Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!natinst!davoli
From: davoli@natinst.com (Russell Davoli)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: OOP--What do you think?
Message-ID: <21846@natinst.natinst.com>
Date: 12 Apr 91 14:30:52 GMT
References: <1991Apr10.210516.25812@rice.edu> <712@gate.oxy.edu>
Organization: National Instruments, Austin, TX
Lines: 34

In article <712@gate.oxy.edu>, schorsch@oxy.edu writes:
> I have heard that OOP produces mush larger code (4 times or more!!)
> If this is so, since I am a perfectionist, I would prefer to spend the extra
> time using procedural techniques to write smaller, faster code than to save
> time and create a "clunky-slow" application. I can't help but to wonder if OOP
> and not increased funtionality is the cause of the huge size of many recent
> professional applications.(4-8 Meg for one app!?!?)
> 

While I haven't seen very many 4-8 Meg application files, I agree that
applications are steadily getting bigger as memory becomes more plentiful.
However, I don't think OOP deserves the blame.  It's not difficult to write
bloated applications in C, Pascal, or any other language.  I figure that
program size reflects in large part the soundness of the program design,
and possibly a bit of the competence of the programmers.  I seem to remember
hearing a while back that a word processor (FullWrite maybe?) had similar
functionality to Word was 2 Meg (or required 2 Meg to run, I don't remember
now.)  That sounds to me like one was designed better than the other, and
this was before OOP was the oat bran of computer programming.

I've written a debugger for a plug-in processor board and I wouldn't do it
without MacApp.  MacApp does some much for me and doesn't really add too
much bloat or slow things down too much.  Currently the application file
size is 236K and seems to have acceptable performance on a Mac II (the
lowest end platform this program will run on.)  Sure, I could have spent
a few more months learning to write user-interface code, but I'd rather
spend that doing other more productive things.

Note that this is from a guy who mostly works on drivers.

--Russell

Disclaimer: These are my opinions and don't necessarily reflect those of
  my employer.