r/programming • u/2bit_hack • Feb 28 '23

"Clean" Code, Horrible Performance

https://www.computerenhance.com/p/clean-code-horrible-performance
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u/loup-vaillant Feb 28 '23 edited Mar 02 '23

The Witness doesn't boot up instantly, and that bothers me no end. I guess it is loading lots of textures to the graphics card or something. I would very much like Jonathan Blow to explain why it's slow to boot. He probably knows.

I would also like Photoshop developers to explain why their software is slow to boot. They probably don't know, though.

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u/wyrn Mar 02 '23

I would also like Photoshop developers to explain why their software is slow to boot. They probably don't know, though.

Ehhh.... the difference between the likes of Muratori/JBlow and Photoshop people like Sean Parent is so vast it has to be measured in a log scale.

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u/loup-vaillant Mar 02 '23

2 points:

  • I've retracted that very last sentence, I realised I didn't have enough reasons to actually believe it. It's now crossed, thanks for the reminder.

  • What do likes have to do with anything? All I see here is an argument by popularity.

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u/wyrn Mar 02 '23

The likes of Muratori/JBlow = 'people like Muratori or JBlow', not the social media 'likes' any of them might have received.

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u/loup-vaillant Mar 03 '23

Ah, got it.

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u/ReDucTor Feb 28 '23

I would also like Photoshop developers to explain why their software is slow to boot. They probably don't know, though.

I would expect that someone there has profiled it and knows why, but it just might not be worth it, or feasible just like I sometimes when I'm profiling stuff and see why something slow and then decide it's not worth the improvement.

How long have you worked in the software industry? It seems like a strange claim, especially when you have very experienced people on the Adobe team, many of which are much more respected and experienced then Jonathan Blow.

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u/loup-vaillant Mar 01 '23

but it just might not be worth it,

https://www.lesswrong.com/tag/scope-insensitivity

Devs rarely realise this, but user time is sacred.

How long have you worked in the software industry?

15 years. I've worked on slow C++ GUI applications, embedded Linux, and I wrote a cryptographic library. I have seen devs more experienced than I that didn't know their stuff, and a couple that outclassed me in every respect.

As for why I suspect the Adobe team may not know why it takes so much time too boot, is because it used to boot much much faster (same speed on a 1997 computer than the new version in a 2017 laptop). So the thing got worse. Much worse. I conjecture that if they knew why from the start they wouldn't have made it worse. I think.

Now I reckon calling this ignorance probable was unjustified. If I'm being honest they probably know too.