Comment by einpoklum
2 months ago
It's very C-like, heavy use of macros, prefixes instead of namespaces, raw pointers for arrays etc. Technically you're compiling C++, but... not really.
No negative or positive comment on its usability though, I'm not an ML/Neural Network simulation person.
I've found adherence to C++ conventions in low-level software to be a rather contentious issue, mostly recently when working in an ML compiler group. One set abhorred the use of macros, the other any kind of polymorphism or modern C++ feature.
Coming from a background of working with OS kernels and systems software, I don't mind the kind of explicit "C++ lite" style used by the OP. Left to my own devices, I usually write things that way. I would think twice if I was trying to design a large framework, but ... I try to avoid those.
If you think that, I encourage you to check out this presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBkNBP00wJE
About writing a Commodore C64 game in modern(ish) C++
maybe it will sway you a bit :-)
That is impressive. It certainly shows what is possible _if_ you are familiar enough with the intricacies of modern C++. I'm not sure how I feel about a workflow where one needs to continually address "overhead" introduced by the language environment.
Yes! This was actually one of my initial goals! I actually like to work in a C-style-C++ let's say where I turn off C++ features I don't need and just use the one I actually need like templates, objects ecc... I find this style to be easy to reason about when it comes to performance.
The proper way to reason about performance is to use a profiler, not second guessing what C like code generates.