Path: chuka.playstation.co.uk!scea!greg_labrec@interactive.sony.com
From: Nick Porcino <Nick_Porcino@bc.sympatico.ca>
Newsgroups: scea.yaroze.freetalk
Subject: Re: C versus C++
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 23:49:24 -0800
Organization: SCEA News Server
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Chris is out of town this week. I work with him, so I'll throw in my two
cents for what it's worth. 

One note is that we only hire programmers fluent in C++.

As far as efficiency goes, I've taken a sprite rendering routine written
in C, hand translated it and optimized it in assembly, then compiled the
C code in Metrowerks C and in C++, and found that my routine was the
fastest, no surprise, but the C version had almost equivalent
performance because the compiler knew a few scheduling tricks I didn't.
As for C++, the EXACT SAME CODE was generated. Mind you, I wasn't using
any C++ specific language features, although the routine was a member of
a class in the C++ version.

Some C++ constructs like exception handling can cause extreme
performance degradation, depending on the vendor. Metrowerks generates
very low overhead exception handling code. Visual C++ OTOH causes an
overall 25% code bloat, and at least an overall 25% slow down in
generated code. I kid you not.

Other problematic C++ features like the freakish amount of
construction/destruction that goes on can be avoided if you understand
the semantics of const references. If you use a clever memory allocator
that doles out objects from an array, and never invokes
construction/destruction code, C++ works just fine on consoles because
you can avoid the biggest C++ bugaboo - memory fragmentation.

I've recompiled the BallTest demo using the Metrowerks C++ compiler and
get the same framerate as compiling as a C project.

I'm 100% convinced that no matter what anyone says, it is possible to
write C++ that executes as quickly as a decent C implementation would.
Unfortunately, it took several years for me to get good enough to
actually be able to say that.

Finally, my recommendation if you're just learning to program, is to
learn C so you have a good solid language that you can get great mileage
out of, then learn Java to get a good grounding in object oriented
techniques, threading, and the like, then learn C++ if you are hoping to
work in a shop that specializes in C++.

- nick