On 5/17/2011 12:16, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> The trouble is, if the compiler optimisations change, the BEAM code might
> change, even if what the function actually does is unaffected. That [I would
> hope] is why it hashes the AST, not the compiled code.

Right. I expect that's why they changed the definition of what goes over the 
whire.

> OTOH, depending on how it works, there may be more than one AST which is
> trivially equivilent.

That wouldn't really matter. There's one place the function is defined in 
the code. If there's a *different* function that does the same thing, then 
it's still a different function.

All they're doing is ensuring the function they have is the same one you 
have. They don't have to prove they're different, only that they're identical.

> We're not really trying to prove which functions are equal; we're trying to
> prove which ones are *not* equal...

Right.

> The usual response I see from OSS is "you should be greatful we bothered to
> write any documentation at all!"

I've even seen "yes, we know the documentation is all wrong and misleading, 
but we didn't bother to put a note on it saying that" (Apache), as well as 
"please, sir, may I write the documentation for you?" "No." (Blender)

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Coding without comments is like
    driving without turn signals."

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