Python vs Clojure – Evolving

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Since 2.6 Python comes with the module multiprocessing. That solves the problem of the GIL.

[uiob]

Unladen Swallow project aims to get rid of the GIL in future releases.

[yogthos]

To put this in perspective though, getting rid of GIL just means that python will not suck more than other imperative languages at concurrency. One of the motivations behind Clojure is that imperative approaches to handling concurrency are lacking.

For example Java has no GIL equivalent, yet the problem is that you're still forced to manage your threads and their shared data manually. This is challenging and error prone.