Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!news.arc.nasa.gov!vsi1!zorch!amiga0!mykes From: mykes@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz) Message-ID: Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Re: The Amiga's Future Distribution: world References: <1991Jun10.151040.28541@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> <376@orac.UUCP> <1991Jun15.170958.29852@neon.Stanford.EDU> Date: 16 Jun 91 13:06:33 PST Organization: Amiga makes it possible In article <1991Jun15.170958.29852@neon.Stanford.EDU> torrie@cs.stanford.edu (Evan Torrie) writes: >bret@orac.UUCP (Bret Indrelee) writes: > >>On another tangent, why has no one mentioned one of the biggest reasons that >>the MacIntosh is so slow? > >>On the MacIntosh, all data is referenced via a handle. This is a pointer >>to a pointer. After making a toolbox call that allocates storage space, it >>is neccessary to re-load from the original handle because a garbage >>collection may have occurred. > > If you want speed in a tight loop, you lock the handle down (using >HLock()), so that you're guaranteed the block of memory can't move. Extra code IS extra code... Anyhow, another reason why the Mac is so slow is that it was designed to run Pascal programs. Pascal text strings aren't compatible with 'C' strings... Pascal uses a single byte at the front that contains the length of the string, and 'C' uses a null terminator. So these days, apps are written in 'C'. The 'C' compilers provide a library routine called ptoc() and ctop(), which convert the string formats back and forth. This is NOT a fast operation... -- **************************************************** * I want games that look like Shadow of the Beast * * but play like Leisure Suit Larry. * ****************************************************