There are versions of Python without RC: https://www.python.org/download/alternatives/. There is no doubt that Python would be better off without RC, the problem is that Python extensions rely on RC. So CPython (the main python implemenation) can't just do the switch.

If you want more information about this topic, there is a nice talk by Larry Hastings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLqv11ScGsQ

Thanks. It seems that the JyNI project is trying to make a bridge between CPython and Jython, so from that I take that it is somehow possible to have extensions which more or less rely on RC (or at least the C API) while you can use a GC (Java's GC in this case) at the same time.

https://www.jyni.org/

Unfortunately, the real test of "is this language proper python" is "it behaves exactly as the horrible bytecode interpreter in PyEvalFrameEx C function".

So it's hard to make alternative implementations that don't die.

Which one would you say is a relatively better bytecode interpreter? I was looking for one.

One that has a spec and test suite for the implemented VM, for starters.