The Diary of a Datum (2005) [pdf]

https://dominoweb.draco.res.ibm.com/reports/rc23703.pdf

by aapoalas • 10 months ago

2 1 10 months ago

dominoweb.draco.res.ibm.com

aapoalas• 10 months ago

Researchers at IBM analysed the path that a single data field in an XML document takes in an application, entering as a byte buffer from a database query result and getting converted multiple times to eventually exit as part of the generated XML document.

The conclusions section especially speaks to me as a data-oriented design zealot:

That developers make such reuse of frameworks has been a boon for the development of large-scale applications. The flip side seems to be complex and poorly-performing programs. Developers can not make informed design decisions because costs are hidden from them.

As Mike Acton said[1]: if you don't understand the data you don't understand the problem, if you don't understand the cost of solving the problem you don't understand the problem, and if you don't understand the hardware you can't reason about the cost of solving the problem.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX0ItVEVjHc

The Diary of a Datum (2005) [pdf]

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