Multithreading isn't always about speeding things up. Often, it's about using threads to keep an application responsive while heavy operations are going on.
Asynchronous IO can indeed be used towards the same purpose, but for C++ at least it's not supported directly by the standard, you have to look for specific OS APIs. (Boost::asio is going some way towards solving that issue).
Yeah, multithreading FTW!
It's not that simple though, because then you get people complaining that memory usage temporarily doubles when saving because a copy is made to allow the user to continue editing while the saving thread is storing the previous changes.
So then the dev team has to implement a memory data structure that can copy parts of a document that are being edited.
And then they get bored and decide that it's cooler to add SQL syntax highlighting.
I'm a musician, and in my friends-circle I've noticed a trend towards this... Everyone ends up buying the special-cool-edition with alternative packaging, extra songs etc.
I think all the attention and lawsuits have pushed CDs out of the "commodity" range and into the "luxury" range - everyone's so pissed off at all the lawsuits that they only buy the stuff they are *really* sure about that they want for years to come.
Everything else gets downloaded, sadly.
I was about to post a retort, but you have a point about it pushing developers towards using less scope inside functions, and more functions.
I realized it's not all that different than Python's indent-based scoping, which I like.
No, don't you see? That's what THEY expect. They're red-flagging all the strange holes in electromagnetic radiation and all the people that aren't doing file sharing.
Using Linux?! That's practically a ticket to Guantanamo Beach right there!
At some point though, when you end up with dozens of cards each containing thousands of photos, you're going to spend so much time sifting through the crap that you'll think "maybe next time I should take fewer but better pictures";-).
(Though high-speed shooting at sporting events can really burn through cards when you don't have time to sift them)
Java doesn't treat OOP as a silver bullet, it just acknowledges that most software bugs come from memory management issues* and cuts them straight out.
That's a non-sequitur argument, and following it up by an ad-hominem argument about my skills doesn't do much for moving me from my position on Java.
So, because I can do my own memory management and I detest classes stuffed full of "static" methods because there's no such thing as a free function, I'm a bad engineer?
I think if most software development would stop trying to do the wrong things wrong fast, there'd be enough time left to do only the right things right fast enough.
A damaged disk can't be resold as a secondhand game, much like a totalled car can't.
The main depreciation of a used car isn't because newer and cooler cars come out (it only plays a small part), but actual mechanical wear.
But I fully agree that there should not be any restrictions on second-hand sales without commensurate benefits, such as much cheaper prices (1/3rd of now), perpetual support and upgrades to newer OS-es, etc...
No, it would make sense if the depreciation of a used car was practically zero. That's obviously not the case.
The "problem" the industry sees with used game sales is that, given enough patience from the gamers, a very limited number of copies could conceivably be passed around the world LEGALLY for everyone to play in turn. Newer games end up on the used shelf in days, so not that much patience is needed.
The proper solution (as mentioned in other posts) would be to make games that take longer than a few days to get bored of. I'm still playing Civ4 regularly.
It's exactly the same BS the various recording industry associations are trying to feed us. They want to be liberated from the shackles of the free market, so that the extremely elastic demand and highly competitive market for games (music, movies) is turned into an inelastic demand government-sanctioned oligolopy.
To which I'd say "buzz off and go into a different business if you don't like it.". Note: I am a musician and a software developer. I still don't think the market should be controlled.
So maybe OOP was the biggest advance in software engineering in recent years, but that still doesn't mean it's a good fit for everything. I like to use everything, so I work in C++ professionally, and I dabble in Python and Lisp for those parts of "everything" that still haven't caught on in the mainstream.
I was going to post a compact, witty and insightful retort, but I can't, because what you say is often true in our Dilbert world.
The next big computer language might be called "lowest common denominator" (some may allege that C# and Java already tried to do that, but then some difficult crap like generics got added on to save the day). Mediocrity for the win!
Then again, I've spent time training developers that were considered mediocre in an almost-third-world-country, and with a bit of investment these people can get a lot better quickly. It can be a real bonus for the bottom line because they cost a *lot* less than good developers in the western world.
Slashdot Mirror
Multithreading isn't always about speeding things up. Often, it's about using threads to keep an application responsive while heavy operations are going on.
Asynchronous IO can indeed be used towards the same purpose, but for C++ at least it's not supported directly by the standard, you have to look for specific OS APIs. (Boost::asio is going some way towards solving that issue).
Yeah, multithreading FTW!
