In computer science, Duff's device is an optimized implementation of a serial copy that uses a technique widely applied in assembly language for loop unwinding. Its discovery is credited to Tom Duff in November 1983, who at the time was working for Lucasfilm. It is perhaps the most dramatic use of case label fall-through in the C programming language to date. Duff does not claim credit for discovering the concept of loop unrolling, just this particular expression of it in C.
Read more about Duff's Device: Background, Original Version, Why It Works, Performance, Stroustrup's Version, Books
Famous quotes containing the words duff and/or device:
“‘But the finical fashion has had its day,”
—Henry Duff Traill (1842–1900)
“A bracelet of bright hair about the bone,
Will he not let us alone,
And think that there a loving couple lies
Who thought that this device might be some way
To make their souls, at the last busy day,
Meet at this grave, and make a little stay?”
—John Donne (1572–1631)