What Thorsten Ball thinks about software performance

@thorsten-ball · 45 positions · 0 changes of mind

Co-founder of Amp and co-host of the Raising an Agent podcast. Wrote Writing an Interpreter in Go.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Thorsten Ball did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

2 dated positions, 2022 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Thorsten Ball has said — not written or endorsed by them.

2 positions so far — this page is not yet offered to search engines.

1. 19 Sept 2026

   Our readingPerformance-critical human contributions will remain an edge case, and in 99% of software a faster algorithm or better data structure does not matter.

   Their wordsPerformance critical contributions by humans will stay what they are: an edge case. In 99% of software it does not matter that you could’ve written a faster algorithm or picked a better data structure.

   ↗What I believe about the future of software developmentthorstenball.com 5th of 15 in this piece

2. 4 years earlier

3. 17 May 2022

   Our readingUsing a dependency carries ongoing maintenance costs, not just upfront convenience

   Their wordsDependencies aren't free. You have to keep them up to date. They increase your compile or loading times.

   ↗Professional Programming: The First 10 Yearsthorstenball.com 2nd of 3 in this piece