Re:Tell HN: C Experts Panel – Ask us anything about C
by ender341341 on Tuesday April 14, 2020 @09:35PM
(#22873561)
But that's backwards, the compiler writers are writing special cases to erase checks in the signed case. Doing the 'dumb' thing and mindlessly going through the written check is simpler which is why that's what compilers did for decades as de facto standard on x86.
Compiler implementers are happy when they don't have to care about some edge case because then the code is simpler. Thus, only for unsigned counters there is the extra logic to compile them correctly.
That is my interpretation of "The opposite is the case". Writing a compiler is easier with lots of undefined behavior.