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This is the important bit: When numerous instances of Duff's device were removed from the XFree86 Server in version 4.0, there was a notable improvement in per
by biohacker42 17y ago
This is the important bit:
When numerous instances of Duff's device were removed from the XFree86 Server in version 4.0, there was a notable improvement in performance.[3] Therefore, when considering using this code, it may be worth running a few benchmarks to verify that it actually is the fastest code on the target architecture, at the target optimization level, with the target compiler.
Optimization without testing is worse then pointless. It's premature and we know that's evil.
- TimothyFitz 17y agoOr perhaps in this case it's more subtle: code becomes optimized for the wrong thing over time. For example the difference in optimization strategies between netburst pentium 4s and core 2 duos is staggering.
- joe_the_user 17y agoHmm, Great point: not only does optimization cost in understanding and system fragility but it can become stale over time and invisibly so. If you're working on the application level, testing and segregating optimizations like this seems important. Systems level people would operate differently though ...