Context: http://lwn.net/Articles/629259/ http://lwn.net/Articles/629259/ There was a recent controversy over whether gcc would export its syntax trees for the

Context: http://lwn.net/Articles/629259/ http://lwn.net/Articles/629259/ There was a recent controversy over whether gcc would export its syntax trees for the purpose of enabling EMACS to catch up with IDEs on code analysis and refactoring. Richard Stallman opposed this, because of fears that this would lead to companies attaching gcc's frontends to proprietary backends, proposing instead to make gcc output a limited subset of the syntax tree. The controversy left the gcc-emacs integration project in a tough spot from which it has not progressed. The linked post refers to some work integrating emacs with LLVM, which is gcc's chief competitor. Stallman appears to think that this is an effort to displace gcc. Which it sort of is, but one that's necessary given that gcc is failing to provide essential functionality.