Author: Bob Durrett
Date: 07:40:37 01/09/04
Go up one level in this thread
On January 09, 2004 at 10:04:53, Daniel Clausen wrote: >On January 09, 2004 at 09:56:26, Bob Durrett wrote: > >>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? > >Abstraction. > >Using C is already an abstraction as well, since a CPU doesn't execute C-code >but machinecode. > >Unfortunately most people hardly ever consider writing their own language for >certain things. (it doesn't have to be a high-abstraction language, it can also >be a moderate complicated code-generator for certain things) I think most people >either underestimate these things or are simple not aware of it. > >Sargon Well, in all fairness, I truly admire people like the guy who created the c language and also admire people who create compilers for the new higher level languages. The way I see it, the "Computer Linguistics Expert" is a big knotch above the ordinary programmer. : ) Bob D.
This page took 0 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.