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Re: gEDA-user: Re: Flame about XML
On Mar 14, 2007, at 6:07 PM, Levente wrote:
> I am totaly agree with Michael's view of the world. I'd add my
> favourite
> phrase on this topic: "some time ago, two 8bit MCUs @1MHz were
> enough to set a
> satellite into its orbit. Nowdays, a 3GHz CPU is not enough to load
> an office
> suit. Something went wrong."
>
> I too am against XML.
While I'm not specifically opposed to XML in general, I agree that
it has huge disadvantages...and I agree wholeheartedly, loudly, and
enthusiastically with your larger point above.
This is one of the reasons I enjoy embedded systems design so
much. It's the only part of the computer world where it is still
common behavior to optimize code for every processor cycle and every
byte of memory.
Sometime in the 1970s when I was a kid, some moron came up with
and publicized the idea that "programmer time is more valuable than
processor time", and people latched onto it with a death grip because
it catered to their laziness...and nowadays they're taking it to a
wholly unreasonable extreme. Not only is the original idea silly
(though it does fit with the huge "human ego"), but taking it to such
extremes is downright destructive. This is the main reason why we
have processors with 3GHz clock rates that get winded just booting
their OS.
I can't fix the world, but I can fix my little part of it. The
majority of my embedded designs have processors clocked at 8MHz or
below...and some are clocked at 32KHz. Yes, kilohertz. Why?
Because that's all that's needed in some instances. I optimize it
once, and it runs efficiently forever.
I think it can be summed up as simply "take pride in your work".
There is NO honor in being able to say "look how little work I did!"
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
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