From: Gautier <Gautier.deMontmollin@maths.unine.ch>
Subject: Re: Matrix Multiplication
Date: 1999/12/14
Date: 1999-12-14T00:00:00+00:00 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <3856C9A1.F89EFD8@maths.unine.ch> (raw)
In-Reply-To: 385699B5.59C14D03@lmco.com
> OK,
> I was challenged by one of my co-workers - a control and guidance type -
> not a real software engineer.
>
> His claim : "Fortran is faster doing floating point multiplication than
> Ada"
>
> I could not get any other specifications such as hardware, particular
> compiler, version, vendor, special math libraries or any other
> equivocations. Just he
> claims the above in all cases.
>
> So could I get some help getting times for a Matrix inversion on a 50X50
> flotaing point matrix in both languages. Anyone already done these
> types of tests? Any sugestions on special libraries that he may not know
> about to do such things in Ada. Obviously he has the Fortan side nailed.
I have done a comparison, for sparse matrix computations, where
matrix multiplications do not depend on library code, so you compare
really Ada and Fortran. Compiled on DEC Ada & DEC Fortran, both
give almost (some percents) the same timing - even though generic
code is used in Ada to match single and double precision, and
the Ada code is not optimal.
This is an equivalent code comparison.
For a large scale numerics project, procedure encapsulation
subtyping, exceptions in Ada save a lot of parameter passing,
error codes, redimensioning everything everywhere (with errors...)
compared to Fortran - this is beside the floating-point part
strictly speaking. This has to be proven, but my conjecture
is that one can produce Ada code much friendlier with processor cache,
hence faster than Fortran. Well-placed "renames" or "inline" pragmas
produce astonishing effects, too.
> I know it is silly but this is the kind of FUD that gets thown around
> all the time. Either language could win - it depends on many of the
> above issues.
Claims of this sort are never verified and the rule is to compare apples
with patatoes... That is the problem with computing (and humans...). Maybe
the things were more `visual' in the steam / electricity choices - although...
NB: for a fair comparison don't forget to suppress all the standard Ada
checkings at compile-time...
--
Gautier
_____\\________________\_______\
http://members.xoom.com/gdemont/
next prev parent reply other threads:[~1999-12-14 0:00 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 41+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
1999-12-14 0:00 Matrix Multiplication William Dale
1999-12-14 0:00 ` David C. Hoos, Sr.
1999-12-14 0:00 ` Gautier [this message]
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Gautier
[not found] ` <5l1f5s4kck891a2s6o8bhvkirm4q79hm6c@4ax.com>
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Gautier
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Marin D. Condic
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Ted Dennison
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Gautier
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Tucker Taft
1999-12-16 0:00 ` Ted Dennison
1999-12-16 0:00 ` Ted Dennison
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Gautier
1999-12-16 0:00 ` Marin D. Condic
1999-12-27 0:00 ` Jeffrey L Straszheim
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Ted Dennison
1999-12-15 0:00 ` William B. Clodius
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Ted Dennison
1999-12-15 0:00 ` William B. Clodius
1999-12-16 0:00 ` Robert A Duff
1999-12-16 0:00 ` William B. Clodius
1999-12-15 0:00 ` E. Robert Tisdale
[not found] ` <3856FD3F.8291A71C@ucar.edu>
1999-12-15 0:00 ` E. Robert Tisdale
1999-12-14 0:00 ` Richard Maine
[not found] ` <01bf4708$99ef98f0$022a6282@dieppe>
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Robert A Duff
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Marin D. Condic
1999-12-16 0:00 ` Dieter Britz
1999-12-16 0:00 ` Pascal Obry
1999-12-16 0:00 ` Greg Martin
1999-12-16 0:00 ` Brian Rogoff
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Gautier
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Greg Lindahl
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Preben Randhol
-- strict thread matches above, loose matches on Subject: below --
1999-12-15 0:00 Carlisle, Martin
1999-12-15 0:00 ` Mario Klebsch
1999-12-19 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-12-19 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-12-19 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-12-16 0:00 Carlisle, Martin
1999-12-16 0:00 ` Howard W. LUDWIG
[not found] <637de084-0e71-4077-a1c5-fc4200cad3cf@googlegroups.com>
2012-07-10 8:39 ` Does Ada need elemental functions to make it suitable for scientific work? Nasser M. Abbasi
2012-07-10 9:07 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2012-07-12 0:31 ` robin.vowels
2012-07-12 7:12 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2012-07-29 13:39 ` Robin Vowels
2012-07-29 14:22 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2012-07-29 20:54 ` glen herrmannsfeldt
[not found] ` <apib1897s56dkultqmfl3emvk1os3tfdak@invalid.netcom.com>
2012-07-30 4:15 ` glen herrmannsfeldt
[not found] ` <nfhd181tv9u87mcqfb7rgd8lm48ihr9f4r@invalid.netcom.com>
2012-07-31 8:53 ` MATRIX MULTIPLICATION Robin Vowels
2012-07-31 9:05 ` Robin Vowels
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