There a few options that allow you to stay (mostly) in Python: Numpy/Scipy for numerics; using Cython[0]; or using an alternative interpreter (specifically PyPy

There a few options that allow you to stay (mostly) in Python: Numpy/Scipy for numerics; using Cython[0]; or using an alternative interpreter (specifically PyPy[1]). (This assumes that your specific use case is covered, e.g. PyPy doesn't support Python 3 yet.) [0]: http://www.cython.org/ http://www.cython.org/ [1]: http://pypy.org/ http://pypy.org/