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From: "Rod Pemberton" <dont_use_email@xnothavet.cqm>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: Re: Epic Fail
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 09:17:46 -0400
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On Fri, 18 Apr 2014 07:38:34 -0400, Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid>  
wrote:

> C is a lousy assembly language anyway, [...]

Having written 75% of a basic operating system in ANSI C for
x86 PCs with very minimal assembly, I can't understand how you
can make that claim.

C captures the essence of microprocessors.  I.e., almost
everything that general purpose microprocessor instructions
do, C can do too.

For my OS project, I need a few special x86 instructions to
setup the processor mode or access I/O ports, an assembly
routine for interrupts to transfer from assembly to C and
back, and I support an additional, special startup method
that needs assembly.  I do use some C library calls, but
they're independent of the host.  The majority of the code
is ANSI C.  I.e., those calls will likely be implemented in
ANSI C too or rewritten, if I ever have time to return to it.

For non-x86 PCs, you'd likely only need the interrupt wrapper,
if the C compiler doesn't support an "interrupt" keyword.
Non-x86 PCs shouldn't need any special processor instructions.

> [...] as the C-- doex explain.

Well, I'll have to peruse that yet again to see why...

AIR, from what I saw, C-- sucked as an assembly language.
I remember thinking you could do what it did in C much easier,
in C, with far less syntax.

I also recall thinking LLVM had some potential, but I don't
recall if that was for use as an assembler or not.


Rod Pemberton