From 2740413bb44666d0cf63916d93404149bdfcddfb Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: NunoSempere Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2024 15:56:00 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] further README cleanup --- README.md | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index fbf2686..da1b908 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ squiggle.c is a self-contained C99 library that provides functions for simple Mo - Because C is honest - Because it will last long - Because it can be made faster if need be, e.g., with a multi-threading library like OpenMP, by implementing faster but more complex algorithms, or more simply, by inlining the sampling functions (adding an `inline` directive before their function declaration) -- **Because there are few abstractions between it and machine code** (C => assembly => machine code with gcc, or C => machine code, with tcc), leading to fewer errors beyond the programmer's control. +- Because there are few abstractions between it and machine code (C => assembly => machine code with gcc, or C => machine code, with tcc), leading to fewer errors beyond the programmer's control. - Because it can fit in my head - Because if you can implement something in C, you can implement it anywhere else @@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ squiggle.c is a self-contained C99 library that provides functions for simple Mo This code should aim to be correct, then simple, then fast. - It should be correct. The user should be able to rely on it and not think about whether errors come from the library. - - Nonetheless, the user should understand the limitations of sampling-based methods. See the section on [Tests and the long tail of the lognormal](https://git.nunosempere.com/personal/squiggle.c/FOLK_WISDOM.md#tests-and-the-long-tail-of-the-lognormal) for a discussion of how sampling is bad at capturing some aspects of distributions with long tails. + - Nonetheless, the user should understand the limitations of sampling-based methods. See the section on [Tests and the long tail of the lognormal](https://git.nunosempere.com/personal/squiggle.c/src/branch/master/FOLK_WISDOM.md#tests-and-the-long-tail-of-the-lognormal) for a discussion of how sampling is bad at capturing some aspects of distributions with long tails. - It should be clear, conceptually simple. Simple for me to implement, simple for others to understand. - It should be fast. But when speed conflicts with simplicity, choose simplicity. For example, there might be several possible algorithms to sample a distribution, each of which is faster over part of the domain. In that case, it's conceptually simpler to just pick one algorithm, and pay the—normally small—performance penalty. - In any case, though, the code should still be *way faster* than, say, Python.