Re:Moving the Linux Kernel to Modern C
by jancsika on Thursday February 24, 2022 @04:46PM
(#30460754)
Current situation-- do nothing but yell at the compiler devs. Benefit: sometimes they listen. Cost: you cannot always (or maybe even often) get the compiler to behave as you think it should because you don't control it.
Deathtrap situation-- maintain an operating system and a fork of a compiler. Benefit: you can get more control over the compiler. Cost: you still cannot always get the compiler to behave as you think due to time constraints. Death cost: your first cost is multiplied by the fact that you're now maintaining a goddamned compiler.
I rankly speculate Linux is an extant project at its scale because it has refused to fight on two fronts like this. (And yelling across a border isn't the same as crossing it.)
Deathtrap situation-- maintain an operating system and a fork of a compiler. Benefit: you can get more control over the compiler. Cost: you still cannot always get the compiler to behave as you think due to time constraints. Death cost: your first cost is multiplied by the fact that you're now maintaining a goddamned compiler.
I rankly speculate Linux is an extant project at its scale because it has refused to fight on two fronts like this. (And yelling across a border isn't the same as crossing it.)
Edit: clarifications