4 ms·
> If your language is slow to compile, it cannot be that good. I know compilation times are a problem, but this seems untrue. Compile times are a problem of t
by johnday 6y ago
> If your language is slow to compile, it cannot be that good.
I know compilation times are a problem, but this seems untrue. Compile times are a problem of the compiler and not the language. GHC is slow because of how much it is doing behind the scenes. Other, more streamlined compilers may be faster.
- brazzy 6y ago> Compile times are a problem of the compiler and not the language. This is definitely untrue. Language design has a huge effect on how easy (or even possible) it is to write a compiler that scales well. You can quite easily design a language where compilation is NP-complete...
- johnday 6y agoIn my comment (which you responded to) I am using the definite article. "The" language in this case is Haskell, and "the" compiler is GHC. The inference rules and complexities of Haskell as defined in the 2010 report are minimal and as a result, a fast compiler could theoretically exist for Haskell. Speed is not a primary concern for GHC devs, though.