The speed of the current system is so low as to render the current
implementation useless for anything beyond demonstration purposes.” –
ActiveState’s report on Python for .NET
“The CLI is, by design, not friendly to dynamic languages. Prototypes were
built, but ran way too slowly.” – Jon Udell, InfoWorld, Aug. 2003
• How could Microsoft have screwed up so badly that the CLR is far worse
than the JVM for dynamic languages?
– Jython shows that dynamic languages can run well on the JVM
• I decided to write a short pithy paper called, “Why .NET is a terrible
platform for dynamic languages”

8. .NET ?.?DLR2
.NET 4.0
.NET 3.5LINQ
DLR
.NET 2.0
The Common Language Runtime
.NET 1.0
GC
BCL
ReflectionJIT
Generics
In Runtime
Expression
Trees
Extension
Methods
Statement
Trees
Call Site
Caching
Dynamic
Dispatch
Dynamic
Codegen
Verifier
Sandbox
Silverlight
Fast
Delegates
Dynamic
Methods
Script
Hosting
??? ???

9. Python
Binder
Ruby
Binder
COM
Binder
JavaScript
Binder
Object
Binder
Dynamic Languages on .NET
Dynamic Language Runtime
Statement Trees Dynamic Dispatch Call Site Caching
IronPython IronRuby C# VB.NET Others…

12. • Today it shares a site with IronPython
– http://codeplex.com/ironpython
• Next month it will move to its own site
• MSPL is a permissive Open Source license
• Core V1 components – Trees, Sites, Binders
– Will ship in .NET Framework 4.0
– Base for C# 4.0’s dynamic
• Future pieces are also available today
– Microsoft.Scripting.dll for now
DLR is under MSPL and on codeplex

14. When to use IronPython?

15. IPy 1.0
•Shipped
Sept. 2006
•v2.4 language
compatibility
•27/54 built-in
modules
IPy 1.1
•Shipped
April 2007
•Limited v2.5
language
features
•More Modules
•Top user issues
•VS Integration
(VSX sample)
IPy 2.0
•Current Focus
•Fall 2008
•v2.5 language
compatibility
•Built on DLR
•More modules
•Top User Issues
IPy 2.6
•Alpha Released
•H1 2009
•v2.6 language
compatibility
•Productize VS
integration
IPy 3.0
•In Planning
•H2 2009 ?
•Python 3000
language
compatibility
•Support for next
version of VS
IronPython Roadmap
LINQ?

16. Standard Pystone Benchmark
higher numbers are better
0K
20K
40K
60K
80K
100K
IronPython
0.1
Python
2.3
IronPython
1.0
IronPython
2.0beta5
Python
2.5
Python
2.1
46K
101
K90K
80K
50K
36K

17. Two Object Worlds == Pain
Python
Objects
C-Based
Objects
py1 c2

18. IronPython can interop with code
written in other .NET lanugages.

19. Extending IronPython in C#
namespace noddy
{
public class Noddy
{
public string first, last;
public Noddy(string first, string last)
{
this.first = first;
this.last = last;
}
}
}

20. IronPython is embeddable in
.NET applications.

21. import clr
clr.AddReference("IronPython.dll")
from IronPython.Hosting import PythonEngine
engine = PythonEngine.CurrentEngine
scope = engine.CreateScope()
source =
engine.CreateScriptSourceFromString('6*9')
result = source.Execute(scope)

22. http://ironpython.codeplex.com/ironpython
(Including SVN access to source)

23. IronPython combines the best of
Python and .NET.
IronPython
Nick Hodge
Professional Geek, Microsoft Australia
@nickhodge
nhodge@microsoft.com