Re:A Guide to Undefined Behavior in C and C++ (2010)
by lmm on Sunday November 04, 2018 @09:44AM
(#18376066)
> The premise of languages like C and C++ is that the airgap between the language's abstract execution and memory model and the hardware's is thin to non-existent.
Which is not really the case for processors from the last 20+ years.
> In this case, the UB is due to the compiler's ability to reorder statements. This is such a fundamental optimization that I can't imagine you're really suggesting that a language without this optimization capability is a "problem." Rearranging instructions is critical for pretty much any superscalar processor (which all the major ones are), and I hate to imagine the hell I'd be in if I had to figure out the optimal load/store ordering myself.
UB is not necessary for that though. E.g. define that integer division by zero leads to the process receiving a terminal signal. That could be implemented just as efficiently (trapping on division by zero free at the hardware level in modern processors, the C standard gives broad freedom for signals to be received asynchronously so instructions could still be reordered), but would close the door to silent memory corruption and arbitrary code execution: unless the programmer has explicitly defined how the signal is handled, their program is noisily terminated.
Which is not really the case for processors from the last 20+ years.
> In this case, the UB is due to the compiler's ability to reorder statements. This is such a fundamental optimization that I can't imagine you're really suggesting that a language without this optimization capability is a "problem." Rearranging instructions is critical for pretty much any superscalar processor (which all the major ones are), and I hate to imagine the hell I'd be in if I had to figure out the optimal load/store ordering myself.
UB is not necessary for that though. E.g. define that integer division by zero leads to the process receiving a terminal signal. That could be implemented just as efficiently (trapping on division by zero free at the hardware level in modern processors, the C standard gives broad freedom for signals to be received asynchronously so instructions could still be reordered), but would close the door to silent memory corruption and arbitrary code execution: unless the programmer has explicitly defined how the signal is handled, their program is noisily terminated.