Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk>
Newsgroups: comp.theory
Subject: Re: Every sufficiently competent C programmer knows
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2025 21:01:22 +0000
Organization: Fix this later
Lines: 49
Message-ID: <vr7e72$2gdfm$2@dont-email.me>
References: <vqntaq$1jut5$1@dont-email.me>
 <473a9a152c792a48c83eea569551035994c9d04f@i2pn2.org>
 <vqo72u$1l6i0$2@dont-email.me> <vqp3d2$1u13r$1@dont-email.me>
 <vqpe5a$202b2$3@dont-email.me> <vr699j$1js2s$1@dont-email.me>
 <vr6c13$1lvq2$1@dont-email.me> <877c4owze2.fsf@nosuchdomain.example.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Injection-Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2025 22:01:26 +0100 (CET)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="a529dc3af0353b9c5ff5ffc2a853f4f5";
	logging-data="2635254"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1++CqbR1hK78A8x6psysjz6AeWitYz/RENqKAGTDYxfNA=="
User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird
Cancel-Lock: sha1:VKBaRlUp36+CVuyv26bhnqPeD/U=
In-Reply-To: <877c4owze2.fsf@nosuchdomain.example.com>
Content-Language: en-GB

On 16/03/2025 19:26, Keith Thompson wrote:
> Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> writes:
>> On 16/03/2025 10:31, Mikko wrote:
>>> False. You didn't say that HHH is a C function. In particular, the
>>> code
>>> shown above does not say so.
>>
>> It scarcely qualifies as C.
>>
>> For example, it begins by a goto this code:
>>
>> __asm__("lea eax, DATA1");
>>    __asm__("mov Aborted, eax");
>>    __asm__("lea eax, DATA2");
>>    __asm__("mov execution_trace, eax");
>>    __asm__("mov eax, END_OF_CODE");
>>    __asm__("mov End_Of_Code, eax");
>>
>> which any C compiler is free to reject.
>>
>> C99 introduced the asm keyword, but that's spelled asm, not __asm__,
>> and of course it's not a magic wand, so it can't make an inherently
>> unportable program work on every platform supported by C
>> compilers. C/370, for example, would have a fit.
> 
> No, C99 didn't introduce the asm keyword.

You're right, of course. Refusing to trust my memory for 
post-1990 C, I checked by searching my PDF, found it, and forgot 
to check where I'd ended up (deep in the heart of "common 
extensions").

> I don't think Olcott intends HHH to be fully portable C (assuming
> he knows what that means).

That's a daring assumption.

> In any case, his claims about "Every
> sufficiently competent C programmer" are ludicrous.

I can remove almost half the words from that sentence without 
affecting its inherent accuracy.

-- 
Richard Heathfield
Email: rjh at cpax dot org dot uk
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999
Sig line 4 vacant - apply within