Re: NFC FAQ

From: David Starner (prosfilaes@gmail.com)
Date: Mon Feb 23 2009 - 05:56:40 CST

  • Next message: Mark Davis: "Re: NFC FAQ"

    On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 1:46 AM, Mark Davis <mark@macchiato.com> wrote:
    > And that is bad, why? The fact code can be fast-pathed is typically a key
    > tool to achieving performance goals.

    [...]

    > Measuring inputs that match reality is vital for producing high-performance
    > code. Let's take an example. In ICU we routinely maximize for BMP
    > characters. While someone doing extensive work in cuneiform might be
    > somewhat slower, the code is faster for the vast majority of cases. So that
    > is the right way to code it.

    If and only if it's "somewhat slower" and not "oh my god why has my
    computer locked up". Algorithms with awful worst-case scenarios can be
    the cause for a very frustrating experience for users who aren't
    considered important by the programmer. And if the program is on a
    server, no matter how bad and unrealistic the data is, the program
    must be capable of processing it in a reasonable amount of time,
    because if not, someone will find it amusing to send it to the
    program, over and over.



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