Default Capacity & Growth Rate of C++ std::vector

If you're creating a lot of small vectors in C++, you should probably consider using a small-size optimized vector instead. But, if you can't do that for some reason, you might wonder if there is any win to be had by reserve()ing a small size in advance. While the standard doesn't require vectors to have … Continue reading Default Capacity & Growth Rate of C++ std::vector →

Warning: std::numeric_limits::min() > 0

Here's a baffling design choice (which I'm reliably informed C++ inherited from older C limits.h). std::numeric_limits<int>::min() is roughly -2 billion (assuming 32 bit ints, etc.). But std::numeric_limits<float>::min() is smallest positive floating point value... something like +0.00000000000000000000000000000000000001. CppReference warns this is the case for all floating point types with denormalization (thus it applies to double and long … Continue reading Warning: std::numeric_limits::min() > 0 →

Warning: __attribute__((const)) does not mean function purity

Clang and GCC (and others) support function attributes __attribute__((const)) and __attribute__((pure)). These had always been explained to me thus: __attribute__((pure)): The function may read, but doesn't modify any global state. [This is true!]__attribute__((const)): The function neither reads nor modifies global state. [This is MASSIVELY OVERSIMPLIFIED to the point of being a lie!] The gigantic asterisk … Continue reading Warning: __attribute__((const)) does not mean function purity →

The fastest way to iterate a Map’s values in Elixir

Say you have an Elixir Map. What's the fastest way to iterate the values? The candidates to consider are: Use Enum.map/2 and just pick out the values, ignoring the keyUse Map.values/1 and pipe the resulting list into Enum.map/2 I put together the following Benchfella microbenchmark: defmodule BasicBench do use Benchfella @test_map Map.new(1..10_000, fn k -> … Continue reading The fastest way to iterate a Map’s values in Elixir →

Go ahead, call yourself a software engineer.

Ian Bogost writes for The Atlantic that programmers should stop calling themselves engineers. It's a good article, and he's right about software devs cheapening the word "engineer" with their Wild West practices. This is a sentiment that's been echoed for years. At the same time, though, there's a worthwhile distinction to be drawn between "I … Continue reading Go ahead, call yourself a software engineer. →

Automated Testing Process Roundtable

Notes from a roundtable discussion moderated by Andrew Fray at GDC 2019 For more, see autotestingroundtable.comFirst steps getting started with testingFirst decide what you want out of testing; if you want a rock-solid engine, need unit tests (despite it being hard on a legacy engine)Unit testingAnalyze how long it takes you to go through a … Continue reading Automated Testing Process Roundtable →

Paid Acquisition on Mobile: A Scrappy, Practical Guide

Notes on a talk by Mike Gordon of Iron Horse Games Iron Horse has had 11M installs, mostly on Android, mostly paid acquisition Marketing in 3 phases on Google Play Google Play organic installs are significantly higher than Apple ROI tends to be better Open beta Don’t treat this as a test platform, because you … Continue reading Paid Acquisition on Mobile: A Scrappy, Practical Guide →

Preventing Bugs: The Dark Matter of QA

Notes on a roundtable discussion at GDC 2019 Run by Chris Rando (@Rodneysquint)IGDA QA communityQA Mixer first floor of Marriot MarquisHow do we articulate how QA prevents bugsBug preventionDoing acceptance testing—QA sets the criteria to decide when something's done (rather than just doing some testing when the devs say it's done)QA involved in game design … Continue reading Preventing Bugs: The Dark Matter of QA →