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Converted pavement.py to manage.py and added a README.
author Atul Varma <varmaa@toolness.com>
date Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:19:33 -0700
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children 9e33fc5a8d92
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3c2151124cee Converted pavement.py to manage.py and added a README.
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1 Pymonkey README
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2 ---------------
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3
3c2151124cee Converted pavement.py to manage.py and added a README.
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4 Pymonkey is a pure Python CAPI module to expose the Mozilla
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5 SpiderMonkey engine to Python.
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6
3c2151124cee Converted pavement.py to manage.py and added a README.
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7 Rationale and Goals:
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8
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9 * There's an increasing need for being able to run JS on the server
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10 side--particularly untrusted JS. There's Java-based solutions
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11 like Rhino out there, but nothing really mature is available for
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12 the Python world. Ideally, Pymonkey should enable a Python
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13 programmer to create a custom sandboxed environment for executing
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14 JS code without needing to write any C.
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15
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16 * Pymonkey should have awesome Sphinx documentation with doctests
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17 and all the trappings of a model Python package. Not only should
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18 it be easy for Python programmers to learn how to use the module,
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19 but it should also be easy for them to learn more about how
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20 SpiderMonkey works by reading the docs and playing around with the
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21 code.
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22
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23 * Pymonkey needs to have outstanding developer ergonomics. Full
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24 cross-language stack tracebacks should be available, for instance,
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25 and developers should be able to easily debug. Access to memory
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26 profiling facilities in JS-land is a must.
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27
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28 * The module uses the Python CAPI: no SWIG, Pyrex, or other
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29 intermediaries. The obvious disadvantage here is that it means
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30 more C code, but the advantages are that
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31
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32 (A) contributors don't need to learn anything other than the
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33 Python and SpiderMonkey C APIs to contribute, and
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34
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35 (B) it means one less dependency, which makes the build process
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36 easier.
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37
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38 The module also doesn't use ctypes because using the SpiderMonkey
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39 C API requires fairly complex preprocessor macros defined in the
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40 engine's header files.
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41
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42 Finally, Atul has never really made a straight Python CAPI module
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43 before, so he wanted to give it a try.
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44
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45 Building and Testing
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46 --------------------
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47
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48 Right now building is annoying and difficult because Pymonkey wraps
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49 SpiderMonkey 1.8.1, which doesn't yet exist as standalone code--it's
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50 only available in the mozilla-central HG repository. As such,
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51 Pymonkey currently requires a full build of the Mozilla platform. You
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52 can find out how to do this here:
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53
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54 https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Build_Documentation
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55
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56 Once you've built Mozilla, you can build the extension and run the
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57 tests like this:
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58
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59 python manage.py build --objdir=PATH_TO_OBJDIR
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60
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61 Where PATH_TO_OBJDIR is the path to your Mozilla build's objdir (if
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62 you don't know what that is, read the build documentation).
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63
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64 Note that at the moment, the build script is only tested on OS X, and
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65 even then some things need to be done to the environment in order for
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66 pymonkey to be loaded properly; look at manage.py if you need more
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67 specifics on that. Right now this isn't a huge deal because we're only
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68 really concerned with the test suite, which is run automatically after
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69 building--but obviously it's something that needs to be fixed in the
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70 future.
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71
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72 Example Code
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73 ------------
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74
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75 Right now the only example code that exists is in the test suite at
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76 test_pymonkey.py. Check it out and feel free to add more.
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77
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78 Challenges
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79 ----------
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80
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81 There's a number of challenges that need to be resolved before
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82 pymonkey can be really usable. Here's some of them.
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83
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84 Garbage Collection
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85
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86 Python's garbage collection uses reference counting, whereas
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87 SpiderMonkey's is mark-and-sweep. We'll likely run into situations
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88 where there are cycles that exist between SpiderMonkey and Python
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89 objects; this is actually quite similar to the relationship between
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90 XPCOM and JavaScript in the Mozilla platform--XPCOM uses reference
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91 counting too--so detecting such cycles will probably involve creating
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92 something akin to XPCOM's cycle collector [1].
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93
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94 [1] https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Interfacing_with_the_XPCOM_cycle_collector