Comment by WalterBright
20 days ago
Eh, as far as compiler backends go, the RPN stack was worse.
I thought the X86_64 instruction set was a giant kludge-fest, so I was looking forward to implement the AArch64 code generator. Turns out it is just as kludgy, but at right angles. For example, all the wacky ways of simply loading a constant into a register!
That's fair. Are there any instruction sets that strike you as pretty?
The PDP-11 instruction set. It fits neatly onto a single sheet of paper. It's all very regular and orthogonal. It's simplicity is a work of genius.
How do you feel about the 6502?
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