/usr/bin/python -OO -c'import py_compile, sys; py_compile.compile(sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2], None, True)' $1 $2
We should have done it sooner.. (however, speed gain seems insignificant).
As for the fairness.. Your program certainly solved the task
But, as Adrian said, it was a mistake: he thought we already had compiled Python programs to bytecode first. For example, Perl is still interpreted directly from source and it is banned in this problem because of this.
Yes, higher-ranked solutions to CTQUINE look great 