"For most computing environments, performance is the problem of two decades ago."
I've been hearing that performance isn't a problem for the last 20 years, yet it seems like I still spend a lot of time waiting for computers and devices to respond. I've worked in mobile and embedded (arguably not a small segment) for a while, and every major product I've released has had a last minute optimization scramble. The growth of these spaces (and now wearable devices) is only making this worse.
I think perceived performance problems of today are caused by the incremental evolution of legacy systems leading to rube goldberg machines, not due to how fast a programming language can execute.
Sure, for example, HTML app performance is often constrained more by layout and DOM manipulation than straight line code execution.
On the other hand, a lot of these systems aren't that old. I don't think Android is a Rube Goldberg pile of legacy. But Google acquired a company to get the V8 JS interpreter team for WebKit/Blink, and the Android team just created ART to replace Dalvik. These are smart people who've done a lot of performance measurement and optimization. If the VM didn't matter, it seems like a lot of money and time spent for nothing, right?
>On the other hand, there are a few environments where performance still matters. Languages in use there are rarely dynamically typed, but I'm not interested enough in them to care much.
Well considering Rust I'm guessing Mr K might have different views now.
This article wasn't written by Steve Klabnik — merely "reprinted".
> Recently, it was brought up on Proggit that Chris Smith's "What to Know Before Debating Type Systems" was no longer online. This is a really great article, and in an effort to make sure it survives, I've grabbed the archive.org cache and am 'reprinting' it here. If you're into programming languages, read this and level up!
Have you done any Android development? Do you have any confidence that Android isn't held together with duct tape and baling wire under the hood? I sure don't.
I've been hearing that performance isn't a problem for the last 20 years, yet it seems like I still spend a lot of time waiting for computers and devices to respond. I've worked in mobile and embedded (arguably not a small segment) for a while, and every major product I've released has had a last minute optimization scramble. The growth of these spaces (and now wearable devices) is only making this worse.