Re: [Algorithms] Shifting or Multiplication....

[Neil S. <ne...@r0...>]

>     I was wondering if anyone could clear up something. Algorithmically,
is
> bitshifting or using multiplication faster?? Now, I know this sounds like
a
> subjective question, as some will undoubtadly say, it depends on the
> compiler and what it translates the code into. Lets take it down to the
ASM
> level.

It is reasonable to expect that, on most (all, AFAIK) systems, shifting will
be as fast or faster than a multiply, especially as integer multiplies are
done with a "shift-add" sequence on older CPUs. Therefore, in cases where it
is natural to do a shift (eg. masking values in a compound type, like a
color), a shift is a good thing to use. In other cases, as Corrine has
stated, it is nothing to get too stressed about.

- Neil