C isn't a programming language anymore

I worked on NSInvocation during Apple's 64 bit transition. NSInvocation is an FFI: it allows you to construct calls to ObjC methods given a runtime signature, which means implementing the calling conventions of four platforms (PPC and x86, 32 and 64 bit). My approach was to write a script which generated functions for all possible signatures, up to N parameters. The functions verified the values they were passed both natively and through NSInvocation. This flushed out a huge number of…

None of the alternatives have stability. What was exemplary & idiomatic rust pre-pandemic would be churlish & rejected now and the toolchain use would be different anyway. Carpenters, plumbers, masons & electricians work on houses 3-300 yrs old, navigate the range of legacy styles & tech they encounter, and predictably get good outcomes. Only C has, yet, given use that level of serviceability. C99, baby, why pay more? When there’s an alternative that can compete with that sort of real-world…

Bah I read until the "FFI" section Yes, you must use "C" if you use the libc (seems obvious) However, you can issue your syscalls directly. Of course, to do that, you will have to rewrite your own libc .. nothing is free. It shall be noted, however, that this is not possible in every environments: I believe that openbsd's code must use the system libc. At the same time, on windows, you must use the provided library. This does…

De-clickbait quote: C is the lingua franca of programming. We must all speak C, and therefore C is not just a programming language anymore – it’s a protocol that every general-purpose programming language needs to speak.