CppCon 2017: When a Microsecond Is an Eternity: High Performance Trading Systems in C++--Carl Cook
Have you registered for CppCon 2018 in September? Registration is open now.
While we wait for this year’s event, we’re featuring videos of some of the 100+ talks from CppCon 2017 for you to enjoy. Here is today’s feature:
When a Microsecond Is an Eternity: High Performance Trading Systems in C++
by Carl Cook
Summary of the talk:
Automated trading involves submitting electronic orders rapidly when opportunities arise. But it’s harder than it seems: either your system is the fastest and you make the trade, or you get nothing.
This is a considerable challenge for any C++ developer - the critical path is only a fraction of the total codebase, it is invoked infrequently and unpredictably, yet must execute quickly and without delay. Unfortunately we can’t rely on the help of compilers, operating systems and standard hardware, as they typically aim for maximum throughput and fairness across all processes.
This talk describes how successful low latency trading systems can be developed in C++, demonstrating common coding techniques used to reduce execution times. While automated trading is used as the motivation for this talk, the topics discussed are equally valid to other domains such as game development and soft real-time processing.