What does 'inline' mean?

[Walter Bright]

On 6/9/2020 4:31 PM, Manu wrote:
> Redundant work,

It isn't redundant work to do it in the linker. It is redundant to do half of 
the linker's job in the compiler, throw away the other half of it, and re-do it 
in the linker.

 > undesired object bloat,

Not a problem since we moved on from floppy disks.

 > and various potential link issues/errors.

I suppose that fits in with the common notion that the linker is black magic 
full of trolls and dragons. It isn't, it's a boringly simple program. Although 
it is true that probably only 1 in 100 programmers can explain what a linker does.

(Most of the complexity of linkers is not inherent, it is the result of file 
formats designed by hamsters and workarounds for compiler and loader bugs. You 
have to pity the linker developer - there's no glamor, nobody understands what 
they do, nobody praises them, they just dump on them with "what does 'undefined 
symbol mean' - must be a bug in the linker" questions.)