Do they mention fluent x86-64 or arm assembly? Because there are many ISAs where no C++ compiler will be able to generate better code than hand optimal code by a fluent programmer.
Exactly, when the only compiler available for an ISA is gcc 2.9... manually writing the assembly doesn't sound that bad anymore. C++11? There isn't even a C++03 compiler for those..
I think, sinse he's working on internet search and knows targer architecture in advance, he meant x86_64 assembly, used probably for platform-specific fine-tuning