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I came to a similar conclusion when programming using a hex editor and the x86 instruction set manual. Without having to clutter my mind with the abstractions
by soup10 13y ago
I came to a similar conclusion when programming using a hex editor and the x86 instruction set manual. Without having to clutter my mind with the abstractions other languages introduce I found I had a ton of free memory to reason about my code and handle much larger portions of code than I usually do. Also, by typing in data directly I avoided having to do the mental translation of thinking about what a compiler or interpreter would do to my code. Additionally, working directly with the data allows plenty of opportunity to write self modifying code to minimize memory usage and optimize program execution to avoid cache misses. I do all my programming in hex editors now and encourage junior developers at my company to do the same.
- beagle3 13y agoI'm sure this was supposed to be funny. But unlike x86 hex coding, people actually get stuff done in k/q - in fact stuff that runs faster and better than equivalent systems in C++ and Java. So the reduction ad absurdum does not, in fact, add to the discussion.
- soup10 13y agoWhat are you talking about. I assure you we get a lot done at the office doing x86 coding in hex, and even more in MIPS due to the simpler instruction set.
- beagle3 13y agoCan you still find usable MIPS hardware these days? You're probably eschewing keyboards and monitors as well, and program $20 routers by toggling connections on their serial ports.