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From: rick@oresoft.UUCP (Rick Lahrson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Compilers?
Message-ID: <70@oresoft.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 10-Sep-87 09:51:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: oresoft.70
Posted: Thu Sep 10 09:51:31 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Sep-87 15:58:41 EDT
References: <1708@amiga.amiga.UUCP> <581@sugar.UUCP> <935@unicus.UUCP> <66@oresoft.UUCP> <5042@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: rick@oresoft.UUCP (Rick Lahrson)
Organization: Oregon Software, Portland OR
Lines: 39
Keywords: compiler assembler dwim mating
Summary: A clarification
Xref: mnetor comp.sys.amiga:8233 comp.lang.misc:654

In article <5042@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> mwm@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Mike (My watch has windows) Meyer) writes:
>In article <66@oresoft.UUCP> rick@oresoft.UUCP (Rick Lahrson) writes:
><Please!  It's not any compiler's responsibility, nor is it appropriate
><for a compiler, to do things the programmer didn't ask for.  A compiler's
><job is translating one language into another, maintaining semantic
><equivalence.
>
>Oh, horse pucky. A compiler should do a *lot* more than that.

[Long description of obvious things a compiler and run-time library do]

I at least should have said "functional" instead of "semantic", I guess.
Boy, am I embarrassed.  The remark that so irritated Mike, pulled out of
context above, makes it look like I said a compiler should act like an
assembler.  That's not what I meant.  What I was trying to say (obviously,
I missed the mark) was that a compiler shouldn't be used to do a job
properly done by the operating system.  I thought that would be clear
from the original context.  I guess it wasn't.

>[Referring to BCPL and it's pointers in AmigaDOS.]
><stupid, disgusting BPTR's.  (Now there's a job that a compiler SHOULD
><be able to do -- generate code that relates to the target machine!)
>
>But you've got to convince the target machine to look like the machine
>model the compiler wants to generate code for.

Hmph.  I say the compiler should model the target hardware, and generate
code for that.

>	<mike

I think this is the first time I've been publicly "Oh, horse puckied".
Kinda makes me scared to offer further postings.  1/2  8-)

-- 

Rick Lahrson  ...tektronix!oresoft!rick

Disclaimer:  If I ever speak for anyone but me, I'll warn you in advance.