good programmers dont need to optimize

There is a lot of talk about code optimisation and I dont think people realise that good programmers dont have to optimise their code as a separate step. That with modern compilers, operating systems and CPU pipelining, the only optimisation that has to be done is with algorithms and data structures which the programmer should already be using automatically as part of the design process. For example programmers used to need to optimise for things like barrel shifters, but modern CPU architecture has made that all obsolete as the CPU does that kind of optimisation for you now. Using asm is still relevant for things like device drivers, but on an OS with modern compilers there is no way a programmer is going to beat modern compiler optimisation by doing assembly by hand. The OS abstracts away all the hardware and memory details that programmers used to have to manage by hand. So this is the golden age of programming, where true programming skill counts for making fast programs and not second guessing hardware intricacies.

with modern compilers there is no way a programmer is going to beat modern compiler optimisation by doing assembly by hand
Lel you have never even seen the output of a ``modern compiler.'' Everyone else sees hardware improvements as a necessity to support the software they are building. They intend to use the hardware, not squander it on pussy GCs and runtimes.