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Metadata Code Bloat
In many of his (terrific) talks and lectures, Herb Sutter often says that “always on garbage collection“, “default virtual dispatch“, and “metadata” are valid reasons as to why managed language programs written in C# and Java are typically slower and bigger than native languages like C++ and C. I understand the first two issues, but not the “metadata” argument. Thus, I asked Herb to “splain dis to me Lucy“.
Here’s my question and Herb’s gracious answer:
The “Void Star” Crowd
During the “Ask Us Anything” panel discussion at the “Going Native 2012” conference, one of the questions asked was: how do you get the “void *” guys to move forward toward a more type-safe and abstract C++ style of programming?“.
By “void *“, the questioner meant programmers who still cling to writing code like this:
instead of this:
The panelists admitted that it was a big challenge, and they gave the following suggestions:
- Ask them what problems they’re having and then show them the solution by doing it for them in C++ style. (Stroustrup)
- Set a personal example of increased productivity. (Alexandrescu)
- Show them compiler generated assembly output comparing the “void *” C-style code with a more expressive, less error-prone, more readable C++ equivalent. Odds are that the compiler-optimized C++ code will be much shorter than the hand-crafted C code. (STL)
Bjarne Stroustrup seemed especially frustrated at the pervasiveness of “void *” mindset. As a professor at Texas A&M, he said that as people come out of high school, most of them want to write games and they’ve convinced themselves and each other that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, “void *” is as fast as one can get. That’s exacerbated by the fact that many professors and “greybeards” still code in the type unsafe, barely readable, and error prone “void *” way.
I can sympathize with Bjarne and the panel. When I made the transition from C to C++, it took me what-seemed-like forever to “graduate” from arrays and naked pointers to containers and smart pointers and algorithms. Luckily, I did it in spite of myself. I can’t even remember the last time I used “void *” in any of the code I wrote.
Where Did The Soldiers Go?
If you’re a leader (anointed or otherwise) and the only access to you is communicated via the classic “my door is always open” and “suggestion box” yawners, then you won’t have to mind-wrestle with this vexing Poppercornism:
The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded that you don’t care. Either case is a failure of leadership. – Karl Popper
More Bureaucratic Than A Bureau
Tsukasa Makino is one of the Harvard Business Review/McKinsey “Beyond Bureaucracy Challenge” winners. In “From bureaucratic, divided, passive, and exhausted to productive, creative, autonomous, and happy company”, Tsukasa tells the transformational story of Tokio Marine Nichido Systems (TMNS) from a classic, robotic, unhealthy borg into a vibrant community.
In 2005, Hideki Iwai, a system engineer, proposed a corporate culture assessment by an outside consulting firm. Management “approved” of the idea and here was the bottom line:
D’oh!
Taking the bull by the horns, Hideki formed the “Work Style Reform committee” to change the culture. Despite being a “committee” the communist-sounding group worked! It spawned, and followed through on, a slew of blockbuster initiatives:
The challenge presented by bullet number 4 seems daunting. How did they vanquish it? They just said “NO!”
I love finding heartwarming stories like this. They’re hard to find, but thanks to web sites like Gary Hamels’ MIX, it’s getting easier.
Visualizing And Reasoning About
I recently read an interview with Grady Booch in which the interviewer asked him what his proudest technical achievement was. Grady stated that it was his involvement in the creation of the Unified Modeling Language (UML). Mr. Booch said it allowed for a standardized way (vs. ad-hoc) of “visualizing and reasoning about software” before, during, and/or after its development.
The Daily Question
In his latest book, Gary Hamel proposes that executives and managers ask an important question every day:
It would be a refreshing change from these daily questions:
- How can I get Wall St. off my back?
- How can I get the board to give me a bigger bonus?
- How can I stop my VPs from bickering with each other and kissing my ass?
- Can I blame my poor performance on the economy, fickle customers, and a natural disaster in China?
- How can I squeeze more productivity out of my DICs and trade nothing in return?
- What new management position can I create to extinguish this latest fire?
- How can I ensure that my legacy will be revered?
Change In Behavior
“Change your thinking, and your behavior will change.” How many times have you heard or seen that sentence? Of course, it’s true, but as ever, the devil’s in the details. In my case, I’ve often fooled myself into thinking that my thinking has changed when it really hasn’t. So, the question is, who are “I” and “myself” in the previous sentence?
How To, When To
It seems like someone at USA Today has been ingesting contraband. In “Stereotype of computer geeks fades and nerds are cool”, Haya El Nasser opines:
The stereotype of the geeky techie that persists in pop culture is fading in real life, thanks to the legacy of industry giants such as Apple founder Steve Jobs and the increasing dependence of more Americans on the skills of those who know how to make their gadgets work.
Some schools are offering one-day workshops that include tips on “office finesse” and wardrobe and body language and when to talk or when to pick up a dropped napkin when meeting with a prospective employer.
When to pick up a dropped napkin when meeting with a prospective employer? WTF! How about tips on:
- When it’s appropriate to tie your bib at the dinner table.
- When to clip your nose hairs.
- How long to wait before acting on a “there’s free leftover food in the conference room” e-mail.
- How often to apply deodorant
- How to emulate a British accent
- How to eat cake at a going away party
- When to clap at an all hands meeting
- How many breaths to breathe before hitting the “send-all” button
- How not to pile your plate sky high at free lunches
- How to snicker without getting caught
- How to detect tattletalers
- How to carry your coffee cup like Wally
- How to respond to the “what percent done are you?” question
- When you can skip washing your hands in the rest room
- How long to wait before consuming that seemingly forgotten lunch in the fridge
- When to be fashionably late to meetings
- How to wordsmith inappropriate questions to the company help desk into benign pleas for help
- How to <<insert your intractable issue here>>
Us And Them
BD00 speculates that all non-psycho leaders would love to dissolve the “us vs them” attitude that most likely pervades their org. Alas, it’s not easy to do when your org is structured as, and operates like, a standard command and control hierarchy. Here’s a list of reasons why the “us vs them” conundrum endures within the walls of the CCH:
- We unilaterally set the rules, policies and procedures they are required to unquestioningly follow
- We get bonuses and they get COLAs (Cost Of Living Adjustments)
- We plan their work and evaluate them; and there is no “quid pro quo Clarisse“
- We have a loose set of criteria for evaluating for ourselves and a strict set for evaluating them
- We have nicer offices than them
- We promote/demote them, not vice versa
- We conform them to the org and we conform the org to us.
- We physically co-locate our team in a corner and fragment their teams throughout the org
Got any other “us and them” reinforcers to add to the list?
Request For Fashion Help
In a few hours, BD00 will be boarding a plane for sunny Melbourne FL to participate in “Golf Camp 2012“. As he did in 2010, BD00 would like to ask for your help in picking out his opening day outfit for a bogey free Sunday. Err, since BD00 plans to go shirtless to highlight his Hans-and-Franz guns, you can at least pick out the shorts part of the ensemble.
The figure below shows BD00’s paltry wardrobe selection back in 2010.
Of course, due to prudent stock picking, sold out speaking appearances, consulting fees, and master leveraging of massive tax loopholes, BD00 has been able to expand his links couture commensurate with the growth in his girth and enlargement of his ego. Thus, BD00 has added the following “design patterns” to his Kardashianesque wardrobe:
So, what’s it gonna be dear reader? Charlie? Pisces-dude? Lorraine? Bird? Mark? Other closet readers?
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WTF?
Meh!
D'oh!
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