On Sun, Nov 8, 2009 at 9:47 PM, Joern Rennecke <amyl...@spamcop.net> wrote: > Quoting Richard Guenther <richard.guent...@gmail.com>: > >> On Sun, Nov 8, 2009 at 6:35 PM, Terrence Miller > > ... >>> >>> For example, as far as I know, no common Linux distribution provides a >>> package for any kind of GCC branch. I believe (perhaps I am too >>> optimistic) >>> that some Linux distributions will package some few GCC plugins. >> >> You keep re-iterating this (IMHO bogus) argument. I don't see how a >> plugin >> in development is any different here - nobody will build or distribute it. >> OTOH after a branch is mature it will be merged into the GCC core, so it >> will be immediately available in distributed GCCs. > > It is not uncommon that a user complains about some missed optimization or > pessimization that a proposed new pass might fix. > At the moment, a developer might ask the user to download the latest > experimental GCC from trunk, apply his special, even more experimental > patch to it, build and install it (which might accidentally overwrite > the stable compiler if the user has more privileges on the machine than > sysadmin experience), and then check if his code gets better. > Or the developer might ask the user to send/post his/her code, which might > need manager approval, or be outright disallowed for confidentiality > reasons. > > With a plugin, the developer can simply point the user at the place where > he can download the plugin for his current version, and we can get quick > feedback on the usefulness of the new optimization.
It's not that simple if you are not suggesting that all plugin development will happen against a stable branch. And even then the plugin binary needs an exactly mathching gcc version - how do you suppose the user will get that? By compiling both itself or by the developer being a distributor of binary gcc versions alongside his plugin? Note that with the same reasoning the developer could provide patches against a released gcc instead of just gcc trunk. Plugins don't make anything easier here. Really. Richard.
