std::pow implementation

[Scott Robert Ladd]

Richard Earnshaw wrote:
> Profiling doesn't help if the answer comes back as "sometimes"
> (function foo's use of bar is best inlined, function wibble's use of
> bar is best not inlined).

Inlining is an optimization; in all but the most obvious and trivial
cases (e.g., simple assignments), it should be performed by a programmer 
*after* profiling, and not before. "Premature optimization is the root 
of all evil", according to Hoare and Knuth; in code reviews, I tend to 
grumble about people who insist on inlining and using cute tricks, when 
they haven't done any analysis as to how their choices affect code 
quality and performance.

The programmer, not the compiler, has the responsibility to create an 
effective program.

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