It's not that simple though, because then you get people complaining that memory usage temporarily doubles when saving because a copy is made to allow the user to continue editing while the saving thread is storing the previous changes.
So then the dev team has to implement a memory data structure that can copy parts of a document that are being edited.
And then they get bored and decide that it's cooler to add SQL syntax highlighting.
I'm a musician, and in my friends-circle I've noticed a trend towards this... Everyone ends up buying the special-cool-edition with alternative packaging, extra songs etc.
I think all the attention and lawsuits have pushed CDs out of the "commodity" range and into the "luxury" range - everyone's so pissed off at all the lawsuits that they only buy the stuff they are *really* sure about that they want for years to come.
Everything else gets downloaded, sadly.
I was about to post a retort, but you have a point about it pushing developers towards using less scope inside functions, and more functions.
I realized it's not all that different than Python's indent-based scoping, which I like.
TPeople who don't use const correctness slow down their code ...
That's actually a rather persistent misconception (usually). See Guru Of The Week 81
No, don't you see? That's what THEY expect. They're red-flagging all the strange holes in electromagnetic radiation and all the people that aren't doing file sharing.
Using Linux?! That's practically a ticket to Guantanamo Beach right there!
To counteract that problem, I change my DNA and fingerprints every few weeks, together with my windows login and password.
... more than lazzis faire.
Yeah. Damn lazy fairies.
Automatically? Most game dev studios can't even make fun games manually!
Best question: "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?"
Does your girlfriend's one vibrate? ;-)
At some point though, when you end up with dozens of cards each containing thousands of photos, you're going to spend so much time sifting through the crap that you'll think "maybe next time I should take fewer but better pictures" ;-).
(Though high-speed shooting at sporting events can really burn through cards when you don't have time to sift them)
Yeah, just wait until Little Bobby Tables joins the navy!
That's not a paradox, that's a tautology.
*hides from the christians*
Only on Slashdot could that be modded informative. The ex is a lie!
Java doesn't treat OOP as a silver bullet, it just acknowledges that most software bugs come from memory management issues* and cuts them straight out.
That's a non-sequitur argument, and following it up by an ad-hominem argument about my skills doesn't do much for moving me from my position on Java.
So, because I can do my own memory management and I detest classes stuffed full of "static" methods because there's no such thing as a free function, I'm a bad engineer?
I think if most software development would stop trying to do the wrong things wrong fast, there'd be enough time left to do only the right things right fast enough.
I prefer non-functional programming. It's all the rage at Microsoft. ;-)
UK-raine. ;-)
A damaged disk can't be resold as a secondhand game, much like a totalled car can't.
The main depreciation of a used car isn't because newer and cooler cars come out (it only plays a small part), but actual mechanical wear.
But I fully agree that there should not be any restrictions on second-hand sales without commensurate benefits, such as much cheaper prices (1/3rd of now), perpetual support and upgrades to newer OS-es, etc...
No, it would make sense if the depreciation of a used car was practically zero. That's obviously not the case.
The "problem" the industry sees with used game sales is that, given enough patience from the gamers, a very limited number of copies could conceivably be passed around the world LEGALLY for everyone to play in turn. Newer games end up on the used shelf in days, so not that much patience is needed.
The proper solution (as mentioned in other posts) would be to make games that take longer than a few days to get bored of. I'm still playing Civ4 regularly.
It's exactly the same BS the various recording industry associations are trying to feed us. They want to be liberated from the shackles of the free market, so that the extremely elastic demand and highly competitive market for games (music, movies) is turned into an inelastic demand government-sanctioned oligolopy.
To which I'd say "buzz off and go into a different business if you don't like it.". Note: I am a musician and a software developer. I still don't think the market should be controlled.
Java is a train-wreck (in my opinion) because it treats OOP as a silver bullet, and every developer should know that there is no silver bullet .
So maybe OOP was the biggest advance in software engineering in recent years, but that still doesn't mean it's a good fit for everything. I like to use everything, so I work in C++ professionally, and I dabble in Python and Lisp for those parts of "everything" that still haven't caught on in the mainstream.
The next big computer language might be called "lowest common denominator" (some may allege that C# and Java already tried to do that, but then some difficult crap like generics got added on to save the day). Mediocrity for the win!
Then again, I've spent time training developers that were considered mediocre in an almost-third-world-country, and with a bit of investment these people can get a lot better quickly. It can be a real bonus for the bottom line because they cost a *lot* less than good developers in the western world.
I need a "give me back the last 10 minutes" option!