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by IncRnd 1955 days ago
> There certainly are usecases where Lucene based solutions aren't the best fit. But I think the claim that you couldn't make something faster by moving away from Python is outlandish.

I read that as a statement that they implemented a proper and bespoke algorithm, not that the speed of Python is greater than C. I am surprised that you read it that way. Who in their right mind would say Python speed is faster than C speed?
1 comments
inertiatic 1955 days ago
You read

>I doubt you could have made it faster even writing the entire thing directly in C or C++.

as

> a statement that they implemented a proper and bespoke algorithm, not that the speed of Python is greater than C.

?

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IncRnd 1954 days ago
Yes. If the implementation language isn't the determining factor for speed, then what is the cause? There is a branch of Computer Science called Algorithmics[0], wherein one expression of measurement is called Big-O notation[1].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmics

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_O_notation

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mlthoughts2018 1955 days ago
You seem fundamentally confused, for example with tools like Cython.

Many extension module implementations in Python are literally as fast as pure C (not just nearly as fast with minor extra CPython overhead, but literally as fast as pure C by deliberately bypassing CPython VM loop and data models).

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inertiatic 1953 days ago
Cython can be as fast as C for simple use cases.

Because you're writing regular Python for a production service though, and not artificially writing optimized examples, then you will occasionally have to pay extra costs.

Are you perhaps a bit too invested in your own narrative?

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