[derrak]

So do you disagree with the parent that “code is just a spec as far as the C compiler is concerned”?

Maybe it’s important to agree on what a spec is. For instance, do you agree that a spec can be just as formal as code implementing the spec? For instance, if the spec is written in a machine parseable logic do you take that to be a spec? Or are you taking a spec to be written in natural language?

I suspect some of your disagreement with the parent is about this definition. I’m just trying to understand because for me it’s uncontroversial to claim C code is a spec for assembly code, but maybe the issue is that I am not thinking of specs in the colloquial way.