[haberman]

> I think it is easier for the compiler for a high-level language to predict usage patterns

Profile-guided optimizations for C can give a C compiler a lot of the same information. It's true that these patterns could vary over the run of the program, though at that point you have to weigh the speed gained from being adaptive vs. the runtime overhead of monitoring the program's execution and doing multiple passes of code generation.

> For what it's worth: C is my first language, and my favorite language.

Yeah I know. :) A lot of what I wrote was directed more generally at the "faster than C" sentiment and not at you specifically.

> I'm not putting myself on a level with the Lua JIT people

I think you mean the LuaJIT person. I got to finally meet him this summer and verify that he is human, though I guess I can't guarantee that he doesn't have cybernetic implants or work together with others under a single pseudonym. :)