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Subject: Re: assembler vs. C

Author: leonid

Date: 15:59:50 11/11/99

Go up one level in this thread


On November 11, 1999 at 18:01:29, Christophe Theron wrote:

>On November 11, 1999 at 17:30:56, leonid wrote:
>
>>On November 11, 1999 at 13:10:57, Christophe Theron wrote:
>>
>>>On November 11, 1999 at 07:03:24, leonid wrote:
>>>
>>>>On November 11, 1999 at 02:11:28, Christophe Theron wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On November 10, 1999 at 22:28:49, leonid wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>On November 10, 1999 at 21:04:11, Christophe Theron wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>On November 10, 1999 at 17:51:07, leonid wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>On November 10, 1999 at 13:31:45, Christophe Theron wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>On November 10, 1999 at 07:15:37, leonid wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>You can do something faster in assembly, but it takes such a long time to
>>>>>>>>>>>develop it that in the end you lose your advantage.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>Because chess programming is about being creative, and assembly lengthens the
>>>>>>>>>>>time between the idea and the implementation. That's the key.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>    Christophe
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>In reality, it is not writing the code that is the most time consuming in
>>>>>>>>>>programming (at least in mine) but verification of each version of logic.
>>>>>>>>>>Verification for speed. Writing the code take hardly 5 or 10% from the total
>>>>>>>>>>time for creating the game. This is why language must have so little impact on
>>>>>>>>>>the time of writing the chess game.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>If the last change in my logic took some 5 hours for writing it, after 4 days of
>>>>>>>>>>verification of positions I still don't know how much advantage I can obtain
>>>>>>>>>>from the last change. I imagine that the same is true for everybody. This is why
>>>>>>>>>>I would like to hear from you, or somebody else, how much really the time goes
>>>>>>>>>>in writing the game compared with everything else.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Leonid.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>between one and two hours a day.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>Anyway that's not the problem.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>Here is how I look at it: 100% of the time I spend in my sources is spend
>>>>>>>>>reading C, not assembly, and for me that makes a big difference.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>When I'm not in my sources, I'm not working on Tiger. When my program is running
>>>>>>>>>automatic tests I work on something else.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>    Christophe
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Can hardly imagine how you do your test. For me the test for speed is the
>>>>>>>>verification of time that two logics ask for solving the same position. I must
>>>>>>>>verify big number of positions in order to be certain that response is not
>>>>>>>>aberration. And deposition of big number of different positions, taken very
>>>>>>>>often from different sources, take time. To give you one idea about aberration.
>>>>>>>>The last time I verified the new logic on the first 20 position, just asking the
>>>>>>>>game to play on its own. The speed improvement was 160%. After this I took the
>>>>>>>>positions from the Chess Life and tryed the same there on around next 18.
>>>>>>>>Advantage was hardly 10%. Where I am? I still don't know. Tomorrow will continue
>>>>>>>>my verification.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Leonid.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Being able to check if a change is an improvement or not is indeed the key to
>>>>>>>really improve a program.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>It is very important to invest time to find a good testing methodology.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>    Christophe
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Almost impossible. Each time you have some new thing to try. The only way around
>>>>>>the problem is to give all the try to somebody else. But this is impossible when
>>>>>>you work on your own. Maybe your situation is different and this is how you are
>>>>>>spending so much time with your code.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Ho, maybe you could help me in solving my old mystery. Can you describe, in your
>>>>>>way, at what speed now games search the position? For mate containing position I
>>>>>>was able to find exact speed, but never found the way to know the speed for
>>>>>>positional search. It make me wonder how far mine is from the good one.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>At what stage is your project?
>>>>>>Leonid.
>>>>>
>>>>>I don't understand your question.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>    Christophe
>>>>
>>>>Before I asked two questions. The first one I found already it is really
>>>>insolvable - speed of positional thinking of the game. The second was about your
>>>>game, if it is completely finished? Don't be surprise on my question, not
>>>>everybody finished its game.
>>>>
>>>>Leonid.
>>>
>>>
>>>You mean, do I think that I have written algorithm that cannot be improved?
>>>
>>>I think I'm very far from something like that. For me, Chess Tiger is a work in
>>>progress, and I have an incredibly long list of things to do/try.
>>>
>>>I'm still surprised it gets good results. Well... I'm getting used to it, but
>>>sometimes I wonder how it managed.
>>>
>>>I think it will NEVER be finished.
>>>
>>>
>>>    Christophe
>>
>>Ha, so you wrote the Tiger game! I have the impression that I have seen a lot of
>>talking about the game here. Will go to find it and try it as the game. Would
>>like to be where you stay already.
>
>I wish you to do it in less time than me. I'm into computer chess since more
>than 17 years now.
>
>
>
>
>>I asked you if you finished your game not in the sense that you reached the end
>>of programming but only if the all parts of the game is already there. My logic
>>is still incomplet. I wrote only basic logic without adding there all the
>>database for openings and the end.
>
>It's already a lot. My own program had no opening book for 12 years.

Real pleasure for me to hear this.

But is your game a shareware or pofessional. If it is a shareware what is the
address? Before tryed to find it through the Alta Vista but was incapable. And I
have strong impression that I have seen the game under this name in the
shareware list.
>
>
>
>> Would like to reach the best speed on my main
>>engin before going to the final touches.
>
>That's reasonnable.
>
>
>
>> This is the reason why I asked you
>>before about the positional logic speed. This part is still complet mystery for
>>me. Did I already accomplished some decent speed and can how to the final
>>database task, or I still must stay with this part of the game?
>
>Databases come later. First work on the real engine: search+eval, until you have
>something close to the best programs.

Question is how I can compare? Those "extensions" lost me in the darkness and I
see no way out.

>
>
>
>> Anyway, now I am
>>not in rush. I do wait the 64 bits chip in order to rewrite everything for it.
>>64 bits sound to me pretty exciting even when I think about it! Would like to
>>see at what speed all the chess games will jump with its arrival. 64 magic
>>number perfectly fit into 64 squares on our chess board.
>
>It's satisfying for the mind, but still has to prove it is superior. I
>personally don't think it is.
>
>
>
>    Christophe

Even saving of chess board positions will go at double speed. Now we can do this
(forgetting about messy MMX) only by saving 4 bytes at once.

Leonid.



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