Can I have an infinite budget to write the code?
on
Java Faster Than C++?
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Here is my experience with C++ vs. Java: At my company, we had a specialized image viewing program. The original program was written in C++ years ago, and performance sucked even on modern machines. It probably had a dozen man-years of time in it. We decided to re-write it in java.
We knew java in theory should be worse than C++ at manipulating large blocks of raw data, so we spent some time architecting, prototyping, and profiling java. We quickly learned the limitations and strengths.
The result? After 4 engineers worked for 6 months, we had a program that was rock solid, had more features, had a modern UI, and was WAY faster. Night and day; the old program felt like a hog, and the new program was zippy as anything. And the new code is fewer lines, and (in our opinion) way more maintainable. Since the original release, we've added severeal new features after day or two of work; the same features never would have happened on the old version, because they would have been too risky.
So the question is this? Could we have re-written or refactored the C++ program and gotten the same speed benefits? No doubt, such a thing is possible. But we are all convinced there is NO WAY we could have done it with as little effort. The C++ version would have taken longer to write and debug.
Clothing: Nearly all laundry detergents contain a fluorescent dye that emits strongly in the blue when exposed to sunlight. The blue light counteracts the yellow tinge of old or incompletely cleaned clothing and thus makes clothes appear cleaner than they really are. The dye is designed to fluoresce in daylight.
I'm serious. I keep emitting photons, and all these people keep engaging in signal theft, usually by looking at me, or even more nefariously by having cameras.
I also have this problem with Firefox 0.8 and "trim" doesn't appear on "about:config". For me, it's the only downside to Firefox.
Someone already pointed out: the bug fix is in the engine, but it's brand spanking new, and access to the variable is not part of the config UI yet, or even a default pref. But you can get a preview of future coolness by adding the pref yourself. (I can't read the developer's minds, but I suspect they want to see feedback on how well the feature works before they make any UI changes.)
The bug was checked in after the release of Firefox 0.8, so it won't work until you upgrade. But I believe this trick should work in Firefox 0.9. But once again, I have to point out that I'm not certain, as I don't notice the problem on my machine. If you try it, let us know how it works out.
My main gripe with Mozilla is that when you leave it alone for about 30 minutes or so and come back, it takes like 15-50 seconds to be active again, which is extremely annoying (loading it from virtual mem ?)
Saw this on mozillazine a few weeks ago:
Users experiencing bug 76831, a very long delay restoring Mozilla after it has been minimized for several hours (Windows machines only), may find relief by setting the config.trim_on_minimize preference to false. See comment 0 and comment 303 in the bug for details.
(Back to Mike: I think you need to go to about:config and create a new boolean pref for this; I have not tried it myself.)
Click here to see some sneakier popup methods. Some even get around firefox popup blocking, although I'm certain that once they become popular, the army of mozilla hackers will find a way to block them.
What can I say that hasn't been said already by Apu & Homer?
Apu: I'm so sorry, but I sold it all to the rendering plant.
Homer: People buy grease? Apu: Oh, yes, they use it to make products such as soap, cosmetics, baby food... Homer: Used grease is worth money? [gasps] Then my arteries are clogged with yellow gold! I'm rich Apu! Rich, I...aaggh! [clenches heart, then sighs] Money in the bank.
In other words: People buy grease and oil already. I worked at a fast-food place 15 years ago, and every week, the grease truck cam by. Why isn't this fast-food joint already making money off of their oil, and why do they give it away for free?
China is occupying Tibet and the other regions. [...] The list goes on, but not a peep is heard from the Left.
My hippy neighbor's VW van is literally COVERED with "Free Tibet" stickers. And since the muffler doesn't work for crap, it makes a noise a LOT louder than a mere peep.
Cool Web Shredder Specific to CWS, but if you've got that, this is a necessity
And while you're at it, for your own computer, don't forget the virus-checker, the hardware firewall, and maybe even the software firewall. Public computers are a Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy, so if you're forced to use them, mentally adapt your practices to account for that. (Expect every virus/trojan/keycapture program written.)
And for the love of all that is holy, tell everybody you know to stop using IE. If you're the tech support guy for your friends and family, have them start using firefox. Because sooner or later, if you don't, they'll get CWS and you'll be at their house helping them for a LONG time.
The trick to playing random downloaded video in this day and age is to download a pack of codecs. For Windows, I recommend DefilerPak; it doesn't have every codec, but it has the most important ones and seems to have caused me the least amount of headache. You could also try the K-Lite Codec Pack, which also seems to to work pretty well.
I always have a song running through my head, and schedule all my real thinking as a low-level background process.
If NASA and/or Major League Baseball use this new technique to read my mind, all they'll get is, "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they're like, it's better than yours...."
