Doing it better 2000-06-08 b
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> No, I've just not put in byte load and store. The Alpha doesn't have these
> either. But that doesn't mean it can't manipulate bytes!

...because it has a defined endianness.

> > On the contrary, sMite can certainly be universal but not be able to use
> > every data representation. You'd call C universal, wouldn't you?
>
> Yes, and it (like a machine) can use every data representation. e.g. it
> can manipulate bits quite happily.

C certainly can't use every data representation. For a C program to read
data from a MIN program, you either have to do some work in MIN to make
sure everything is properly evaluated the way the C program likes it, or
you have to reimplement much of MIN in C, including (in a pathological
case in which the data is a lazy result of a program that has not yet been
compiled) the dynamic compiler. However, I'd still call both C and MIN
universal languages, because each of their favourite data models is
suitable for just about every application.

> > I think the crucial phrase here is 'works with existing languages'. It
> > seems to me that you are not very interested in producing a portable
> > platform for writing applications, but instead in providing portable
> > dynamic compilation for C. This is an admirable goal, but it is not the
> > one you have been purporting to pursue. How do you feel about this?
>
> I'm not producing a portable platform for writing anything. And in general
> I certainly won't be able to support dynamic compilation of C; C isn't up
> to the job. I'm providing a machine abstraction.

Sorry, I used confusing words. You are allowing C programs to perform
dynamic compilation, but not necessarily using C as the source language. I
think of the source language as an excercise in understanding humans that
has nothing to do with code generation.

Do you think you could write a paragraph explaining exactly what sMite is
for, from which it follows that your best option is to muddy the semantics
in order to provide a more 'raw' interface to memory, and therefore to
make it easier to inter-work with languages like C? When you talked about
universality and such like I didn't get the same picture that you seem to
have.

Alistair