Re: [Tinycc-devel] Using tinycc for full source bootstrapping

[Larry Doolittle]

On Sun, Sep 24, 2017 at 07:40:32PM +0200, grischka wrote:
> Jan Nieuwenhuizen wrote:
> >Are you willing to consider discussing/taking patches that reduce the
> >variety and complexity of C constructs used in TinyCC source code?
> >I have a list of about 20 unpolished patches[0] for constructs like:
> I wonder which would be the smaller patch:  The changes you propose
> for tcc or a patch to support these constructs as is in the bootstrap
> compiler.

I wonder that too.  I looked through a lot of the changes you made,
and 99% of them decrease the code quality of tcc.  IMHO the long-term
path forward would be to improve your bootstrap compiler.

The comma operator example you posted, that confused me at first,
is an exception, and I just pushed a patch.  Using semicolons here
is more of a "say what you mean" and "principle of least surprise"
approach to coding this function.  The _other_ comma operators you found
(and eliminated) in tcc's code base are used for all the right reasons,
to reduce code duplication and create a smooth flow of control.

I enthusiastically support boostrap projects in general, and wish you
the best of luck going forward!  Just don't expect mainline tcc to
regress its code quality for your benefit.

  - Larry