[Cuis] Audio and Video Object Analysis

[Juan Vuletich]

Hi Kirk,

(inline)

On 12/16/2013 3:55 AM, Kirk Fraser wrote:
> More speed ideas...
>
> I read of a Neural Net algorithm that was made faster by conversion 
> from floating point to integer math.  Is it possible to convert FFT 
> from floating point to integer?  I see no author tag on the code, just 
> a book reference,  Does anyone understand FFT enough to help explain 
> how it works in enough detail to redesign it to use integers?

The FFT in Cuis is running in a VM Plugin. Original source code is in 
Smalltalk / Slang, as part of the VMMaker package. This is converted to 
C. The C code is compiled and bundled with the VM. Most likely it is 
running as fast as C can run in your platform. And most likely it is 
fast enough. But you need to a) profile and compare and b) specify (and 
understand) how fast you need it to be.

> Some for profit Smalltalk versions have shown signs of being fast on 
> graphics such as bouncing ball demos.  Is there some tweak that can be 
> ported to Cuis?

Again, without a profile and a well done comparison, this is meaningless.

> If there are no fixes for Cuis and rewriting FFT is in theory not 
> possible, then is there another language I should be looking at?

There will always be possible fixes for Cuis and for any other software. 
Software can always be enhanced. But it is not as simple as asking "is 
there a fix to be done?"

> A faster Smalltalk?  Should I try to reverse engineer the older but 
> simpler Digitalk Smalltalk/V to use Cog?
> I remember an old Borland C++ demo pasted circles to a much older 
> computer display quite fast. What is the fastest object language that 
> gives maximum peripheral access?

All high level languages (including all Smalltalks, but also any other 
object language) gives display access via C or assembler. You need a 
much deeper understanding of the performance problem you are trying to 
fix before looking for a solution.

>  Or is there another solution I should be looking at?
>
> Thanks anyone...

Good luck!
Juan Vuletich