2092391605882028391

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---
title: "@nicbarkeragain I think it's actually *easier* to reason about your code when you pre-allocate and just \"fill\" buffers that never move."
type: archive
source: twitter
source_url: "https://x.com/big_tony299/status/2092396351392796893"
author: "Antoine Gagnon"
handle: big_tony299
post_id: "2092396351392796893"
date: 2026-08-25
archived: 2026-08-25
draft: false
tags:
- archive
- twitter
- nicbarkeragain
description: "@nicbarkeragain I think it's actually *easier* to reason about your code when you pre-allocate and just \"fill\" buffers that never move."
in_reply_to: ""
parent_post_id: "2092392060280307994"
---
## Source
- URL: https://x.com/big_tony299/status/2092396351392796893
- Author: Antoine Gagnon (@big_tony299)
- Posted: 2026-08-25 23:38:59
## Branch
**1/** **@big_tony299** ^2092396351392796893
**@nicbarkeragain**
I think it's actually *easier* to reason about your code when you pre-allocate and just "fill" buffers that never move. So many opportunities for DMA-style optimizations!
## Related
- Spine: [[archive/threads/nicbarkeragain/2026-08-25-i-think-one-of-the-biggest-level-ups-i-had-in]]
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---
title: "@nicbarkeragain I still find myself sketching data flow diagrams when designing data processing oriented systems, but I agree that it often doesn't translate well to concrete interfaces in code, it misses any problems you might have with push/pull impedance mismatches, who \"holds\" memory etc."
type: archive
source: twitter
source_url: "https://x.com/smolus/status/2092393961771970898"
author: "jakub smolaga"
handle: smolus
post_id: "2092393961771970898"
date: 2026-08-25
archived: 2026-08-25
draft: false
tags:
- archive
- twitter
- nicbarkeragain
description: "@nicbarkeragain I still find myself sketching data flow diagrams when designing data processing oriented systems, but I agree that it often doesn't translate well to concrete interfaces in code, it misses any problems you might have with push/pull impedance mismatches, who \"holds\" memory etc."
in_reply_to: ""
parent_post_id: "2092391605882028391"
---
## Source
- URL: https://x.com/smolus/status/2092393961771970898
- Author: jakub smolaga (@smolus)
- Posted: 2026-08-25 23:29:29
## Branch
**1/** **@smolus** ^2092393961771970898
**@nicbarkeragain**
I still find myself sketching data flow diagrams when designing data processing oriented systems, but I agree that it often doesn't translate well to concrete interfaces in code, it misses any problems you might have with push/pull impedance mismatches, who "holds" memory etc.
## Related
- Spine: [[archive/threads/nicbarkeragain/2026-08-25-i-think-one-of-the-biggest-level-ups-i-had-in]]
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
---
title: "@nicbarkeragain Something that CS suffers from is not being clear in what is true in the ideal model vs the actual implementation of a “computer.” For example, in relation to EE, ideal op-amps vs the actual transistor level circuitry of an op-amp allow for different approximations to be made."
type: archive
source: twitter
source_url: "https://x.com/interlarper/status/2092403755966713992"
author: "loper"
handle: interlarper
post_id: "2092403755966713992"
date: 2026-08-26
archived: 2026-08-25
draft: false
tags:
- archive
- twitter
- nicbarkeragain
description: "@nicbarkeragain Something that CS suffers from is not being clear in what is true in the ideal model vs the actual implementation of a “computer.” For example, in relation to EE, ideal op-amps vs the actual transistor level circuitry of an op-amp allow for different approximations to be made."
in_reply_to: ""
parent_post_id: "2092391605882028391"
---
## Source
- URL: https://x.com/interlarper/status/2092403755966713992
- Author: loper (@interlarper)
- Posted: 2026-08-26 00:08:25
## Branch
**1/** **@interlarper** ^2092403755966713992
**@nicbarkeragain**
Something that CS suffers from is not being clear in what is true in the ideal model vs the actual implementation of a “computer.” For example, in relation to EE, ideal op-amps vs the actual transistor level circuitry of an op-amp allow for different approximations to be made.
