Re: [DotGNU]Endianness?

[DrDiettrich]

Rhys Weatherley wrote:
> 
> On Sunday 09 November 2003 08:23 pm, Fergus Henderson wrote:
> 
> > Does Microsoft's C/C++ compiler actually generate code which _requires_
> > that the CLR's run-time data representation be little-endian?

Which exact compiler do you mean, and what kind of created code (native
or CLR)?

Perhaps it's "unmanaged" code which you're talking about?


> If the resulting binary won't run on multiple platforms, it kind of defeats
> the purpose of having a cross-platform bytecode format, no?  Remember, the
> name of my project is "Portable".NET.  I consider non-portable design to be
> bad by definition.

That's correct, but...
 
> Now, of course, a programmer can write non-portable C code on top of a
> portable engine just by being sloppy.  But my main objection is this: if I
> write portable C, using all the usual conventions for avoiding
> platform-specific behaviour, the resulting IL should run everywhere.  But
> with Microsoft's compiler, it won't.

I suspect that you are talking about unmanaged code, that is used to
attach native DLLs to an assembly. Such an interface can be implemented
in a mixed-mode assembly, that contains CLR and native code at the same
time. This is how Microsoft implemented most of the .NET runtime
environment.

DoDi