Should we finally ditch the 32-bit build of dmd?

[Dukc]

On Wednesday, 16 June 2021 at 17:59:06 UTC, Andrei Alexandrescu 
wrote:
> By numerous reports the world is ditching 32 bit for good:
>
> https://www.androidauthority.com/arm-32-vs-64-bit-explained-1232065/
>
> There's significant effort needed in the dmd source code to 
> accommodate 32 bit builds, which nobody should use.
>
> Ditch?

No, I don't think that's a good idea.

Ditching x86-32 as a host platform should not benefit much. The 
compiler is written in D after all, it's not like it's hard to 
keep a program compiling for different architectures.

Ditching x86-32 as a target platform would be ditching a platform 
that's still in wide use for a long time. From the article you 
linked to: "For other CPU architectures and other OS’s, like 
Windows and Linux, then 32-bit support will survive much longer. 
Since Linux wants to be everyone’s friend, then 32-bit support is 
likely to stay for decades to come". 32-bit might not be very 
relevant for desktop computers or phones anymore, but there is 
also IoT, and D is supposed to be a general-purpose language 
after all.