chil2 - Slashdot User

Comparing the Size, Speed, and Dependability of Programming Languages 491

Posted by Soulskill on Sunday May 31, 2009 @10:44AM from the it's-not-the-size-of-the-float dept.

In this blog post, the author plots the results of 19 different benchmark tests across 72 programming languages to create a quantitative comparison between them. The resulting visualizations give insight into how the languages perform across a variety of tasks, and also how some some languages perform in relation to others. "If you drew the benchmark results on an XY chart you could name the four corners. The fast but verbose languages would cluster at the top left. Let's call them system languages. The elegantly concise but sluggish languages would cluster at the bottom right. Let's call them script languages. On the top right you would find the obsolete languages. That is, languages which have since been outclassed by newer languages, unless they offer some quirky attraction that is not captured by the data here. And finally, in the bottom left corner you would find probably nothing, since this is the space of the ideal language, the one which is at the same time fast and short and a joy to use."

Comment Re:Is LaTeX worth it for humanities/soc. sciences? (Score 1) 328

by chil2 on Friday March 13, 2009 @07:14PM (#27187905) Attached to: Collaborative Academic Writing Software?

uh. any thing you can use to make a figure for word you can use for latex.

What about embedded diagrams (such as Visio objects)? My papers are loaded with these, and being able to store them in the document (for things like mailing to co-others for review), and open them quickly for minor edits is important.

I've been using Visio & MS Office primarily because they handle this really well. I've experimented with Dia, Kivio, Open Office Draw, and latex, but never found a combination that worked as well for me (especially as a Visio replacement).

Is there any way to get this done effectively without using MS Office? What do you open source guys do?

Comment Re:The standard? (Score 1) 328

by chil2 on Friday March 13, 2009 @06:48PM (#27187611) Attached to: Collaborative Academic Writing Software?

There are a few programs out there (at least for Mac OS X) that let you just type in a formula in LaTeX format real quick and get a small little PDF or PNG that you can embed here and there.

Ekee does the same in Linux. I've used it for a few papers with good results.

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