[Jtsummers]

> The syscalls are there because the program needs the OS to do things.

Maybe some of them are. Many of those syscalls are there because Python (not the core program someone is creating, but rather its platform) needs the OS to do things.

Importing an empty python file takes 28 syscalls (30 measured by their tool, but the last two are closing out the trace not actually related to the import). 29 syscalls if you have any text in it (presumably more for larger files).

The logical equivalent in C for many portions of the import process in Python happen at compile + linker time, not during execution. So while it might not be a pleasant experience to develop, a C equivalent of many Python programs would involve far fewer syscalls at execution time.