The Io programming language is a compact prototype-based system.
In addition to being a pure object language, Io offers several other features that make it unique. The VM for Io is small, consisting of only around 16K C statements, with an additional 8K specific to Io. This means that the language has a small memory footprint, ranging from 64K to 200K depending on the platform.
Despite its small size, Io is also reasonably fast, comparable to other scripting languages like Python, Perl, and Ruby. It uses an incremental collector and weak links to manage memory, and it has a differential prototype-based object model that allows for dynamic typing and exceptions.
The Io implementation is ANSI C, with the exception of coroutines. This means that it can be embedded into other applications, and multiple VMs can run within the same application. Io also supports actor-based concurrency and coroutines, making it suitable for use in concurrent systems.
Overall, Io is a versatile language that offers many features in a small package. Its open source license, pure object model, and small memory footprint make it an excellent choice for developers looking for a lightweight language that can be embedded into other applications.
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