On Sat, Oct 23, 2021, 20:24 Marcin Jaczewski via Std-Discussion <std-discussion@lists.isocpp.org> wrote:
sob., 23 paź 2021 o 19:47 Gennaro Prota via Std-Discussion
<std-discussion@lists.isocpp.org> napisał(a):
>
> On Mon, Oct 11, 2021, 21:01 Jason McKesson via Std-Discussion <std-discussion@lists.isocpp.org> wrote:
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 11, 2021 at 1:59 PM Gennaro Prota via Std-Discussion
>> <std-discussion@lists.isocpp.org> wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On Mon, Oct 11, 2021, 08:54 Anubhav Guleria via Std-Discussion <std-discussion@lists.isocpp.org> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Thanks for clarifying.
>> >>
>> >> Any specific reason why container's pop_back method can't check for
>> >> current size and if it is 0 then make the pop operation a no-op?
>> >
>> >
>> > You'll find that C and C++ people are, with very few exceptions, fixated with micro-optimizations (a known anti-pattern).
>>
>> Point of order:
>>
>> Micro-optimization as an anti-pattern is only a legitimate argument
>> when you're talking about an application *as a whole* (or at the very
>> least, large-scale systems that have relatively minimal interaction
>> with the outside world). If you're writing an application, you should
>> concern yourself with the application's performance as a whole.
>>
>> Libraries are a different story, *especially* low-level utility
>> libraries. Such libraries have two properties that matter in this
>> context: they solve very specific problems, and if they cause a
>> performance issue in the application that uses it, the maker of that
>> application *cannot fix it*.
>>
>> When you're writing a piece of software for a specific purpose within
>> a specific application, avoiding micro-optimizations makes sense. When
>> you're writing a tool for other people to use, and you cannot predict
>> which performance issues matter to which ones of your users, then you
>> need to *assume* that these optimizations matter. Because if you don't
>> make that assumption, and you're *wrong* for a particular user... they
>> can't fix the problem *you* created.
>>
>> Not without ditching your library and building their own. Which means
>> that your library failed at its job.
>>
>> It's the difference between worrying about the weight of a hammer and
>> worrying about the weight of the shovel at the end of the excavator. A
>> few grams of weight on a hammer can matter a lot for how many times
>> you can swing it before it gets tiring. But a few grams in a shovel is
>> irrelevant to the fuel performance of an excavator.
>>
>> Makers of low-level tools need to think about things that makers of
>> high-level tools don't. And vice-versa. It is a mistake to apply rules
>> meant for one use case to the other.
>
>
> A classical argument I've heard many times. But it's an argument of immaturity, in my book. Paraphrasing Alan Perlis, if someone says he wants to make their library suitable for every application, give them a lollipop.
>
Why does everyone still use C++ where is there C# (or Java) that is a
"better" language that removes all bad aspects of C++?
Because it's immature to think that this does not go without costs,
C++ is "bad" because it needs to be, even more,
many still stick to C where it is even less "robust" and they have
many valid reasons to do so.

The only technical reason to use C is the lack of a C++ compiler for your platform. All the other reasons are skill-related (lack of competent people), political or psychological ("C is faster").

> The point is that "optimization", as they call it, comes almost always at the expense of the most important factors, i.e. robustness and maintainability. If you can get speed without impacting those, or development time and cost, then fine. Otherwise, I call it "pessimization".
>
No this is the most perfect solution for every one, because if it is
not robust for you, then you can trivially fix it by creating simple
warpers that have robust checks, this can be easily done by a student.

Students have a lot of time in their hands. If you think that, in a commercial environment, you have time to write the most basic infrastructure, then you have never worked in one. And why should I write or rewrite everything, anyway...

Writing a fast and performant structure from scratch is something that
only a couple of people are capable of.

I see some megalomania, here :-). Don't assume that you or the C++ committee have more skills than others.

This is why std should support
this version, not one that can be easily created based on it.

Define "easily". Does it include "on time and in budget" and "not requiring a specialist" (which is harder to find and costs more)? And, yes, in case you are wondering, I'm a specialist.

> So, serve the majority of users with a robust and responsible tool, leaving those with special needs handle them on their own, rather than serving the former badly for the sake of the few of the latter.
>
Again its easier to make a robust tool based on "sharp" tool than
doing this in the opposite way.
If C++ would not have performance edge then it should be abandoned.

Beside for the whole gaming industry many std classes are TOO robust
and they even roll more "sharp" classes to have one or two frames
more.
Half of C++ users drop exceptions because of its costs,

Out of ignorance.

and you ask to add more costs?

Yes. That should be the default. In most cases, it's not even a "cost".

> (But I'm not interested in a long discussion about this. This is something psychological, and convincing those who hold such positions to the contrary is extremely difficult, even if the evidence of the error-ridden software they produce should actually convince them without external intervention, if only they asked questions about the why's and were honest with themselves.)
>
Why do you not choose another language that follows your goals?

I use other languages, too.

Many
there choosed C++ because of how it is and what tradeoff it does.

Most "choosers" do so out of a psychological drive ("another language would be "slow").

P.S.: This is my last post in this thread. As I said, I don't mean to waste my time convincing people who don't want to be convinced.

--
Gennaro Prota
https://about.me/gennaro