The future C++ template model in gcc?

["Martin v. Loewis" <martin at loewis dot home dot cs dot tu-berlin dot de>]

>    A future version of g++ will support a hybrid model whereby the
> compiler will emit any instantiations for which the template
> definition is included in the compile, and store template
> definitions and instantiation context information into the object
> file for the rest.  The link wrapper will extract that information
> as necessary and invoke the compiler to produce the remaining
> instantiations.  The linker will then combine duplicate
> instantiations.
>
> But I couldn't tell if anyone was working on it. Is that still a
> goal?

I think this could be taken as a description of an implementation
strategy of the "export" keyword (even though the text probably
predates the export keyword). Supporting the export keyword is
certainly a goal, since it is a very valuable feature, and mandated by
the standard.

I'd be also curious as to whether anybody has fragments of an
implementation of exported templates; since nobody has spoken up so
far, the answer is probably "no".

Regards,
Martin