Article: Increasing the D Compiler Speed by Over 75%

[user]

Ha ha, I am a design/controls engineer who deals with speeds and 
accelerations on a daily basis and yet I was also confused by 
Walter's statement.

I guess the confusion arises from what one expects (as opposed to 
understands) by the word "speed" in the given context.

In the context of compiling my SW programs, I only see a dark 
console with a blocked cursor which I cannot use and every second 
waited will be felt directly. I don't see any  action or hint of 
speed. This makes me think that a faster compiler supposed to 
make me wait less. This creates a kind of mental link between the 
word "speed" and the feeling of waiting. Hence the expectation: 
50% faster compiler should make me wait less by 50%.

Instead of a dark console with a blocked cursor, if I see lots of 
lines which are been compiled scrolling at very high speed on the 
screen (like when installing some programs) then I would relate 
speed with the number of lines scrolling. And my expectation 
would probably change to: 50% faster compiler would compile 50% 
more lines per second.

What I am saying is that even though technically we understand 
what speed is, its the intuitive subjective feeling based on the 
context which causes an experience of "something doesn't add up".

I will stop blabbering now.