“Software is getting slower more rapidly than hardware becomes faster” rip wirth

[mocore]

https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/04/niklaus_wirth_obituary/

via the above
` "Closing Word" to the November 1968 Algol Bulletin 29`- https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/text/algol/algol_bulletin/A29/P32.HTM


""A Plea for Lean Software" by Prof. Niklaus Wirth" - https://liam-on-linux.dreamwidth.org/88032.html

[core-user]

It's all to do with the creating programs - look at the speed of assembler against python programs - but it's easier to program in python than assembler, so that's what gets used!

If you don't believe me, take a look at KolibriOS - http://kolibrios.org/en/

[gadget42]

re: kolibrios.org

looks like some brand-new releases came out yesterday

https://kolibrios.org/en/download.htm

[core-user]

re: kolibrios.org

looks like some brand-new releases came out yesterday

https://kolibrios.org/en/download.htm

Thanks for the heads up on that.... 

[mocore]

It's all to do with the creating programs - look at the speed of assembler against python programs - but it's easier to program in python than assembler, so that's what gets used!

If you don't believe me, take a look at KolibriOS - http://kolibrios.org/en/

>If you don't believe me
 
im not shore i have any reason to doubt or other wise

once you have `programs` ( i hear they are algorithms + data structs
you have to run them in "your" (tm)hw/environment

and when they don't work they provide  some (incomplete) insight's into "The Mess We're In" - https://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php/topic,26336.msg169746.html#msg169746

wrt
>look at the speed of assembler against python programs
this slide (from: "The Mess We're In" by Joe Armstrong)
seams relevant
 

[boblewis]

thanks for sharing

[CardealRusso]

Maybe we won't live long enough to see it, but I think it's safe to say that soon (in the next 100 years) home computers will die out, and those who insist on using desktop computers will have to make do with discarded parts from data centres, as these new parts are absurdly expensive.

Few of my nephews know how to use computers, some have never used one.

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/mobile-internet-usage-surpasses-desktop-first-time-ever-worldwide/177507/ (2016)

[Stefann]

“Software getting slower than hardware can keep up with” is not necessary bad. As it is indeed caused by the use of higher level languages this implies that “software developing gets faster”.
In my experience the “execution speed” of most things is not really a problem. “Getting new functions” is much more bottlenecked. So… “one could th8nk this to be a good thing”.

And indeed desktops may “kind of die out”. Very often it is simpler to use a cloud computer.

And…. But… with all that said…
Hobbying on the other extreme: “trimmed down Linux on previous generation hardware” is extreme fun.

[nick65go]

It depends of "software" type you use  versus the "hardware": use the proper tools for the job.

My TinyCore versions (all of them 3.x -14.x) booted in 3-15 seconds, and firefox ver. 3.x - 98.x (huge bloated) started in 1-4 seconds. on my old laptops [Atom ... AMD-APU-A6000] with RAM [1-8] GB.

Now on my laptop with Intel CPU [4+8 cores] with RAM= 32 GB and HDD= nvme m.2 ssd: my W11 24H2 (bloated as hell) will COLD boot in 3 seconds; and firefox ver. 130 boots in 1 seconds. Even ArchLinux starts inside WSL2 (Windows System for Linux) in 2 seconds.

It is all because SMP -symmetric multi processing (multi core/ multi processor) and the proper written software to take care of this (like ffmpeg).

Time is money, time is an expensive/scarce resource in life, etc. So the speed must be prioritized against money. I could make more money spending more time, but I can not make (to much) more time for me on this planet even with advanced medicine discoverers.YMMV. BTW: I am healthy (mind & body), I think 

But if we talk about seconds/ minutes we could gain or lost per day because some (not done) software "optimization", then maybe we do not focus on the big picture: Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.