Kubuntu a dist in crisis?

[Paul Rumelhart]

Take a look at the Computer Languages Benchmark Game: http://shootout.alioth.debian.org/

They run different programs written in a variety of languages on the same architecture and show the results.  You almost always see C and C++ (with different compiler optimizations) at the top and scripted languages like Perl, Python, and Ruby at the bottom when measuring speed and resource usage.  Occasionally, something like Haskell or Ada will do surprisingly well.

Scripting languages have a different goal in mind, in my opinion, that makes them unsuitable for some types of programming.  If it should be lean, mean, and if resource usage is important, they should be using C or C++ or something similar.  In the data tables on the page referenced above, the difference is often minutes compared to a few seconds.  If every application library and application front-end was written in a scripting language, our vast memory, CPU, and hard-disk resources wouldn't save us from a sluggish, unusable system.  On the other hand, if it really is scripting that is being done, than writing it in C or C++ is way overkill and ease-of-development is far more important.

When it comes down to it, a programming language is a tool.  Use it where it makes sense.

Paul

--- On Tue, 10/27/09, Steve Lamb <grey at dmiyu.org> wrote:

> From: Steve Lamb <grey at dmiyu.org>
> Subject: Re: Kubuntu a dist in crisis?
> To: kubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com
> Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 12:37 PM
> Chris Jones wrote:
> >> This may not be an issue in today's mega-ram,
> multicore systems, but  
> >> what are
> >> the differences in resource usages between
> different languages?
> 
> > Interpreted languages like Python etc. will always be
> less efficient  
> > than compiled code. Yes, crappy C/C++ can be slower
> than well written  
> > Python, but if both are well written, C/C++ will
> always win.
> 
>     But that isn't the point.  He's right,
> in today's mega-ram, multicore
> systems there is little to no perceptible difference
> between compiled and
> interpreted.  However, the difference in *developer
> time* is wildly different.
>  If developers want more people to participate in
> development then they should
> fit the language to the sphere in which they are
> developing.
> 
>     That is why I said at the onset that these
> languages are perfectly suited
> for /applications/ and specifically stated that C/C++ idles
> no faster than an
> interpreted language.  Give up less than a factor on
> run time and/or size to
> gain more than several magnitudes of individual developer
> time as well as
> developers?  Yes please!
> -- 
>          Steve C. Lamb 
>        | But who decides what they
> dream?
>        PGP Key: 8B6E99C5 
>      |   And dream I
> do...
> -------------------------------+---------------------------------------------
> 
> 
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