Why doesn't Perl compile to binary files like python

Question

It strikes me as a Good Thing (ie. in terms of compilation time), that the Python interpreter will create bytecode .pyc files. I believe python uses some sort of hash to determine if the source has changed and then recompile.

Would this be a good idea for Perl? ( with respect to the larger projects with many dependencies etc ).

@Zaid Good Thing is jargon and usually emphasized with a trade mark. Geeks. Go figure. — Linus Kleen
– Linus Kleen, Commented Dec 22, 2011 at 10:02

bvr · Accepted Answer · 2011-12-22 08:47:53Z

12

For quite long explanation of .pmc files, there is lenghty article on perlmonks, also explaning why nobody uses it.

answered Dec 22, 2011 at 8:47

bvr

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1 Comment

Richard Over a year ago

Whilst the python functionality is built in it looks like (from what i just read) that perl pmc is a bit of an afterthought!

daxim · Accepted Answer · 2011-12-22 10:22:01Z

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Actually, there is a way to compile Perl to bytecode, but it has some limitations. See B::Bytecode.

edited Dec 22, 2011 at 10:22

daxim

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answered Dec 22, 2011 at 8:35

imaximchuk

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Comments

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 10:32:41Z

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Parrot is a bytecode VM which should have been used by next version of Perl, i.e. Perl6, but apparently no more (thanks to Barney Schmale's comment)

edited May 23, 2017 at 10:32

CommunityBot

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answered Dec 22, 2011 at 8:34

Basile Starynkevitch

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3 Comments

Tempire Over a year ago

Perl6 is another type of Perl, rather than the "next" as in successor. It's a language spec, much like common lisp is a language spec.

Basile Starynkevitch Over a year ago

Yes, but the only (prototype, incomplete, alpha-stage) implementation of Perl6 seems to be Parrot based.

BarneySchmale Over a year ago

Just a note for readers in 2015. This statement is no longer correct. The currently most complete implementation of Perl 6 is Rakudo. Rakudo supports multiple backends. The most comprehensive backend is the Moar VM, followed by the JVM. Parrot support is lagging behind.

ikegami · Accepted Answer · 2011-12-22 21:22:59Z

0

It took longer for Perl to load from binary than from source.

answered Dec 22, 2011 at 21:22

ikegami

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