"Since I left my job at Amazon I have spent a lot of time reading great source code. Having exhausted the insanely good idSoftware pool, the next thing to read was one of the greatest game of all time: Duke Nukem 3D and the engine powering it named 'Build'. It turned out to be a difficult experience: The engine delivered great value and ranked high in terms of speed, stability and memory consumption but my enthousiasm met a source code controversial in terms of organization, best practices and comments/documentation. This reading session taught me a lot about code legacy and what helps a software live long." Hail to the king, baby.
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Member since:2011-01-28
Laurence,
"These days compilers are so good at optimising that you're more likely to write better performing code in C than assembly."
There are still times when I find GCC didn't optimize something as well as it could have, especially when the C code doesn't translate directly to the desired architecture opcode (many bit manipulation, overflow flags, and multi-word-size instructions are completely absent in C). The roundabout algorithm in C will sometimes result in a roundabout assembly optimization.
That said, most of us have thrown in the towel because the business case for hand optimization skills is virtually non-existent. Most businesses are willing to let grossly inefficient code slide by if they can trade off developer costs with better hardware.
Every time this topic comes up someone else points out the the importance of optimizing the algorithm before resorting to assembly, let me preempt this by saying "I agree".
Member since:2005-07-08
The processors have also become too complex:
- out of order execution
- parallel execution units
- branch prediction
- multiple cache levels
- opcode rewriting
- SIMD
- NUMA
- (put you favourite feature here)
You need to be super human to really optimize for a given processor given all the variables, and when you manage to do it, it is only for a specific model.
Only on the embedded space it is still an advantage to code directly in assembly.
Member since:2006-07-14
Yeah, its difficult to talk about this in the abstract. If I were in charge of a project, I'd want to see a real performance test between code written with proper data structures and one without to see how much of speed up really exists and how critical that speed up really is to the project. Because often developers write code with prejudiced from past experience that may not be applicable to the current task.
But even today there is a wide range of output from various compilers for different programs. Some do a better job than others for different tasks. If it was really critical ( I agree there aren't many of these situations today), I'd look at the output for different compilers and choose the best output for the task.
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Member since:
2007-03-26
These days compilers are so good at optimising that you're more likely to write better performing code in C than assembly.