4 ms·

So code optimized for 80486 machines in the 90's is not less perfomace after the rewrite in Rust. What a miracle! Rust marketing is the best.

by pmarin 3y ago

hulitu 3y ago
That's because the bugs are also implemented in rust.
asveikau 3y ago
You're getting downvoted but i think it's a fair point that revisiting win32k in any language might come up with some opportunities for optimization along the way. Performance best practices have changed a lot since that component was written.
- steveklabnik 3y ago
  I suspect there reason the parent is being downvoted is that "So code optimized for 80486 machines in the 90's" isn't something we actually know. Do you really think Microsoft hasn't touched this code since the 90s? It comes across as sour grapes. My understanding of what the presenter meant here was "this is gnarly code that's been around for a very long time." Not that it literally remains solely optimized for the 486.
  - asveikau 3y ago
    I seem to recall hearing from MS affiliated people in my network that someone revisited GDI circa 2015? It also wouldn't shock me if there's more that can be done. Also worth noting that various parts of MS have declared GDI as legacy at various points in time. Yet it remains a critically important component.
  - saagarjha 3y ago
    Generally codebases tend towards performing worse as people work in it, rather than better.
  - pmarin 3y ago
    51:13 in the video: "old (late 80, early 90) and perf crtical, designed for 286/386." Am I the only one who watched the video?
    - steveklabnik 3y ago
      The API dates from those days. That is true. That doesn't mean the code is untouched since then. That's you extrapolating. I watched the video yesterday, before it was even posted to Hacker News.
camdenreslink 3y ago
Rust marketing says it is on par with performance with C/C++, not better. So I don’t really get your point.
- pmarin 3y ago
  A rewrite of an old code base with today's hardware characteristics in mind should yield better performance, in Rust, C/C++ or any other system language.
  - kaba0 3y ago
    Depends on the task.
biorach 3y ago
> Rust marketing is the best. This is not Rust marketing. This is some MS systems programmers detailing their experience with Rust.

So code optimized for 80486 machines in the 90's is not less perfomace after the rewrite in Rust. What a miracle! Rust marketing is the best.

by pmarin 3y ago

So code optimized for 80486 machines in the 90's is not less perfomace after the rewrite in Rust. What a miracle! Rust marketing is the best.

hulitu 3y ago

That's because the bugs are also implemented in rust.

asveikau 3y ago

You're getting downvoted but i think it's a fair point that revisiting win32k in any language might come up with some opportunities for optimization along the way. Performance best practices have changed a lot since that component was written.

steveklabnik 3y ago
I suspect there reason the parent is being downvoted is that "So code optimized for 80486 machines in the 90's" isn't something we actually know. Do you really think Microsoft hasn't touched this code since the 90s? It comes across as sour grapes. My understanding of what the presenter meant here was "this is gnarly code that's been around for a very long time." Not that it literally remains solely optimized for the 486.
- asveikau 3y ago
  I seem to recall hearing from MS affiliated people in my network that someone revisited GDI circa 2015? It also wouldn't shock me if there's more that can be done. Also worth noting that various parts of MS have declared GDI as legacy at various points in time. Yet it remains a critically important component.
- saagarjha 3y ago
  Generally codebases tend towards performing worse as people work in it, rather than better.
- pmarin 3y ago
  51:13 in the video: "old (late 80, early 90) and perf crtical, designed for 286/386." Am I the only one who watched the video?
  - steveklabnik 3y ago
    The API dates from those days. That is true. That doesn't mean the code is untouched since then. That's you extrapolating. I watched the video yesterday, before it was even posted to Hacker News.

camdenreslink 3y ago

Rust marketing says it is on par with performance with C/C++, not better. So I don’t really get your point.

pmarin 3y ago
A rewrite of an old code base with today's hardware characteristics in mind should yield better performance, in Rust, C/C++ or any other system language.
- kaba0 3y ago
  Depends on the task.

biorach 3y ago

> Rust marketing is the best. This is not Rust marketing. This is some MS systems programmers detailing their experience with Rust.