Errors compiling DSSS

[Rob T]

On Thursday, 29 November 2012 at 14:04:32 UTC, Jacob Carlborg 
wrote:
> I still think it's possible to have a smaller, less verbose and 
> more simplistic build scripts written in Ruby. BUT I would 
> choose a proper build tool with build scripts written in D any 
> day over having to use shell scripts or your special kind of 
> comments.

The very last thing I would want to do is to futz around 
installing Ruby and learning Ruby for the sole purpose of 
building a D application. Think about how massive a time sink 
that is for anyone who has no other reason to invest their 
valuable time into Ruby. I got sucked into this trap with Make, 
which wasted many hours of what should have been productive time, 
and I saw the exact same issues repeat when I investigated scons 
as a potential alternative. I just fail to see why this kind of 
complexity is necessary at all. If we can fix the problem at the 
source, then we should do it, rather than pile more mess on top 
of the existing pile of mess.

I do however think you have a good point wrt the use of 
"comments" for doing this stuff. Please do not use comments for 
this, make it a part of the language for real, like CTFE or 
something.

For example I find that implementing the ddoc system as 
"comments" was a mistake, because when you do it in that way, you 
think of those constructs as being comments like any other, and 
that limits the thinking concerning what can (or could have been) 
done with them. Ddoc could and should be much more than it is, 
even if it was started off in a limited way, it at least could 
have the potential to expand in a more useful way.

--rt