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From: eugene@nike.uucp (Eugene Miya N.)
Newsgroups: net.arch
Subject: Re: Speed is the one true performance metric
Message-ID: <714@nike.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 3-Nov-86 14:37:52 EST
Article-I.D.: nike.714
Posted: Mon Nov  3 14:37:52 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 4-Nov-86 05:41:01 EST
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Reply-To: eugene@pioneer.UUCP (Eugene Miya N.)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Lines: 21

>> Summary: Words about relability, speed, thruput, etc.

The only problem with speed as the one true performance metric is
Harlan Mills' "Law."  He says that he will take any program and make it
five times faster or use five times less storage (note: but not both).
The problem with speed is the frequent interchangeability with storage.
The problem comes with problems which have massive storage AND speed
requirements.  Yes, getting your job done fast is important, granted,
but people with foresight understand the costs and tradeoffs associated
with "speed at all costs."

We put disclaimers on the bottoms of some our postings 1) for humor, like
line eater quotes at the heads of some messages, 2) because some of us
have been burned [what goes around, comes around].  This latter is quite
serious.  I know enough now to NOT put postings of DEC, Cray, IBM, etc.
internal material even though I've not signed any non-disclosure
agreements.  As Gary Perlman has pointed out, the Net is a great place
to do industrial information gathering (espionage).

--eugene miya
  NASA Ames Research Center