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From: hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Compilers and efficiency
Summary: What is important?
Message-ID: <12164@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 10 May 91 13:47:48 GMT
References: <9782@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> <653@ctycal.UUCP> <28297C23.6984@tct.com>
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In article <28297C23.6984@tct.com>, chip@tct.com (Chip Salzenberg) writes:
> According to hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin):
> >In article <653@ctycal.UUCP>, ingoldsb@ctycal.UUCP (Terry Ingoldsby) writes:
> >> I have got to ask.  Why is it so generally important that the distance
> >> between bits can be determined efficiently.  Note that I want to know,
> >> `why is it important to ME, and to the general computing base?'.

> >I believe most people are aware of the existence of simulation, including
> >Monte Carlo, or Las Vegas, methods for obtaining answers to otherwise
> >intractable problems.
 
> That kind of problem is not "generally important" in that it does not
> come up in the "general computing base".

That something is not important to everyone is no reason no to make it
available to those who can see a use for it.

How much of the driving public uses the low gears of automatic transmissions?
-- 
Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907-1399
Phone: (317)494-6054
hrubin@l.cc.purdue.edu (Internet, bitnet)   {purdue,pur-ee}!l.cc!hrubin(UUCP)