DMD Source Archive - Why?

[Walter Bright]

On 4/10/2024 9:54 AM, Paulo Pinto wrote:
> C++ compilers are already on the next level, past PCH, with C++ modules.
> 
> VC++ uses a database format for BMI (Binary Module Interface), has open sourced 
> it, and there are some people trying to champion it as means to have C++ tooling 
> similar to what Java and .NET IDEs can do with JVM/CLR metadata.
> 
> https://devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/open-sourcing-ifc-sdk-for-cpp-modules/

That's more or less what my C++ compiler did back in the 1990s. The symbol table 
and AST was created in a memory-mapped file, which could be read back in to 
jump-start the next compilation.

Yes, it was faster.

But the problem C++ has is compiling it is inherently slow due to the design of 
the language. My experience with that led to D being fast to compile, because I 
knew what to get rid of. With a language that compiles fast, it isn't worthwhile 
to have a binary precompiled module.