Efficient C++: Performance Programming Techniques

Citation

Harwood, C.J. (2000), "Efficient C++: Performance Programming Techniques", Kybernetes, Vol. 29 No. 9/10, pp. 1333-1340. https://doi.org/10.1108/k.2000.29.9_10.1333.1

Cyberneticians and systemists will be surprised at the authors’ choice of title for this book. Can C++ in their experience ever be regarded as efficient? Useful for so many applications but hardly chosen for its efficiency when software performance is regarded as an essential in a project.

Here is a text that takes a much more enlightened view of C++ and shows in a clear way that it can have an important role in so many areas. Amongst these the authors cite applications in networking and in the development of operating systems. They also detail its use in preparing device‐drivers.

It is difficult not to agree after reading the book that C++ should be regarded as an important and practical language that remains an essential part of any computer scientist’s programming armoury. It is also relatively easy and inexpensive to obtain the necessary C++ software to use it on our systems. Readers can search the Internet for all appropriate sites for C++ information and also for details of how to download the necessary software. It is, in other words, accessible to all PC users, as well as, of course, to those with the benefit of access to larger and faster computer systems. There are many particular uses included and discussed by Bulka and Mayhew, and they especially look at topics such as virtual functions, inlining, temporary objects and inheritance. Readers will appreciate the authors’ efforts to convince them that C++ can be used efficiently and they not only provide convincing arguments but also realistic performance techniques for its users.