Execution speed

Execution speed is usually the biggest concern of programmers; they simply won't use a component unless it runs almost as fast as hand-crafted code. An exception to this rule occurs when the hand-crafted code would be truly difficult or time-consuming to write. Even then, programmers will continue to grumble about execution speed until something is done to improve it.

We designed our components for execution speed in three ways. Listed in decreasing order of importance, they are:

• We used algorithms and data structures that are fast enough for most applications.

• We used implementation techniques to speed up execution.

• We avoided using language features with execution speed penalties.