It has to be seen that optimising library code, inner classes and similar lower layers, at the time of their creation--is not premature! It maybe before the maturity of the (first) application that uses them, but optimising a library or class prior to it inclusion in an application is an integral part of it's maturisation.

This is true only to the extent that the interface to the library is influenced by it's implementation, is it not? Isn't the point of libraries and library calls to abstract away all the underlying complexity, and to leave the details open to optimizations?

And yes, I'm playing devil's advocate for a moment, because I've seen the exact scenarios you describe, where "we'll speed it up if we have to" inevitably led to "we don't have the time/money to re-write the central data structures/premises underlying the application three weeks before our due date". I'm interested in seeing why those assumptions failed (and they did), because in theory, it all should have worked out...

In reply to Re^3: Optimisation (global versus singular) by Anonymous Monk
in thread Optimisation isn't a dirty word. by BrowserUk

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