Re: Compile speed: Pascal(Delphi) vs C++

Chavoux@yahoo.com (Chavoux) writes:


>I am not familiar at all with the internals of the compilers of these
>languages, but I would like to know why this is the case?


One reason why Delphi may be faster to compile than C++ is that Delphi
has a proper module system, whereas C++ still uses the old #include
preprocessor hack. The old #include hack has the drawbacks that the
meaning of each header file included may depend on what macros are in
scope at that point. So the effect of including header files in a
different order might be different. This makes precompilation of
header files much more difficult, complicated, and ineffective than
for Turbo Pascal units. As a result, C++ compilers tend to parse the
headers each time they are read, rather than precompiling them.


Our moderator writes:


>[It entirely depends on how the compiler's designed.


Not entirely -- it also depends on how the language was designed.
Some languages are easier to compile quickly than others.


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The University of Melbourne | of excellence is a lethal habit"
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