I'm starting to like 3dgamers.com because almost all of the newest game demos are available there not only as traditional ftp/http mirrors (which either make you wait in line or reject you outright) but also as bittorrent links, which always are available, and are almost always ridiculously quick.
And I'm thinking that the demand for the upcoming Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 demos will be a great showcase for bittorrent. I suspect that most people trying to get these demos from traditional mirrors will have little luck, while bittorrent users will be pleased as punch.
Ok, the article (especially the "6000x faster than DSL") doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Here's my take on it: they're talking about a new congestion avoidance mechanism.
Here's a super-simplified version of the problem they're trying to solve: Imagine you have a 3Mbps link to your ISP, as do 49 of your neighbors. However, your ISP has a 45Mbps T3 link to the outside internet. What happens when everybody on your ISP trys to download the Half-Life 2 demo at the same time, creating a need for for 150 Mbps at the ISP uplink? This is called congestion.
There are various solutions that you can use for congestion avoidance; you may have heard of TCP Vegas and Reno (I'm linking to the PDF document, because it contains a lot of math. This should also be a signal to you about how ridiculously siplified my explanation above is). Obviously, when there is congestion, somebody's got to wait, but determining who and how is not as easy as it might seem.
The new part of the problem is: today's fast networks have very different bandwidth and latency ratios to the networks of even five years ago. Vegas and Reno congestion avoidance algorithms don't work as well as they used to under these conditions. This paper presents a solution that does work well on today's high-speed networks. (Maybe somebody with more expertise could pipe in here with a discussion of "why the existing mechanisms don't work well, and how the new solutions address the problem"?)
I believe slashdot has already covered FAST, which I believe is a different solution to the same problems.
This software contains code which will identify and restrict you from doing what the RIAA deems is bad. Please do not spend the additional 20 seconds it would take to find and download the crack that removes all such restrictions. Thank you.
We want DRM-enabled computers even less than we want pen-based tablet computers. And we know what a rousing success those are when you attempt to introduce them every three years.
I had some cobwebs up in the corner of the tall "cathedral" ceiling of my apartment. I zip-tied my Swiffer to a mop handle, making an extra-long Swiffer.
If you don't think this is a good hack, you have no imagination.
Here's an article which claims that Wal-Mart refuses to allow costs to be passed down to the consumer. According to the article, a lot of suppliers end up taking bad deals with Wal-mart in the hopes of getting in the door and making profits later; the problem is, Wal-mart is so good at tightening the screws and so relentless about the "falling prices" that an opportunity to profit never materializes. To quote the article:
The giant retailer's low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart's relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line?
It's a fascinating article, because although we all know it sucks to have Wal-mart as a competitor, it's the first time I've read that it can suck to have Wal-mart as a customer.
Yes, these are projects that have less fame than Openoffice. Isn't that cool? You just learned about four great new pieces of software rather than hearing about Openoffice for the millionth time. Sweet.
Domain names in the.com and.net domains can now be registered with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net for detailed information.
No match for "ALBERTAHOTRODS.COM".
(Not sure if that's the best way to check, but register.com and a few other domain registrars agree.)
Slashdot Mirror
Here is my experience with C++ vs. Java: At my company, we had a specialized image viewing program. The original program was written in C++ years ago, and performance sucked even on modern machines. It probably had a dozen man-years of time in it. We decided to re-write it in java.
We knew java in theory should be worse than C++ at manipulating large blocks of raw data, so we spent some time architecting, prototyping, and profiling java. We quickly learned the limitations and strengths.
The result? After 4 engineers worked for 6 months, we had a program that was rock solid, had more features, had a modern UI, and was WAY faster. Night and day; the old program felt like a hog, and the new program was zippy as anything. And the new code is fewer lines, and (in our opinion) way more maintainable. Since the original release, we've added severeal new features after day or two of work; the same features never would have happened on the old version, because they would have been too risky.
So the question is this? Could we have re-written or refactored the C++ program and gotten the same speed benefits? No doubt, such a thing is possible. But we are all convinced there is NO WAY we could have done it with as little effort. The C++ version would have taken longer to write and debug.
You learn something new every day.
I'm serious. I keep emitting photons, and all these people keep engaging in signal theft, usually by looking at me, or even more nefariously by having cameras.
I also have this problem with Firefox 0.8 and "trim" doesn't appear on "about:config". For me, it's the only downside to Firefox.
Someone already pointed out: the bug fix is in the engine, but it's brand spanking new, and access to the variable is not part of the config UI yet, or even a default pref. But you can get a preview of future coolness by adding the pref yourself. (I can't read the developer's minds, but I suspect they want to see feedback on how well the feature works before they make any UI changes.)
