std::pow implementation

[Scott Robert Ladd]

Martin Reinecke wrote:
> Gabriel Dos Reis wrote:
> 
>  > Do trust the programmer.
> 
> This is certainly a valid point of view, but I think that C++, as it exists
> at the moment, just _doesn't give_ the programmer the possibility of 
> specifying what exactly (s)he wants.

No high-level language "gives a programmer what they want." Which is one 
reason some of us still use assembler languages from time to time.

Any compiler worth its weight in bits will translate written code based 
on analysis; I vigorously support intelligent compilation. What I do 
*not* support is trying to be smarter than the programmer. A fine line 
line, to be sure, but a line nonetheless.

If I explicitly define a variable type or a structure packing, I expect 
the compiler to honor my wishes; if I say "inline", I mean "inline", 
within the physical limits of the compiler (i.e., memory use during 
compilation, etc.)

At the very least, a compiler should report when it has made a choice 
counter to the programmer's wishes. If I declare a function inline, and 
the compiler decides otherwise, it should inform me of its rebellion. 
Perhaps I'll even agree with it -- but I want to know when my tools make 
choices for me. I am writing the program, not the compiler.

-- 
Scott Robert Ladd
Coyote Gulch Productions (http://www.coyotegulch.com)
Software Invention for High-Performance Computing