Pitch: Four Small Surprises¶
Four programs whose behaviour their source code does not explain.
Run two of them, not four: after the second surprise the room stops being surprised.
| Demo | The surprise | Run it live? |
|---|---|---|
01-copy-string |
Two programs build the identical string; one takes thirty times longer. | Yes --- the best opener |
02-const-char-init |
One character of difference; one program crashes. | If the room is comfortable with C |
03-find-buffer-cache |
The same command, three times, fifteen times faster. | Yes --- needs no build |
04-python-string-edit |
An assignment that does nothing and changes the complexity. | Show the table |
The point to make at the end of all four: none of them is a question about C or about Python. Each is a question about the layer below the one the program is written in.