LLVM IR influence on compiler debugging

[Adam Wilson]

On Sat, 07 Jul 2012 16:34:53 -0700, Walter Bright  
<newshound2 at digitalmars.com> wrote:

> On 7/7/2012 4:28 PM, Adam Wilson wrote:
>> I imagine that it does, and honestly, I am not terribly concerned if  
>> DMD stays
>> with it's current backend because once LLVM gets SEH, im gone. But I do  
>> wonder
>> if DMD will become increasingly irrelevant as backends like GCC and LLVM
>> advance. And I am particularly troubled by what seems like a  
>> duplication of
>> effort in the face of more widely tested backends...
>
> Different implementations will have their different strengths and  
> weaknesses, and also competition between them is good. I'm very pleased  
> that we have 3 strong implementations.
>
>
>> All that said, I understand the legal predicament. You can't do  
>> anything about
>> it and I'm not trying to convince you too. I just want to see more  
>> promotion and
>> support of the other options available.
>
> I think we'd all be better off if more involved here would get more  
> active in promotion, rather than waiting for me to do it.
>
> The whole "better mouse trap" thing is baloney. Promotion is necessary,  
> even if you've got a great product. Even Apple has a huge promotion  
> budget.
>

Agreed, but not many people have push rights to the website, which is  
where I would start. I am not trying to say that LLVM or DMD or GDC is  
better for all situations, but that we need to clear guidance as to which  
tools are best suited to which situations, for example, I find it  
incredibly hard to get a clean build of LDC on Linux (not even counting  
Windows) and found GDC's build process much easier to get working.  
However, I personally don't feel it is terribly wise for my business to by  
tied to the Stallmanology of GCC and GDC on Windows is nigh hopeless (no  
MinGW support). For the work *I* do LLVM is best, but situations vary  
wildly, which is why this is important.

I am talking here because I don't have merge rights on the website and  
pull requests are usually left languishing for many moons...

-- 
Adam Wilson
IRC: LightBender
Project Coordinator
The Horizon Project
http://www.thehorizonproject.org/