Re: CF: Re: Word of Recall and Portal (was: Prot/chaos, Efficiency, and Portals)

["Nicolas Loechner" <loechner@zenon-media.com>]

-----Original Message-----
From: David Andrew Michael Noelle <dave@Straylight.org>
To: crossfire@ifi.uio.no <crossfire@ifi.uio.no>
Date: mercredi 22 septembre 1999 07:24
Subject: Re: CF: Re: Word of Recall and Portal (was: Prot/chaos, Efficiency,
and Portals)


>> From: dragonm <dragonm@leech.org>
>> Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 11:55:45 -0700
>
>> Nothing wrong with compulsive optimization, but I still recommend
>> doing it using a profiler, rather than assuming things.  As I
>> recall, there are several architectures out there where bitwise
>> operations are slower than integer operations.
>
>Plese tell me you're kidding.  I never would have suspected that that
>was even possible.  My logic and processor design classes certainly
>never suggested it.  Why would anyone go out of their way to make the
>most inherently trivial operations slower than much more complex
>operations?


Bitwise operations first require access to the data, then the
operation itself, then handling the result... Takes 2 more CPU cycles.
Wow now we are optimizing to the CPU cycle...

I would optimize memory without an hesitation though.

>
>
>>  In a memory vs. speed tradeoff where a server is concerned, I'm
>> inclined to burn the memory.  Also, because of the multi-platform
>> nature of Crossfire, an optimization on one platform may be a severe
>> detriment to another platform.  Take it easy with bit-level
>> optimizations.
>
>You're right.  I didn't realize there was a tradeoff involved.  I
>thought bitwise operations were always at least as fast as integer
>operations.  Can anyone give me some more information to back this up?
>Perhaps an example of such an architecture?  I'm curious as to how
>this is even possible.


Curious too. All the computers roughly have the same architecture. I don't
*think* there is something so radically different out there that an
optimization
somewhere would become a detriment somewhere else ; I may be wrong.

<snip>

Nicolas.
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