Use of the Python language in scientific computing has always been characterized by the coexistence of interpreted Python code and compiled native code, written in languages like C or Fortran.

The authors of “Pythran: Crossing the Python Frontier,” (login may be required for full text) which appears in the March/April 2018 issue of Computing in Science & Engineering, take a fresh look at the problem and introduce Pythran, a new optimization tool designed to efficiently handle unmodified Python code.

About Lori Cameron

Lori Cameron is a Senior Writer for the IEEE Computer Society and currently writes regular features for Computer magazine, Computing Edge, and the Computing Now and Magazine Roundup websites. Contact her at l.cameron@computer.org. Follow her on LinkedIn.