Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.arch,net.lang
Subject: Re: C as an aid writing assembler
Message-ID: <6814@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Jun-86 14:17:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: utzoo.6814
Posted: Tue Jun 17 14:17:43 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Jun-86 14:17:43 EDT
References: <201@pyuxv.UUCP> <3700003@uiucdcsp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 17

> > All High level languages do is attempt to organize the
> > macros and subroutines that might otherwise be written in
> > assembler...
> 
> ...A high level language should be more than a glorified macro assembler...

In particular, a high-level language should do its best to check the
programmer's code for errors -- something no macro assembler will ever
be able to do very well.  Features like type checking are not mere frills;
they catch many errors.	 Decent high-level languages give the translator
a much better grasp of what the programmer is doing, so it can point out
inconsistencies.  (It can also optimize the code better -- most hand-written
assembler is not highly optimized, because it's too much work for a human.)
-- 
Usenet(n): AT&T scheme to earn
revenue from otherwise-unused	Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
late-night phone capacity.	{allegra,ihnp4,decvax,pyramid}!utzoo!henry