Is there any work trying to apply transformers to compiler optimization? Seems like we have some new tools to potentially make compilers even better.
But yes, humans can still usually optimize better.
The other thing you see with high level languages is a death by a thousand cuts due to things like cache locality or instruction level parallelism. It’s very, very hard to write a VM with stuff going on like JIT and GC and a heap allocator that gives you good locality or ILP. A major problem is that yes you can optimize for that, including in real time, but that not only adds work but adds work that implies a cache flush.
The latter point — cache locality and ILP — is why some C/C++/Rust code is faster when compiled optimizing for space instead of for “speed.” Less code means it fits in cache.
All that being said, HLLs usually offer superior programmer productivity, especially for novice to mid career devs who aren’t quite up to things like comprehending the Rust borrow checker. Machine time has to be weighed against human time. The latter is usually more expensive (but not always at scale!).
But yes, humans can still usually optimize better.
The other thing you see with high level languages is a death by a thousand cuts due to things like cache locality or instruction level parallelism. It’s very, very hard to write a VM with stuff going on like JIT and GC and a heap allocator that gives you good locality or ILP. A major problem is that yes you can optimize for that, including in real time, but that not only adds work but adds work that implies a cache flush.
The latter point — cache locality and ILP — is why some C/C++/Rust code is faster when compiled optimizing for space instead of for “speed.” Less code means it fits in cache.
All that being said, HLLs usually offer superior programmer productivity, especially for novice to mid career devs who aren’t quite up to things like comprehending the Rust borrow checker. Machine time has to be weighed against human time. The latter is usually more expensive (but not always at scale!).