[Gnu-arch-users] [OT] GCC (was Re: Re: Command abbreviations)

[Tom Lord]

    > From: "Pierce T.Wetter III" <address@hidden>

    > > Anyway, GCC isn't the only game in town and, looking at my crystal
    > > ball, it's going to be blown away w/in the next 10 years by something
    > > about 10x smaller (measured by source-code).  Lcc is most definately
    > > not that GCC killer -- but it proves the point.

    >    I don't know why that would be true, since it would reverse the trend 
    > of all the other software projects in existence.

Out of curiosity, please elaborate.

My claim is grounded, to whatever degree it's grounded at all, in
technology considerations: that the essential information content of
GCC source code can be far more concisely expressed; that lcc
illustrates that transformation of more concise expressions into
executables is not that hard a problem; that GCC source is showing
signs of being just a touch intractable; that academic advances in
optimization suggest that more concise expressions of the essense of
GCC can be transformed into a much higher-performing compiler; that my
interested-amateur perspective on GCC source suggests that, indeed,
some global transforms from a higher-level spec will, indeed, trump
it;  and finally that ICC is embarassing GCC.

I first formed this opinion around 1999 and everything I've seen since
is consistent with it.

-t