Nate, I wonder, did you never take a networking class?


>A good compiler should be able to see a copy to an intermediate
>structure and a subsequent use of that structure and elide the copy
>entirely, accomplishing the type-punning in the implementation rather
>than in the expression. This seems like a good goal to work towards.

No, that's a bad idea, that way lieth ML. A _good_ compiler for
systems work should let well enough alone and access the data inplace,
as typical C compilers have done for the past 20 years and more.

Still, maybe it gives Ian some idea what the griping's about.