Re: [cs branch] how to start compile server?

[Andrew Pinski <pinskia at physics dot uc dot edu>]

On Wednesday, Aug 27, 2003, at 20:23 US/Eastern, Ian Lance Taylor wrote:

> Per Bothner <per@bothner.com> writes:
>
> > We haven't documented how to start the compile server, partly
> > because we're trying figure out the right way to do it!
>
> I don't know much about the project, so my apologies when I repeat
> thoughts that people have already had.

Actually you are the first person (outside Apple) I really comment on
the compile server except to praise it but I think you misunderstood 
this
project and what the term server refers to in this case.


> The general notion of running a server is a well-understood one and
> there is a lot of existing code to do it.  Recreating the code in gcc
> itself seems mildly pointless.  Projects like tcpserver, xinetd, and
> tcpwrapper exist to handle being a server.

{x,}inetd starts programs when connections open, which is what already
happens now for the driver gcc.

> Similarly, on the client side, I don't see any particular reason to
> use gcc at all.  Instead, define a simple protocol--you've already
> done this--and write separate programs to generate that protocol.  For
> example, instead of `gcc -server', just use `gcc-server'.  That
> separate program can then grow to take whatever options will be needed
> to locate the server--using a URI naturally suggests itself.

Note that gcc is just a driver which starts programs much like what 
{x,}inet
does.  So calling gcc -server tells the driver to go into client mode 
for the
compiler server and use the server (without -server tells to use the 
normal mode
and launch {cc1{,plus,objc},jc1,f771,ada?,f951}, the real "front-end"). 
 This is much
like what telnet or ssh does. Right now there is no such thing as a 
remote GCC server,
it is all local compiling.  distc is what I think you are trying to 
describe which does
compiling on other machines.

The compile server is going to be used to speed up things by caching 
more stuff like headers
and also no need to start up a new front-end every time you want to 
compile your program in
the debug-compile cycle, making things faster.


> In general, though, I think it's desirable to keep the networking code
> out of gcc proper, and I think it can be done without loss of
> efficiency.

There is no networking code in GCC at all still.
The compile server is more like the talk server which uses UNIX fifo's.

Thanks,
Andrew Pinski