PyonR: A Python Implementation for Racket

The Python programming language is becoming increasingly popular in a variety of areas, most notably among novice programmers, due to its readable syntax and extensive libraries. On the other hand, the Racket language and its DrRacket IDE have a tradition for being used to introduce Computer Science concepts to students. Besides, the Racket platform can be extended to support other programming languages. Both communities would benefit from an implementation of Python for Racket, since Racket programmers would be able to use libraries produced by the huge Python community and Python programmers would be able to access Racket’s libraries and pedagogical tools, such as DrRacket. This thesis proposes PyonR, an implementation of the Python language for the Racket platform. PyonR consists of a sourceto-source compiler from Python to Racket and a runtime environment developed in Racket, which implements Python’s language constructs and built-in functionality and enforces interoperability with Racket’s data-types. With this approach, we were able to implement Python’s semantics with a very reasonable performance (on the same order of magnitude as other state-of-the-art implementations), full access to Python’s libraries, a native interoperability between Racket and Python, and a good integration with DrRacket’s features for Python development.