Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
https://cppcon.org
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Clean code! Horrible Performance? - Sandor Dargo - CppCon 2025
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Clean code promises readability, maintainability, and clarity. But is it possible that the pursuit of clean code comes at a catastrophic cost to performance? Some sceptics argue that adhering to clean code practices means sacrificing years - if not decades - of hardware advancements. Is clean code really that expensive? Let’s explore the complex relationship between clean code and software performance. In this talk, we’ll delve into what makes software performant. We’ll demystify the effects of clean code on performance and discover what real bottlenecks are that you’ll encounter while working on enterprise software.
But what is performance, really? While many immediately think of raw runtime speed, the landscape is far more intricate. We’ll explore different facets of performance, including compile-time efficiency, memory usage, and the performance of developers themselves. However, our primary focus will be on runtime performance.
The pivotal question we aim to answer is whether sheer runtime performance always reigns supreme. Can you truly achieve a 10x scale-up by eliminating dynamic polymorphism and virtual function calls? The very idea might seem absurd, but, believe it or not, in some specialized niches, that’s part of the solution. Still, the vast majority of us don’t work in those niches. We face different challenges.
We’ll navigate through real-life examples where awful algorithms hardly mattered, where prudent database and network management became the true path to scalability. I don’t claim that writing code that’s easy to understand and modify always yields optimal performance. Yet, more often than not, performance bottlenecks and the road to performant software lie elsewhere.
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Slides: github.com/CppCon/CppCon2025/blob/main/Presentations/Clean_Code_Horrible_Performance.pdf
Work at Hudson River Trading (HRT): tinyurl.com/safxfctf
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Sandor Dargo
Sandor is a passionate software developer focusing on reducing the maintenance costs by developing, applying and enforcing clean code standards. His other core activity is knowledge sharing both oral and written, within and outside of his employer. When not reading or writing, he spends most of his free time with his two children and his wife baking at home or travelling to new places.
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CppCon is the annual, week-long face-to-face gathering for the entire C++ community. The conference is organized by the C++ community for the community. You will enjoy inspirational talks and a friendly atmosphere designed to help attendees learn from each other, meet interesting people, and generally have a stimulating experience. Taking place this year in Aurora, Colorado, near the Denver airport, and including multiple diverse tracks, the conference will appeal to anyone from C++ novices to experts.
Annual CppCon Conference - cppcon.org
linkedin.com/company/cppcon
https://x.com/cppcon
facebook.com/CppConference
reddit.com/r/cppcon
https://mastodon.social/@CppCon
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Videos Filmed & Edited by Bash Films: BashFilms.com
YouTube Channel Managed by Digital Medium Ltd: events.digital-medium.co.uk
---
#cpp #cplusplus #cppcon #cppprogramming #cplusplusprogramming #softwaredevelopment #softwareengineering #coding #code #computerscience #technology #technews #programming #programmer
https://cppcon.org
---
Clean code! Horrible Performance? - Sandor Dargo - CppCon 2025
---
Clean code promises readability, maintainability, and clarity. But is it possible that the pursuit of clean code comes at a catastrophic cost to performance? Some sceptics argue that adhering to clean code practices means sacrificing years - if not decades - of hardware advancements. Is clean code really that expensive? Let’s explore the complex relationship between clean code and software performance. In this talk, we’ll delve into what makes software performant. We’ll demystify the effects of clean code on performance and discover what real bottlenecks are that you’ll encounter while working on enterprise software.
But what is performance, really? While many immediately think of raw runtime speed, the landscape is far more intricate. We’ll explore different facets of performance, including compile-time efficiency, memory usage, and the performance of developers themselves. However, our primary focus will be on runtime performance.
The pivotal question we aim to answer is whether sheer runtime performance always reigns supreme. Can you truly achieve a 10x scale-up by eliminating dynamic polymorphism and virtual function calls? The very idea might seem absurd, but, believe it or not, in some specialized niches, that’s part of the solution. Still, the vast majority of us don’t work in those niches. We face different challenges.
We’ll navigate through real-life examples where awful algorithms hardly mattered, where prudent database and network management became the true path to scalability. I don’t claim that writing code that’s easy to understand and modify always yields optimal performance. Yet, more often than not, performance bottlenecks and the road to performant software lie elsewhere.
---
Slides: github.com/CppCon/CppCon2025/blob/main/Presentations/Clean_Code_Horrible_Performance.pdf
Work at Hudson River Trading (HRT): tinyurl.com/safxfctf
---
Sandor Dargo
Sandor is a passionate software developer focusing on reducing the maintenance costs by developing, applying and enforcing clean code standards. His other core activity is knowledge sharing both oral and written, within and outside of his employer. When not reading or writing, he spends most of his free time with his two children and his wife baking at home or travelling to new places.
---
CppCon is the annual, week-long face-to-face gathering for the entire C++ community. The conference is organized by the C++ community for the community. You will enjoy inspirational talks and a friendly atmosphere designed to help attendees learn from each other, meet interesting people, and generally have a stimulating experience. Taking place this year in Aurora, Colorado, near the Denver airport, and including multiple diverse tracks, the conference will appeal to anyone from C++ novices to experts.
Annual CppCon Conference - cppcon.org
linkedin.com/company/cppcon
https://x.com/cppcon
facebook.com/CppConference
reddit.com/r/cppcon
https://mastodon.social/@CppCon
---
Videos Filmed & Edited by Bash Films: BashFilms.com
YouTube Channel Managed by Digital Medium Ltd: events.digital-medium.co.uk
---
#cpp #cplusplus #cppcon #cppprogramming #cplusplusprogramming #softwaredevelopment #softwareengineering #coding #code #computerscience #technology #technews #programming #programmer
