4 ms·

The thing is, when I see people using this quote, I don't see them generally using it to mean you should never optimize. I think people don't ignore the prematu

The thing is, when I see people using this quote, I don't see them generally using it to mean you should never optimize. I think people don't ignore the premature bit in general. Now, throwing this quote out there generally doesn't contribute to the conversation. But then, I think, neither does telling people to read the context when the context doesn't change the meaning of the quote.

smcl 4y ago
Right but if they post just that part, they're probably heavily implying that now is not the time to optimize. I've seen way more people using it to argue that you shouldn't be focussing on performance at this time, than saying "sometimes you gotta focus on that 3% mentioned in the part of the quote that I deliberately omitted"
- winstonewert 4y ago
  No, they don't deliberately omit the part of the quote. They are either unaware of that part of the quote or don't think it matters to the point they are making. Yes, if you quote Knuth here (whether the short quote or a longer version) you are probably responding to someone whom you believe is engaged in premature optimization. It remains that the person quoting Knuth isn't claiming that there isn't such a thing as justified optimization. As such, pointing to the context doesn't really add to the conversation. (Nor does a thoughtless quote of Knuth either)
  - smcl 4y ago
    I dunno, guess it's hard to say given we're talking about our own subjective experiences. I completely believe there are people who just know the "premature optimization is the root of all evil" part and love to use it because quoting Knuth makes them sound smart. And I'm sure there are also people know it all and who quote that part in isolation (and in good faith) because they want to emphasise that they believe you're jumping the gun on optimization. But either way I think the original statement is so uncontroversial and common-sense I actually think it doesn't help any argument unless you're talking to an absolutely clueless dunce or unless you're dealing with someone who somehow believes every optimization is premature.

smcl 4y ago

Right but if they post just that part, they're probably heavily implying that now is not the time to optimize. I've seen way more people using it to argue that you shouldn't be focussing on performance at this time, than saying "sometimes you gotta focus on that 3% mentioned in the part of the quote that I deliberately omitted"

winstonewert 4y ago
No, they don't deliberately omit the part of the quote. They are either unaware of that part of the quote or don't think it matters to the point they are making. Yes, if you quote Knuth here (whether the short quote or a longer version) you are probably responding to someone whom you believe is engaged in premature optimization. It remains that the person quoting Knuth isn't claiming that there isn't such a thing as justified optimization. As such, pointing to the context doesn't really add to the conversation. (Nor does a thoughtless quote of Knuth either)
- smcl 4y ago
  I dunno, guess it's hard to say given we're talking about our own subjective experiences. I completely believe there are people who just know the "premature optimization is the root of all evil" part and love to use it because quoting Knuth makes them sound smart. And I'm sure there are also people know it all and who quote that part in isolation (and in good faith) because they want to emphasise that they believe you're jumping the gun on optimization. But either way I think the original statement is so uncontroversial and common-sense I actually think it doesn't help any argument unless you're talking to an absolutely clueless dunce or unless you're dealing with someone who somehow believes every optimization is premature.