Re:As fast as C code??? (Score 1)

Given JIT compiler frameworks such as LLVM (http://llvm.org/), there's no reason that an interpreter environment can't be as fast (asymptotically) as "real" compiled code any more. The real divide is between static and dynamic typing now. The latter gives more flexibility (unrestricted polymorphism), but defers type checks until runtime which of course incurs a runtime cost.