You can also specialize C code for architectures, you do not need C++ template metaprograms for this.

Of course, but you end up with code that is a lot more verbose and with more room for errors.

Anyway, a much more interesting particular example imho is using templates for lazy operator evaluation in matrix algebra. It lets you do automatically some loop combining that is absolutely visible speed-wise compared to a normal order-of-operations approach - the fun "oh, C++ can be faster than Fortran at matrix algebra??" surprise. Yeah, you can hand-code something like that in C every time you add some matrices, but ... well, see my previous point. Now if you take this particular example and extend it to general composable operations in arbitrary libraries, you'll see that in fact C++ can be faster than plain C under similar development resource constraints, if you know how to take advantage of the things the compiler will do for you.

The "summary" - which probably includes the entire blog post ...

You know, assumptions are a tricky thing to base your reasoning on. But, as a hint, CF blog posts tend to be on the longer side, with interesting technical details, so it's kind of sad to see that TFS does not include a link to the source - although it aligns with the tradition of not RTFA around here, so maybe-ok job EditorDavid? Anyway, for your reading pleasure, this appears to be the missing link.

And btw, this:

I'm a little surprised that replacing a bunch of old disparate software that's basically hacked together with a scripting language (obligatory xkcd [xkcd.com]) with a new custom compiled job only resulted in a 25% speed-up.

appears to be ... inexact.

Pfff. The magnitude of the mathwank projection of quantum gravity is even slightly larger than that of string theory[1]. It's just that being so easy to point out the reasonable shortcomings of string theory distracts from Mme SH's underlying message of "their mathwank is crowding out grant money from my mathwank."

Don't get me wrong, I think the GP's "mathwank" label is ... tricky. Theoretical Math is a Good Thing. Theoretical Physicists trying to come up with Mathematical models for things are also a Good Thing. Abusing a Good Thing is a Bad Thing though, and some of the physicists in these fields are doing that. So yeah, mathwank.

[1] some approaches developed in some corners of string theory (which is a ... wide net with many corners) turned out to be useful for modeling other things in Physics that have direct connection with experiments (and hence no connection with string theory).

You should try to use a dedicated camera for a change - photo shops will often rent you some equipment so you can test before you buy. Here are some things that a dedicated camera (with the right lenses and a competent user) will always do better:

• - larger image sensor, with larger pixels, so less electronic noise. That means the camera does not need to do the aggressive noise filtering that phones have to do and you'll get more detail. The difference is less visible if you have a LOT of light in the scene and quite obvious as subject lighting decreases
• - larger aperture. This again means more light getting in, so better detail, especially in low light. Also, see the next point
• - bokeh. You can kinda-sorta try to emulate it with software, but you should try and compare with what a dedicated camera can do, especially on that big TV.

Phone cameras have gotten a lot better, but you somehow seem to think that dedicated camera have stagnated. They have not.

Oh, and tracking of the population in a panopticon, by the state.

Reducing farmland domestically in a nation. What could possibly go wrong?

Then they can buy the dead corpse.

Yay! Windows 10 is approaching "end of security lifespan!", and my computer "cannot upgrade to Windows 11!"

Hooray, Microsoft!

I assume with Windows 11 there's a direct pipine of the content of every file to Microsoft for advertising analysis.

Customer service? You just haven't been irritating enough to drive me away yet.

Not bad for something that plays Quake without the softeare renderer.

I though Grammarly fixed up your existing sentences, which would be ok, except maybe in the grammar units of a class.
  But of course it includes LLM AI to generate answers to questions. Nowadays so, too, do most dog bowls.

I thought it already did this, because apps use your Google ID, used in the Google store that you downloaded them from.

This must be independent log in IDs with the app company itself, outside Google.

As this is the cause, Congress could reverse back out of it by refusing to guarantee loans to universities that increase tuition by more than 2%. Slow, easy unwinding.

But that's not the goal. The goal is to collapse of the system, followed by Congress picking up the pieces, AKA takeover.

Pols 30 years ago: Let's help students with easy loans! We'll guarantee the loans!

Banks and universities: Ok!

30 years of nickle dime increases later: Hey, why is it so expensive?

Universities: We don't know, but it's certainly not supra-inflation increases because we can get away with adding a few dollars to your monthly payments, much easier to swallow.

Not you, the other guy.

(Shrugging guy ASCII art)