David Brown <da...@westcontrol.com> writes: > If the compiler can generate fractional arithmetic code directly > from such expressions, then it is indeed a good step towards > implementing such types as a pure C++ class without needing to use > compiler extensions. ... > I am not saying the compiler couldn't generate optimal code (on a > target with hardware support for these operations) out from > carefully written generic C++ code - but I do think it would be > easier to get good code if the compiler views these types as > "native".
Of course, even if a special compiler representation turns out to be necessary for optimal performance, that doesn't mean that the _syntax_ has to be something wacky (whereas C has little choice). It would be perfectly reasonable to have the public interface be a thin library wrapper around unadvertised builtin types -- and that's probably quite preferable as it would enable a portable pure library solution for compilers that do not contain special support. -Miles -- 「寒いね」と話しかければ「寒いね」と答える人のいるあったかさ [俵万智]
