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Re:Show HN: Phorth – A Forth-like language on the Python VM by nerdponx on Saturday January 21, 2017 @06:45PM (#13452761)
What does Pixie itself actually run on then?
Re:Show HN: Phorth – A Forth-like language on the Python VM by sabauma on Wednesday January 25, 2017 @03:18PM (#13485594)
That depends on how you run Pixie. There are 2 possible cases.

1. Run Pixie atop the Python VM: this is quite slow as there are 2 levels of interpretation. This is mostly used for testing.

2. As a standalone binary: The RPython language includes a translator which targets C. The generated code is reasonably fast (I think the PyPy interpreter without the JIT is within a factor of 2 the CPython VM). The translator is also responsible for generating the JIT compiler for your interpreter, so a well written interpreter can indeed be quite fast, post translation.