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C++ has solid "cleanup" constructs so I wonder why CPython is in C instead of C++. Is it portability, compilation speed, complexity control, transition cost, so

• overgard 7y ago
  All of those, but also python came out in 1991 when C++ was still in its infancy. Even if C++ had been mature though C is still a better choice, python is often embedded in other programs and doing that with C has a lot fewer headaches (simpler linking, better compiler support)
• vkazanov 7y ago
  CPython is a relatively simple program calling for a (relatively) simple language. It's meant to be understood by lots of people, used within many different contexts and C is in much better position here. At its heart it is just a bytecode interpreter, i.e. a loop with a huge switch. I don't think you need an elephant language just for that.