Archive for August, 2006
AS3 Short Variable/Function Names vs Long Ones
Wednesday, August 30th, 2006In ActionScript it was common knowledge that shorter Variable and Function names yielded better performance in situations were it depends but does that still hold true for ActionScript 3.0? I’ve ran a couple of quick tests to find a clear answer about this. I usually tend keep my Variable/Function names to 1-3 characters when performance really mattered but it might actually not be necessary. Consider the following test …
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 | package { import com.hexagonstar.util.debug.Debug; import flash.utils.getTimer; import flash.display.Sprite; public class PerformanceTest extends Sprite { private var aVeryVeryLongVariableNameaVeryVeryLongVariableName:Number; private var num:Number; public function PerformanceTest() { var startTime:Number = getTimer(); for (var i:int = 0; i < 4000000; i++) { aVeryVeryLongVariableNameaVeryVeryLongVariableName = (i * Math.random()) * 100; } var timeTaken:String = getTimer() - startTime + " ms"; Debug.trace("timeTaken (long): " + timeTaken); } } } |
I’ve ran this code ten times with the 50 characters long variable name and then ten times with a 3 characters long one, both in their own SWF’s. The results ranged from 757ms to 820ms, more or less the same on both sides. The sum of the long variable version was 7924ms and the one of the three characters long one was 7903ms, not much of a difference.
The next test was similar but this time with a 50 characters long Method name and the other again with a 3 characters long one, the Methods returned a random Number for 4000000 times during this test. The results looked similar but the total sum of each test gave a 12044ms for the long name test and 15570ms for the short named one. A noticable difference of over 3 seconds. This might have been coincidence but I’ve ran the tests a couple more times and it turned out every time that the result were very close together. This is quite interesting because I was safely believing that short names would still have an advantage. It might be time to rethink this.
Which Open Source License is good for you?
Thursday, August 24th, 2006I was trying out Google’s own code repository Google Code today, finally delving into some SVN knowledge with Subclipse and was starting to wonder if there is actually an explaination about all those Open Source Licenses which is understandable for non-lawyers. A quick googling gave me this useful ZDNet link … HOWTO: Pick an open source license where the editor describes some of the most common licenses like GPL, MIT, BSD, Apache etc. in a more concise and clear way. It makes it much easier than digging through all those license text at opensource.org.
Isometric Game Development with Flash
Sunday, August 20th, 2006
I’m currently developing a role-playing game in AS3.0 (non-fantasy themed!!) in my spare time. This has been and still is in the design phase since a while and I’m pondering whether to use isometric graphics or an orthogonal view (that has a slight tilt but still is fully orthogonal. If you remember Jagged Alliance you get the idea). Though orthogonal view would make things easier I feel that isometric view gives more visual freedom so I will probably end up with that.
The Challenges of new Keyboards
Thursday, August 17th, 2006Not only doesn’t it have Letters, it also has no cursor keys and no function keys! Well ok mine is dark gray and has black letters on it that can only be seen with enough light in the back. It”s a 66 keys Keyboard and all special keys can be accessed with the Fn key. It means you have to press two keys to use Cursor keys or Function Keys and if you want to press Shift+F1 you have to hold three keys at once. Quite a finger acrobatic trainer isn’t it? Not to mention that I also have to get used to the American layout.
I somehow feel back at the C64 where double and triple layered keys were the daily thing. This little black devil meanwhile went into my shelf to be replaced with my ten year old trusty Cherry Keyboard … three times by now! Finally I accepted to give it a longer try! Sure, Its masochism but the quality and feeling of the keys is so irresistible! Plus I got a lot more space free on my desk suddenly (you should know … space is the most expensive thing around here!)
Time for a new Rig!
Tuesday, August 8th, 2006Being that old hardware DIY’er that I am (it started long ago with changing the kernel of my C64) I’ve so far always bought parts and built my PCs up by myself. This time I was pondering with buying the new Dell XPS 700 just because it’s case design is so ultra slick (around 100.000 times more slick than a Mac G5 Park Waste Bin ever could be if you ask me) but I’ve changed my mind after realizing once more that Dell’s sale policy sucks. That is because here in Japan the XPS is not available as customizable as in the US! While in the US the minimum parts required are the CPU and memory, here at Dell Japan you have to buy an almost fully rigged machine.
So instead of buying an XPS 700 with a flatscreen, DVD, keyboard, mouse and Windows XP Home, all stuff that I don’t need I’ve decided to go again and choose all required parts from the ground up by myself. Here is how my next PC will look like …
Antec P180B Case (looks like a mini frigde but is very quiet and cool inside)
Antec Neo HE 550 PSU
Asus P5B Deluxe Motherboard
Pentium D 945 CPU (3.4 GHz)
Zalman CNPS9500 LED CPU Cooler (have to double check if it fits on the mobo without probs!)
2x Corsair XMS2 2GB (2x 1GB) 800 (PC2 6400) (4GB)
Leadtek Winfast PX7900 GTX TDH (more silent and cooler than comparable Radeon cards)
2x HITACHI Deskstar T7K250 250GB 7200RPM SATA
… Not only is it cheaper (though still quite steep) but it also means more memory and quite a bit more silence in our room than with the XPS. My last mainboard was an Asus P4C800-E Deluxe and I’m totally satisfied with it since it is running stable for about two years now. I think I’ll turn the old water-cooled Pentium4 into our Linux Server after this.
