I think this line explains what I was facinated by,
"x * y is translated to CPU instructions (x >> 1) * (y - 1) + 1" namely that it now at least 3 extra highlevel operations to do simple multiplication.
"x * y is translated to CPU instructions (x >> 1) * (y - 1) + 1" namely that it now at least 3 extra highlevel operations to do simple multiplication.
As to the point of studying boxing, well, it’s fairly basic compiler theory. It will be hard to avoid if you have even the slightest interest in PL.
I spent 3 years at Morgan Stanley writing A+ and loved it. A+ is dead but kdb lives on, and is widely used at top hedge funds.