"Tim Peters"
I am not disputing that MSVC does this silly thing you describe, but MSVC has a long track record of bugs
That doesn't match our experience. I don't believe Python code has ever tickled an MSVC codegen or optimization bug, neither any in gcc-for-x86.
Some version of gcc for OpenBSD (on intel) miscompiles (w/optimization) the usual definition of Py_IS_OVERFLOW (or whatever that macro's called). Just nitpicking :-)
GCC does not generate junk code even at -O0.
I'm not sure I understand the context of this remark, but out of context it sure sounds implausible. Cheers, mwh -- The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offence. -- Edsger W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 17, Number 5