Re:Why learn C?
by kabdib on Thursday June 28, 2012 @12:09PM
(#4172363)
I've done macro assembler. (Hell, I've written a couple). I know all about macros. C is not just a fancy macro assembler.
This doesn't get you away from the ooky stuff that C does for you, like register allocation and code optimization (link time code generation is a wonderful thing, even for C). Very few assmeblers are bright enough -- or should be trusted enough -- to do code motion, strength reduction, common subexpression analysis. And, oh bog, just writing a plain expression? Not even possible in a macro assembler.
[I rewrote the ST's file system in assembly, btw. It started out as an honest effort, then got bogged down in stuff that would have been a no-brainer in C.]
This doesn't get you away from the ooky stuff that C does for you, like register allocation and code optimization (link time code generation is a wonderful thing, even for C). Very few assmeblers are bright enough -- or should be trusted enough -- to do code motion, strength reduction, common subexpression analysis. And, oh bog, just writing a plain expression? Not even possible in a macro assembler.
[I rewrote the ST's file system in assembly, btw. It started out as an honest effort, then got bogged down in stuff that would have been a no-brainer in C.]