Summary of Modifications

  The changes in this branch (speedup_controller) optimize the Controller_Trampoline class in the Python bindings by adding a caching mechanism for Python method lookups:

  Key Changes:

  1. New caching infrastructure (in Binding_Controller.h):
  - Added member variables to cache:
    - m_pySelf - cached Python self reference (avoids repeated py::cast(this))
    - m_methodCache - unordered_map storing Python method objects by name
    - m_onEventMethod - cached fallback "onEvent" method
    - m_hasOnEvent / m_cacheInitialized - state flags

  2. New methods (in Binding_Controller.cpp):
  - initializePythonCache() - initializes the cache on first use
  - getCachedMethod() - retrieves methods from cache (or looks them up once and caches)
  - callCachedMethod() - calls a cached Python method with an event
  - Constructor and destructor to properly manage the cached Python objects with GIL

  3. Optimized handleEvent():
  - Previously: every event caused py::cast(this), py::hasattr(), and attr() lookups
  - Now: uses cached method references, avoiding repeated Python attribute lookups

  4. Optimized getClassName():
  - Uses the cached m_pySelf when available instead of casting each time

  Purpose:

  This is a performance optimization that reduces overhead when handling frequent events (like AnimateBeginEvent, AnimateEndEvent), which can be called many times per simulation step. The caching eliminates repeated Python/C++ boundary crossings for method lookups.