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Subject: Re: Simple optimization question

Author: Bob Durrett

Date: 06:56:26 01/09/04

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On January 09, 2004 at 08:34:05, Tord Romstad wrote:

>On January 09, 2004 at 08:14:05, Ricardo Gibert wrote:
>
>>If the if-test is seldom executed or the if-test is predictable, why should you
>>optimize it? Use a profiler to determine what "needs" optimizing. Even then,
>>think twice before you mangle the readability of your code.
>
>I'm quite well aware of all of this.  If you browse the archives, you will
>probably find that there are few programmers here who warn about premature
>opitimization more often than I.  :-)
>
>Have a look at this message for the most recent example:
>
>http://www.talkchess.com/forums/1/message.html?340567
>
>However, in the present case readability is not a major concern for me.
>One of my plans for the not very distant future is to throw away my
>current evaluation function entirely, and design some sort of high-level
>language for defining the evaluation function.  I will then write a Lisp
>program to transform this evaluation function to C code.  If this works
>as well as I hope, I will never again have to read or write a single line
>of C code in my evaluation function, and I am free to choose the low-level
>constructs which give the fastest code, without worrying about readability.
>
>I hate working in low-level languages like C, C++ and assembly language,
>and prefer to let a program do the dirty work of churning out the most
>complicated bits of the code rather than doing it all by hand.
>
>Tord

That sounds like the proverbial ostrich with head in sand!

Your higher language will eventually produce c code???  Then the c code could
have either form being discussed but you will have no control over which.  You
have merely hidden the problem from your own view!  If you create a "compiler"
which converts your higher language to c, then you will still have to tell the
"compiler" what form to use.  What have you gained?

: )

Bob D.



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