Re: Progress on GCC plugins ?

[Diego Novillo <dnovillo at google dot com>]

Bernd Schmidt wrote:

> I must admit I don't understand the upside.  I've always thought of
> plugins as something proprietary programs need because their source
> isn't open.

On the contrary, the plug-in model is used in several large and complex 
open source projects (firefox, thunderbird, gimp, linux kernel, etc). 
It's precisely the complexity reduction features that make plug-ins so 
attractive.

For us this means attracting more developers, which in turn means bigger 
potential for attracting long-time contributors, which helps with the 
long-term survival of GCC.

> In my view, plugins will bitrot quickly as GCC's interface changes; and
> they won't even help with the learning curve - does anyone believe for a
> second you won't have to understand compiler internals to write a plugin?

Of course not.  But with a plug-in framework you get to interact with 
exactly the set of components important for your work, you don't have to 
deal with the whole compiler and its internal build machinery.


Diego.