The bug was checked in after the release of Firefox 0.8, so it won't work until you upgrade. But I believe this trick should work in Firefox 0.9. But once again, I have to point out that I'm not certain, as I don't notice the problem on my machine. If you try it, let us know how it works out.
My main gripe with Mozilla is that when you leave it alone for about 30 minutes or so and come back, it takes like 15-50 seconds to be active again, which is extremely annoying (loading it from virtual mem ?)
Saw this on mozillazine a few weeks ago: (Back to Mike: I think you need to go to about:config and create a new boolean pref for this; I have not tried it myself.)Click here to see some sneakier popup methods. Some even get around firefox popup blocking, although I'm certain that once they become popular, the army of mozilla hackers will find a way to block them.
In other words: People buy grease and oil already. I worked at a fast-food place 15 years ago, and every week, the grease truck cam by. Why isn't this fast-food joint already making money off of their oil, and why do they give it away for free?
My hippy neighbor's VW van is literally COVERED with "Free Tibet" stickers. And since the muffler doesn't work for crap, it makes a noise a LOT louder than a mere peep.
When people start driving cars that look like a giant cellphone.
what's the best way to get rid of this crap?
And for the love of all that is holy, tell everybody you know to stop using IE. If you're the tech support guy for your friends and family, have them start using firefox. Because sooner or later, if you don't, they'll get CWS and you'll be at their house helping them for a LONG time.
It's really nice to know that whatever I can do technically, that it's my cup size that really matters.
You're getting shocked by immature comments on slashdot? Is this your first time here?by raven_alder (772810)
Oh...I guess it is.
P.S. Proud to be unfairly discriminating on the basis of userid, not cup size.
The trick to playing random downloaded video in this day and age is to download a pack of codecs. For Windows, I recommend DefilerPak; it doesn't have every codec, but it has the most important ones and seems to have caused me the least amount of headache. You could also try the K-Lite Codec Pack, which also seems to to work pretty well.
I always have a song running through my head, and schedule all my real thinking as a low-level background process.
If NASA and/or Major League Baseball use this new technique to read my mind, all they'll get is, "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they're like, it's better than yours...."
I'm starting to like 3dgamers.com because almost all of the newest game demos are available there not only as traditional ftp/http mirrors (which either make you wait in line or reject you outright) but also as bittorrent links, which always are available, and are almost always ridiculously quick.
And I'm thinking that the demand for the upcoming Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 demos will be a great showcase for bittorrent. I suspect that most people trying to get these demos from traditional mirrors will have little luck, while bittorrent users will be pleased as punch.
Ok, the article (especially the "6000x faster than DSL") doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Here's my take on it: they're talking about a new congestion avoidance mechanism.
Here's a super-simplified version of the problem they're trying to solve: Imagine you have a 3Mbps link to your ISP, as do 49 of your neighbors. However, your ISP has a 45Mbps T3 link to the outside internet. What happens when everybody on your ISP trys to download the Half-Life 2 demo at the same time, creating a need for for 150 Mbps at the ISP uplink? This is called congestion.
There are various solutions that you can use for congestion avoidance; you may have heard of TCP Vegas and Reno (I'm linking to the PDF document, because it contains a lot of math. This should also be a signal to you about how ridiculously siplified my explanation above is). Obviously, when there is congestion, somebody's got to wait, but determining who and how is not as easy as it might seem.
The new part of the problem is: today's fast networks have very different bandwidth and latency ratios to the networks of even five years ago. Vegas and Reno congestion avoidance algorithms don't work as well as they used to under these conditions. This paper presents a solution that does work well on today's high-speed networks. (Maybe somebody with more expertise could pipe in here with a discussion of "why the existing mechanisms don't work well, and how the new solutions address the problem"?)
I believe slashdot has already covered FAST, which I believe is a different solution to the same problems.
First use of the word "Mozilla". You'll have to search in the page to find it, but if the page is new to you, read the whole thing; it's fascinating.
This software contains code which will identify and restrict you from doing what the RIAA deems is bad. Please do not spend the additional 20 seconds it would take to find and download the crack that removes all such restrictions. Thank you.
We want DRM-enabled computers even less than we want pen-based tablet computers. And we know what a rousing success those are when you attempt to introduce them every three years.
Signed,
Computer Consumers
I had some cobwebs up in the corner of the tall "cathedral" ceiling of my apartment. I zip-tied my Swiffer to a mop handle, making an extra-long Swiffer.
If you don't think this is a good hack, you have no imagination.
...what can I turn to get over the pain I still feel when I remember the tragic death of my virtual tiger, Rainbow?
You want Area 6413.
I would I haven't heard of any of these.
Yes, these are projects that have less fame than Openoffice. Isn't that cool? You just learned about four great new pieces of software rather than hearing about Openoffice for the millionth time. Sweet.Ha-Ha!