Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!duke!unc!mcnc!ecsvax!dgary
From: dgary@ecsvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: Too slow?
Message-ID: <1231@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 22-Sep-83 12:08:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.1231
Posted: Thu Sep 22 12:08:53 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 23-Sep-83 04:08:40 EDT
References: pucc-h.294
Lines: 15

Original remark was the UCSD p-system is too slow for some applications.  Dave
Seaman's response was that anything with an assembler can be made fast enough
by recoding critical routines.
   I'll take exception on two grounds:  First, a monster OS can slow things up
even on a fairly fast machine.  Good case in point is VM on a 4331, which I
believe ties up half the processor cycles running the operating system!  Also,
diskette format can have a major effect on I/O response time (try running a
sort on a fragmented diskette file in CP/M or MS-DOS; assembler won't help
there!).
   But I have a more important objection.  For many users, the time spent
locating critical routines, isolating them, and recoding them in assembler
is prohibitive.  It just moves "slow" to a different place.  I think Bowles is
a brilliant chap and the UCSD system is very clever and powerful for some
tasks.  Unfortunately, it's not suited to everything, and it's often too
damned slow!