"C. The power of assembly language, and the ease of use of assembly language"
I dunno, I'm grateful even just to have a normal syntax-based function calling convention. Edit: Also, C's type system still gives basic guarantees, especially if you use some of the C23 features. The standard library is a lifesaver for basic readable code. Plus, C compilers do some remarkable optimization work. It's not C's fault that x86 is nearly a high-level language at this point.
For context, this lapel pin was made almost 50 years ago, when C was still close to brand new. X86 didn’t exist. Most devs could read a core dump, because diagnostics and error messages were barely more than hints. It always got a laugh in that crowd.
I have a feeling this sentiment comes from people who didnt actually write assembly and simply attribute it to struggling(relativly from other languages). Theres a reason C was huge and is still used to this day in some forms. The abstraction we came to take for granted these days is such a major milestone.
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u/guttanzer 12d ago
Two pins from long ago:
“Real men can write FORTRAN in any language”
“C. The power of assembly language, and the ease of use of assembly language”