Layers of Abstraction

JWZ on porting the classic melty-numbers Dali Clock app to Palm Pré:

It’s a little slow. It is, in fact, a bit slower than the PalmOS “Classic” port. And, for that matter, the original Xerox Alto version. Why, you may ask? Because this port is written entirely in Javascript.

frsrs.

Let’s take a moment to ponder this version and the Alto version, and just how many wasted instructions, layers of abstraction, frameworks, toolkits and outright cruft have gotten between the algorithm and the frame buffer in the intervening twenty-seven years. This program makes my phone hot.

1. [certron]

   The heat generated is needed in order to make the numbers melt, obviously.

2. [scaught]

   Oh, there are a couple versions available for iPhone, too. Thank god, I thought I bought the wrong phone for a minute.

3. [muteboy]

   The old freeware PalmOS app Watchmaker (http://steilberg.eu/page2.htm#k1) has a melty clock mode, which is a bit sluggish, but effective.

4. [Brant]

   “All problems in computer science can be solved by another level of indirection” –Butler Lampson

   “…except for the problem of having too many levels of indirection” –Kevlin Henney