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[Python-Dev] Capabilities

Greg Ewing greg@cosc.canterbury.ac.nz
Tue, 01 Apr 2003 10:50:59 +1200 (NZST) 
> But that's not how rexec works.

It seems to me that the restricted execution mechanism (is there a
shorter term for this? calling it rexec is a misnomer, as has been
pointed out -- let's call it the REM for now) really is a kind of
capability system.

The REM works by closing off a bunch of loopholes and then controlling
which builtins a piece of code has access to.  That code can then pass
them on to other code or withhold them. Sounds a lot like
capabilities, doesn't it?

So the hypothesised "capability python" would be rather like having
REM permanently in effect...

Greg Ewing, Computer Science Dept, +--------------------------------------+
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