Couldn't they just turn the optimization off for this loop?
They didn't have the code for the offensive program, they were creating the emulator to run it on a different architecture.
> offensive program
Agreed.
Which optimizer replaces a 64k loop with 64k instructions?
Ah, yes. Microsoft's!
There is no indication that the compiler that produced the code was Microsoft's. Actually the article hints otherwise ("[...] whatever compiler was used to compile this code").
Who has been validating that approach to solve their own optimization target?
They didn't have the code for the offensive program, they were creating the emulator to run it on a different architecture.
> offensive program
Agreed.
Which optimizer replaces a 64k loop with 64k instructions?
Ah, yes. Microsoft's!
There is no indication that the compiler that produced the code was Microsoft's. Actually the article hints otherwise ("[...] whatever compiler was used to compile this code").
Who has been validating that approach to solve their own optimization target?