Some details on the opening keynote

published at 13.11.2015 15:33 by Jens Weller
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The final piece in this years schedule has been added: the opening keynote.

Interestingly the details on both keynotes this year have been send to me after the conference has been sold out. So, you knew for some time that this year Chandler Carruth would hold the opening keynote, but not much more was known even to me. After his keynote at CppCon he told me some more details, and was very motivated and looking forward to being at Meeting C++.

Chandler has been a supporter of Meeting C++ before it even started, he really motivated me to get started in 2012 at C++Now. So I am very happy to have him opening this years conference!

Understanding Compiler Optimization

Chandler will give a keynote on one of the topics he is an expert in, he will give you some insight on how the compiler sees your code, and as this is a wide topic, he will focus on optimization:

C++ is used in applications where resources are constrained and performance is critical. However, its power in this domain comes from the ability to build large, complex systems in C++. These systems leverage numerous C++ features in order to build and utilize abstractions that make reasoning about these complex systems possible. Abstractions are the very essence of how we scale software to solve ever larger and more complex problems.

But the common C++ idea of "zero cost" abstractions is, in some senses, a myth. The real achievement of C++ is allowing you, the programmer, to control where and how the cost of your abstractions will be paid. It does this by leveraging remarkably advanced optimizing compilers and carefully written libraries and techniques, all working together to control the cost. In order to be effective writing software that leverages this control, it is essential that the programmer understand the core fundamentals of how the compiler optimizations will behave. Without this, it is too easy to unknowingly limit it or create challenges that it cannot overcome.

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