[gambit-list] Closures, continuations, strategies, and actual measurements

D.McClain dbm at asyrmatos.com
Sun May 24 08:37:23 EDT 2009


Yes, I notice you guys are quick to assume that I must be a troll and  
try to shoot me down. I was getting the impression that I was  
addressing an audience of 15-year olds.

FYI, I am an astrophysicist by training, but I have been doing  
computers in anger for more than 40 years. My primary interests are  
in applied and embedded computing, not comp sci per se, although I do  
also have some graduate work in CompSci.

Hence, I am most impressed by actual implementations and  
measurements. Concrete examples of theoretical topics are most  
welcome. But sweeping theoretical statements are really not very  
impressive.

Cheers,

Dr. David McClain
Sr. VP, Embedded Systems
Asyrmatos Inc.
Boston & Tucson
phone: 	520-529-2437
cell: 	520-390-3995
web: 	www.asyrmatos.com
e-mail:	dbm at asyrmatos.com




On May 24, 2009, at 00:37, David Rush wrote:

> 2009/5/23 D.McClain <dbm at asyrmatos.com>:
>> should go a long way toward explaining why CPS code may be slower  
>> than
>> direct form code.
>
> I have not yet read the paper, but it appears that there is a
> terminological disconnect happening here.
>
> In Scheme, I program using CPS precisely because it is in fact
> *faster*. Specifically, I have show it to be faster when compiling
> using Stalin. However, this performance increase is not a direct
> result of the CPS idiom, but due to the fact that monomorphic data
> extents are clearly defined - allowing Stalin more aggressive
> optimizations.
>
> Note that I am *not* using CPS to implement *continuations*. But I am
> using the CPS idiom in cases where a caller knows quite a bit more
> about type-appropriate behavior than the (ultimate) callee. Such
> conditions are often used as examples of when call/cc is helpful (e.g.
> in implementing exceptions).
>
> The point being that there is a long difference between programming in
> a CPS idiom and reifying continuations with call/cc. Saying CPS code
> is slower is simply silly and makes you look like a troll.
>
> david rush
> -- 
> GPG Public key at http://cyber-rush.org/drr/gpg-public-key.txt
>
>

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