Constructing a table.

No, I'm not sawing wood into four legs and a large plane to be used as a vehicle for eating or reading or writing. I have plenty of those, and don't need to make another one. I'm talking about a data table. A beautifully geometric compilation of information in a neat and organized form. Why? Well, let me explain.

So, as previously written, I have been reading. Reading and reading and reading. I have been reading a wide range of articles and postings about many different aspects of Java and C++. Mostly they are scientific articles, usually containing a (preferably large) sample size of tested scenarios and programs, including different compilers and operating systems. In contrast, some things I have read are commercial articles suffering from a severe case of layman's terms, and others too are forum posts, containing a large amount of differing (though unsupported) opinions. Clearly, some of what I read cannot be trusted, while others can. However, all of which are valuable in some small way. Either they offer a unique way of approaching the problem or give a unique piece of evidence, something valuable can be learned from almost all of my readings.

In order to make use of all the information I have encountered, I find it necessary to create a table of data from all those articles. This data is not the type of data you may think it is. I'm not just talking about numbers from tests and programs. I will be noting other important factors, for example, what parameters does a specific paper use to judge the “performance” of a programming language, or what results does the paper value most and why. Comparing the differences between the approaches that these articles take to prove their points will help me decide what kind of approach I can take in order to have the most comprehensive and factually sound comparison, because that's what this is, right? "A Comprehensive Comparison."

I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm dedicated and willing to put as much time into this project as necessary. I may be crazy, but I’ve been enjoying all of this technical reading.

As always, I will keep you updated on all the exciting things I am learning from this project, and the progress I am making. Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned!

-Jeff