In my first blog post Towards Leaner Software, I wrote about the importance of runtime performance in terms of CPU and memory efficiency. After reading the paper “Energy Efficiency across Programming Languages”, I realized I hadn’t given much thought to energy consumption of programs and had assumed (incorrectly) that faster execution corresponded to better energy efficiency. If engineers choose languages, data structures and design patterns that result in the least energy consumption, it will help software run better on mobile devices and cloud data centers, two areas where computing is growing the fastest.

Having worked as an application developer for over 5 years now, I’ve noticed how, generally, there’s a lack of motivation and incentive to build robust, correct, secure and fast application software. While I’m fortunate that my team at GoDaddy does focus on these aspects, right from the design phase, it’s doesn’t apply to all. Furthermore, the higher a developer works in the application stack, the smaller the chance that they invest their time and effort into imbibing these characteristics into their code.