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From: kipp@warp.esd.sgi.com (Kipp Hickman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi
Subject: Re: C++ and C
Message-ID: <4556@odin.SGI.COM>
Date: 26 Feb 90 18:04:58 GMT
References: <205*doelz@urz.unibas.ch>
Sender: news@odin.SGI.COM
Reply-To: kipp@warp.esd.sgi.com (Kipp Hickman)
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Entry Systems Division
Lines: 18

We did some performance tests with C++, running the most recent version of
the dhyrstone tests through the C++ compiler.  The results were identical
to the standard C numbers.  We even tweaked the tests to use C++ language
features and were able to improve the numbers.

The trick with C++ is to use it "effectively".  There are pieces of your
code that aren't performance critical - you can use C++ fully here, without
worry.  Other sections of your code will be highly critical - use C++, but
use it carefully, so that it is generating the same old fast C code.  A good
thing to avoid if you have a performance critical section is subroutines.
(this is true for C too) The mips compilers will optimize the #@$(&#@&$
out of the code, as long as a subroutine isn't called (that way it knows
it can safely put memory cells into registers, etc.).

Hope this helps.

					kipp hickman
					silicon graphics inc.