Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!hafro!brb
From: brb@hafro.UUCP (Bjorn R. Bjornsson)
Newsgroups: comp.arch,comp.unix.wizards,comp.os.misc
Subject: Re: Free Software Foundation (was: Re: Mach, the new standard?)
Message-ID: <380@hafro.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 23-Sep-87 20:03:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: hafro.380
Posted: Wed Sep 23 20:03:08 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 26-Sep-87 10:25:10 EDT
References: <1665@ncr-sd.SanDiego.NCR.COM> <8579@utzoo.UUCP> <6886@eddie.MIT.EDU>
Organization: Marine Research Institute, Reykjavik
Lines: 39
Summary: This metric or that metric?
Xref: mnetor comp.arch:2321 comp.unix.wizards:4441 comp.os.misc:224

In article <6886@eddie.MIT.EDU>, jbs@eddie.MIT.EDU (Jeff Siegal) writes:
>In article <8579@utzoo.UUCP> henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) writes:
>>... the Sun 3.2 ls(1) is four times the size of the V7 ls(1). ...
>
>However, a more meaningful exercise would be to graph the cost of the
>memory used by ls(1) versus time.  This is not recommended, if you are
>likely to be nauseated by the failure of Unix developers to take best
>advantage of available "resources".
>
>Seriously, rapidly changing conditions are a fact in the computer
>industry.  To attempt to use such volitile constraints as a metric
>over time doesn't make too much sense.

True as this may be, keep in mind that the programs in question:

 i)	Provide comparable functionality.
 ii)	Were written in the same source language.
 iii)	Were compiled by compilers that produce code
	of comparable density.

It follows that a step backwards has been taken in programming
methodology, unless the newer version shows considerable gains
in efficiency or the older version was highly optimized.

It's dismaying to see minor [or no] upgrades to software
functionality, eat up a good portion of the order of magnitude
difference in hardware.

If nothing else, the PDP-11s were good teachers to those of
us fortunate [upto say 1980] enough to spend years working
on them, as well as those of us that were unfortunate [say
after 1980] to spend years with them B-).

Maybe we should have started a relief fund for Henry years
ago?  Anyway I'm happy to see people get their hands on
decent machinery, the ones that can use it that is.

		Bjorn R. Bjornsson
		{uunet!mcvax, enea}!hafro!brb