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If there is a specification, one can write code for a version of that specification, and later down the line someone can build a compiler for it according to th
by lionkor 4y ago
If there is a specification, one can write code for a version of that specification, and later down the line someone can build a compiler for it according to the specification - youre implementation-independent. Seems important to me.
- mustache_kimono 4y ago> Seems important to me. Maybe I'm dense, but why is this necessary, or specifically helpful, re: kernel development? As I understand it, the Linux kernel doesn't assiduously follow the C spec (it uses many GNU specific extensions). And C spec itself is often not fully implemented on many platforms (see C11 Annex K). If the answer is "It could break", well, Rust probably does more to prevent breakage than any language I know. Definitely more than the C spec ever has. Would it be nice for the devs to take an extended holiday to write a mind-numbing technical document for the benefit of 2-3 teams working on alternative compilers? Maybe? But, also, maybe not.
- steveklabnik 4y agoLinus also famously hates parts of the C spec and so actively does not follow it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17262643 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17262643