Notes on software performance

Software speed and responsiveness are broadly underrated. Many users would like it if their software were faster, but they won't say "I'd like it if this were faster." This is partly because many users don't explicitly understand all the ways in which software can be fast and responsive, and partly because "it should be faster" is just not a common thing less-technical people say when you ask them about software. Performance problems are still often not where you expect them to be. Generative AI is great at helping with performance, largely in helping you know where the slow parts are in the first place. AI also helps here because many performance problems can be addressed by using slightly less bad techniques, and AI equips you with a partner that knows lots and lots of reasonable techniques. The software I love (e.g., Drafts) is, disporportionately, highly performant. I broadly decompose performance gains into (i) basic improvements that are often simplifications and rarely have…