The potential removal of the GIL from Python

You have learned that the GIL sets a significant constraint on our multithreading programs in Python, especially those with CPU-bound tasks. For this reason, many Python developers have come to view the GIL in a negative light, and the term the infamous GIL has started to become popular. It is not surprising, then, that some have even advocated the complete removal of the GIL from the Python language.

In fact, multiple attempts to remove the GIL have been made by prominent Python users. However, the GIL is so deeply implanted in the implementation of the language, and the execution of most libraries and packages that are not thread-safe is so significantly dependent on the GIL, that the removal of the GIL will actually engender bugs as well as backward-incompatibility issues for your Python programs. A number of Python developers and researchers tried to completely omit the GIL from Python execution, and most existing C extensions, which...