Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!killer!pollux!dalsqnt!rpp386!jfh
From: jfh@rpp386.UUCP (John F. Haugh II)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Value of microeffiency (was: Re: Optimal ...)
Message-ID: <3693@rpp386.UUCP>
Date: 8 Jul 88 00:47:59 GMT
References: <163@navtech.uucp> <2775@ttrdc.UUCP> <164@navtech.uucp> <3401@rpp386.UUCP> <416@proxftl.UUCP>
Reply-To: jfh@rpp386.UUCP (The Beach Bum)
Organization: Big "D" Home for Wayward Hackers
Lines: 27

In article <416@proxftl.UUCP> bill@proxftl.UUCP (T. William Wells) writes:
>In article <3401@rpp386.UUCP>, jfh@rpp386.UUCP (John F. Haugh II) writes:
>> i don't know what value microefficiency has this week, but in general,
>> writing good solid algorithms is what is important.
>
>        There is no argument against the idea that a good
>algorithm is the proper base from which to start (though there is
>certainly room for discussion as to what constitutes a good
>algorithm). But, a good algorithm is ONLY THE BEGINNING.

er, just the same way the in order to build a strong building you have
to have a solid foundation.  but that is, after all, only the beginning.

if i write a sort routine with O(n*ln n) and you write one O(n**2),
how much ``micro optimization'' is it going to take to outperform my
poorly implemented, but superior time complexity, algorithm?  if your
idea of a really swell sort algorithm is a bubble sort, no matter how
much optimizing you perform you are going to lose.

even a highly optimized bad algorithm is still a bad algorithm.

- john.
-- 
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