Re: [9fans] FP register usage in Plan9 assembler

[Ryan Gonzalez <rymg19@gmail.com>]

On February 4, 2016 6:04:49 AM CST, lucio@proxima.alt.za wrote:
>> Plan 9 assembly is nice because it looks mostly the
>> same, and the simple addressing modes are mostly consistent, but it's
>> far from being really consistent between architectures.
>
>Personally, I agree with the view that trying to generalise assemblers
>across platforms is chasing a chimera.  I loved the Univac assembler I
>cut my teeth on and nothing has ever given me even a hint of the
>comfort I found there.  But I got used to the 8088 assembler and
>managed to do some convincing work with it (I won't list the number of
>issues I thought were total mindlessness by a crowd of engineers with
>no visible theoretical background).
>
>On today's platforms, assembler is not an option, it is a nightmare.
>Add all the hardware trickery that belongs to microprocessors, not to
>an adult computer, doesn't make anything more palatable.  Really, why
>should the job of arranging memory on start up belong in the kernel
>and not in a piece of dedicated logic that gets the job done and then
>gets out of the way permanently, preferably switches off?
>
>One of these day some hardware engineer will figure a way to move the
>logic of the power supply into the CPU.  No, wait, we already have
>voltage selections at different temperature as a kernel function, I
>believe!
>
>Bottom line?  Bless the Go Gods for having successfully subverted much
>of this nonsense by providing a cross-platform development tool that
>actually does what it says on the tin, despite efforts by the hardware
>suppliers to relegate software development (the real thing, not
>kid-scripting - or is it script-kidding?) to the smallest viable elite
>of life-challenged droids.
>

*cough* that's what people said about Java *cough*

>I really do feel better now, doctor!
>
>Lucio.

-- 
Sent from my Nexus 5 with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.