From: Chris Williams <em...@hidden>
> In 25 years in the computer business, I've seen precisely one
example of
> someone successfully re-coding around performance issues with the
language
> or library. And that was only because they coded a tiny snippet of
> assembler that managed to fit into the pre-fetch cache of an 80286.
Amazing. I have been more fortunate (?)
> Every other time, the effort would've been far better spent
avoiding unnecessary
> calls and work in their own design than wasting time fighting or
rewriting
> the language/library.
I emphasize good design from the start, which perhaps sets a different
type of standard. It is slower to write (as if line count were a good
thing), but it pays off in the end because programs are easier to
maintain, last longer, and are more reusable. I've seen such important
changes maaaany times. Outperforming system libraries really isn't
difficult, and it *can* make a difference in performance critical code.
The people writing system libraries/frameworks are also programmers -
the algorithm they chose may not be the best for a particualr app. easy.
Hardware changes, uses for computers change. Surely, in 25 years there
must have been at least one example of (or in) a library that was not
initially delivered with an OS that you have benefited from? (Even if
it was included with the OS in source, binary, or concept at a later
date).
Again, this is performance critical code - I have 0 idea what your
projects involved, but I know optimization can be learned. First
indicator: There are people who can read a source file and suggest
meaningful changes, and there are those who cannot. This trait is
fundamental to be able to write performance critical code - and there
are many details beyond that.
J
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