Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Benchmarking Intel C++ 6.0 to GNU g++ 3.0.4

Posted by timothy on from the religious-fervor dept.

axehind writes: "Here is a good article detailing a benchmark [comparison] between the two compilers. The results are very interesting."

2 of 59 comments (clear)

  1. Please by photon317 · · Score: 4, Insightful


    Please people, don't go making patches and whatnot for all the standard linux distro package source code to get everyone compiling on this Intel compiler. For normal system services, the performance gain isn't worth the loss of the highly multiplatform and highly GPL gcc we have today, and it would be a shame for gcc to fall by the wayside in common use (probably 80% of gcc compilations are x86 linux) because of small performance gains you won't really notice.

    The Intel compiler sounds pretty damn good, but it should really be left for those one-off needs (like compiling a custom scientific application for your beowulf cluster), not general use.

    --
    11*43+456^2
    1. Re:Please by Permission+Denied · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I don't particularly care for one compiler over the other - almost all of my code runs fine under both (I've only recently started playing with icc). The only compiler-dependent thing I've ever used was gcc's inline assembly (which is extremely useful when you need it), but that was only for one project.

      I personally like using more than one compiler/libraries just because it makes my code more portable, and it catches dumb mistakes. I usually develop on FreeBSD with gcc, but I'll occasionally I'll compile on a Linux/glibc or Solaris box (using Sun's cc, not gcc), just to make sure I'm not including the wrong header or something.

      I have this old Sparcstation 4 running SunOS 4.1. I don't use it for anything vital, but I just like playing with it for nostalgia purposes. Lots of stuff won't compile on it, even using gcc. People sometimes just compile some software for Linux and assume it will work everywhere - I kind of feel sorry for those that have to use HP/UX or AIX, as I know those guys are going to have all kinds of problems.

      In short, I agree that the minimal performance gain isn't useful, but portability is important.