PyXL
Hardware
python processor
SHOW HN2025
How HN took it
31 positive, 59 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 16 critical, out of 108 comments about the project. Thread score +0.17.
Idea: 14 for, 5 againstPerformance: 4 for, 3 againstExecution: 2 for, 4 againstDesign: 0 for, 2 againstPricing: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Interesting project and impressive GPIO speed
From 2 comments
Amazing,
igtztorrero on HNIs this running on an FPGA or were you able to fab a custom chip?
IlikeKitties on HN
Objections
GPIO benchmark may not be apples to apples; software toggle could be faster
From 2 comments
A "480ns GPIO roundtrip" @ 100MHz implies 48 cycles for a single GPIO access. I would understand one or two cycles, but what does it spend the other ~46 cycles on? Does Python…
crest on HNGreat question! You're right that it can definitely be faster — there's real room for optimization. When I have time, I may write a blog post that will explain where the cycles…
hwpythonner on HN
Only a subset of Python is supported
From 2 comments
Thanks — really appreciate the interest! There are definitely some limitations beyond just memory or OS interaction. Right now, PyXL supports a subset of real Python. Many…
hwpythonner on HNGreat points! Peripheral drivers (like UART, SPI, etc.) are definitely on the roadmap - They'd obviously be implemented in HW. You're absolutely right — once you have basic IO,…
hwpythonner on HN
Requests
More detail on the design and ISA
From 2 comments
Thanks — really appreciate your insights. You're absolutely right that CPython bytecode changes over time and isn’t perfectly documented — I’ve also had to read the CPython…
hwpythonner on HNThanks so much — really appreciate it! Right now, the plan is to present it at PyCon first (next month) and then publish more about the internals afterward. Long-term, I'm…
hwpythonner on HN
Questions
Is it running on an FPGA or a custom chip
From 1 comment
Is this running on an FPGA or were you able to fab a custom chip?
IlikeKitties on HN
Could the approach work for server workloads
From 2 comments
Good question! PyXL today is aimed more at embedded and real-time systems. For server-class use, I'd need to mature heap management, add basic concurrency, a simple network…
hwpythonner on HNNot yet — I'm currently testing on a Zynq-7000 platform (embedded-class FPGA), mainly because it has an ARM CPU tightly integrated (and it's rather cheap). I use the ARM side to…
hwpythonner on HN
Alternatives named
PyPy JIT
From 2 comments
PyPy is a JIT compiler — it runs on a standard CPU and accelerates "hot" parts of a program after runtime analysis. This is a great approach for many applications, but it doesn’t…
hwpythonner on HNThere have been efforts (like Cython, Nuitka, PyPy’s JIT) to accelerate Python by compiling subsets or tracing execution — but none fully replace the standard dynamic model at…
hwpythonner on HN
Cython and Nuitka
From 1 comment
There have been efforts (like Cython, Nuitka, PyPy’s JIT) to accelerate Python by compiling subsets or tracing execution — but none fully replace the standard dynamic model at…
hwpythonner on HN
MicroPython
From 1 comment