Re: Concerning Thies's and Sterling's "Hack"

> >> As long as there are appropriate checks and fallbacks, I see no > >> problem > >> using compiler-specific hacks. Especially in cases where it would > >> benefit > >> a large percentage of users. > > > > Run-time execution time is not everything, otherwise the > > whole world would still be using Assembler for all > > programming. > > This is of course a faulty comparison, in that users don't have to > change their programming style or language to benefit from this patch. Rasmus advocated using compiler-specific hacks for improving the run-time behaviour. This reduces portability. If you continue that trail of thought (trading portability for efficiency), you end up with nothing less but Assembler. Anyway, George, don't turn this into an off-topic thread. The patch is not ready for primetime yet and no amount of arguing will change that. > With a robust enough test suite the dangers of this are minimal. Are you volunteering? - Sascha