The article explores how to make Python programs run absurdly slower by examining different rule sets and building small Python programs to run for an extraordinarily long time.
Starting with the most permissive rule set of allowing infinite loops, the article demonstrates a simple program using 'while True' that runs forever.
Moving on to rule set 2, the article introduces nested fixed-range loops to run for an impractically long time with a small amount of memory usage.
Rule set 3 introduces a 5-state Turing machine with infinite, zero-initialized memory, running for 47,176,870 steps before halting.
The article progresses to a 6-state Turing machine known to run for over 10^↑↑15 steps, showing a video of its first 10 trillion steps.
Rule set 5 delves into building a Python program to compute 10^↑↑15 steps using increment, addition, multiplication, exponentiation, and tetration functions.
The article emphasizes the impact of Python's immutable int type on performance, advocating the use of gmpy2.xmpz for in-place updates.
By constructing these programs, the article highlights the capabilities of nested loops, Turing machines, and hand-inlined functions to demonstrate incredibly slow program runtimes.
The exploration of tetration unveils a hierarchy of hyperoperations beyond exponentiation, showcasing the potential to express unimaginably large numbers compactly.
The article concludes by providing insights on writing programs that run for an extensive duration, showcasing the importance of efficient coding practices and minimal systems.
The author invites readers to explore the open-source GitHub repository for all the code discussed in the article.