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by lapcat 856 days ago
> Given C is faster and more mature than ObjC, why aren’t you writing everything in pure C and objc_msgSend?

TBH your question feels trollish, but I'll respond anyway.

Objective-C code does compile to objc_msgSend calls. Perhaps you meant getting the method implementations directly and calling them instead?

Objective-C is 40 years old. How much more mature does it need to be?

1 comments

You said you make the utilitarian choice. By using C everywhere, you can use an even faster compiler that doesn’t insert those calls for you. So why don’t you?
> By using C everywhere, you can use an even faster compiler that doesn’t insert those calls for you.

In the previous comment you said I should use objc_msgSend, now you say I shouldn't. Make up your mind. ;-)

Anyway, I'm using AppKit and UIKit to write apps. The API is Objective-C. That's why I write Objective-C.

Whatever the heck you're talking about—you appear to be confused, so I don't know what exactly you mean technically—it certainly sounds like premature optimization, which is a waste of time and not the correct utilitarian choice. My Objective-C code is not "slow". Could it be infinitesimally "faster" in way that's not even perceivable by the user? Perhaps, but who cares?

Because of all the downsides. The utilitarian choice is about practicality, not pure performance. This line of questioning is silly.