## Related
- Spine: [[archive/threads/nicbarkeragain/2026-08-25-i-think-one-of-the-biggest-level-ups-i-had-in]]
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
---
title: "some distinction between allocating new memory, copying src->dst, and then freeing src."
type: archive
source: twitter
source_url: "https://x.com/mirbacx/status/2092402560745570814"
author: "mirbacx"
handle: mirbacx
post_id: "2092402560745570814"
date: 2026-08-26
archived: 2026-08-25
draft: false
tags:
- archive
- twitter
- nicbarkeragain
description: "some distinction between allocating new memory, copying src->dst, and then freeing src."
in_reply_to: ""
parent_post_id: "2092391605882028391"
---
## Source
- URL: https://x.com/mirbacx/status/2092402560745570814
- Author: mirbacx (@mirbacx)
- Posted: 2026-08-26 00:03:40
## Branch
**1/** **@mirbacx** ^2092402560745570814
some distinction between allocating new memory, copying src->dst, and then freeing src. copying/moving is expensive.
updating pointers (to point to elsewhere in already allocated memory) is different.
there's also the matter of data locality. the cpu prefetches data (from RAM) onto caches. only so much can fit closest to the CPU (L1), so you don't want your algos accessing memory all over the place (eg, linked lists). "cache misses"
## Related
- Spine: [[archive/threads/nicbarkeragain/2026-08-25-i-think-one-of-the-biggest-level-ups-i-had-in]]
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
---
title: "I think one of the biggest level ups I had in programming was shaking off the metaphor associated with data \"moving\"."
type: archive
source: twitter
source_url: "https://x.com/nicbarkeragain/status/2092391605882028391"
author: "Nic Barker"
handle: nicbarkeragain
post_id: "2092391605882028391"
date: 2026-08-25
archived: 2026-08-25
draft: false
tags:
- archive
- twitter
- nicbarkeragain
description: "I think one of the biggest level ups I had in programming was shaking off the metaphor associated with data \"moving\"."
in_reply_to: ""
---
## Source
- URL: https://x.com/nicbarkeragain/status/2092391605882028391
- Author: Nic Barker (@nicbarkeragain)
- Posted: 2026-08-25 23:20:08
## Thread
**1/** **@nicbarkeragain** ^2092391605882028391
I think one of the biggest level ups I had in programming was shaking off the metaphor associated with data "moving". There's no such thing as moving bits, you can only copy them from one place to another. You can't "remove" array / list elements, you can only overwrite them.
Branches: [[archive/threads/nicbarkeragain/2026-08-25-i-think-one-of-the-biggest-level-ups-i-had-in/2026-08-25-smolus-i-still-find-myself-sketching-data-flow-diagrams]], [[archive/threads/nicbarkeragain/2026-08-25-i-think-one-of-the-biggest-level-ups-i-had-in/2026-08-26-mirbacx-some-distinction-between-allocating-new-memory]], [[archive/threads/nicbarkeragain/2026-08-25-i-think-one-of-the-biggest-level-ups-i-had-in/2026-08-26-interlarper-something-that-cs-suffers-from-is-not-being-clear]]
**2/** **@nicbarkeragain** ^2092391608239190239
Computers don't work at all like the physical world. We tend to mentally conceptualize a computer like a factory floor with things moving from one place to another, but a running program is much more like a painting. To "move" something you need to cover and repaint it elsewhere.
**3/** **@nicbarkeragain** ^2092392060280307994
It's so easy as a student / junior to think of a list type structure as being "empty". When in reality you're using the length / count to represent emptiness, the element memory is still there regardless (maybe zeroed, maybe not)
Branches: [[archive/threads/nicbarkeragain/2026-08-25-i-think-one-of-the-biggest-level-ups-i-had-in/2026-08-25-big_tony299-i-think-its-actually-easier-to-reason-about-your]]
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@@ -13,3 +13,4 @@ tags:
- [[archive/threads/nicbarkeragain/2025-07-22-branchless-programming-is-a-term-used-to-describe]]
- [[archive/threads/nicbarkeragain/2026-08-03-imo-basically-every-object-creation-api-you-have]]
- [[archive/threads/nicbarkeragain/2026-08-05-an-example-of-this-a-classic-way-to-construct-a]]
- [[archive/threads/nicbarkeragain/2026-08-25-i-think-one-of-the-biggest-level-ups-i-had-in]]