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> and I've yet to be unable to make a program go "fast enough" regardless of the programming language or runtime it's in. That's because you won't even attempt
by shados 5y ago
> and I've yet to be unable to make a program go "fast enough" regardless of the programming language or runtime it's in.
That's because you won't even attempt to do things that that can't run that fast, because you know it won't work, from experience.
Let's take an example unrelated to programming languages (but easier to relate maybe?). Git branches. Git branches are fast to create and delete, so how do they get used? People create them all the time, for a million reasons. Remember SVN, or god forbid CVS, or even SourceSafe? You wouldn't create a branch for shits and giggles for those, because it was slow. You only did it when you had a good reason. Fast branches changed the way we even thought about how to use source control systems.
So let's go back to programming languages. Let's take JavaScript for an easy target. I've built real time image processing that happens on mouse over at 60 frames per second even on old android devices. But when all we had was older versions of internet explorer? I wouldn't even attempt it.
The same holds true for any environment, any kind of databases (regular transactional vs column stores) and yeah, C++ vs Python. People are rebuilding much of the JS toolchain in rust, purely for performance reasons. Because it's never fast enough. On the server, you could save money by using cheaper AWS instances if it was faster. And so on and so forth.
- AlotOfReading 5y agoI like to compare program efficiency to fuel-efficient engines. Most people could get along just fine with a 1950s clunker that gets 10mpg. They might even tell everyone they don't want to upgrade and lose the ability to fix it with nothing more than duct tape and a wrench. There are still clear advantages to all the extra complexity and cost in an efficient engine though.
- turtlebits 5y agoIt's not necessarily that a developer won't attempt it, not all specialities of computing require it. I am in my field because it interests me, not because I can't or wont try other things.
- kaba0 5y agoI don’t know, both of your examples seem to be about data structures/algorithms used. I don’t think any of them would be significantly more performant given a reimplementation of the same thing in a different language.