In article <mailman.3250.1351999198.27098.python-list at python.org>, Chris Angelico <rosuav at gmail.com> wrote: >On Sun, Nov 4, 2012 at 2:10 PM, Steven D'Aprano ><steve+comp.lang.python at pearwood.info> wrote: >>>> /* Shortcut for empty or interned objects */ >> if (v == u) { >> Py_DECREF(u); >> Py_DECREF(v); >> return 0; >> } >> result = unicode_compare(u, v); >>>> where v and u are pointers to the unicode object. >>There's a shortcut if they're the same. There's no shortcut if they're >both interned and have different pointers, which is a guarantee that >they're distinct strings. They'll still be compared char-for-char >until there's a difference. Without looking at the code, I'm pretty sure there's a hash check first. -- Aahz (aahz at pythoncraft.com) <*> http://www.pythoncraft.com/ "....Normal is what cuts off your sixth finger and your tail..." --Siobhan