[RFC] Merge criteria for tree-ssa

[Jonathan Thornburg]

In message <http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc/2004-02/msg00506.html>
Bud Davis <bdavis9659 at comcast dot net> wrote
> The criteria that makes most sense from a users viewpoint is that
> tree-ssa could not be merged until gfortran was as good as g77 at
> compiling f77.

In message <http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc/2004-02/msg00507.html>,
Mark Hahn <hahn at physics dot mcmaster dot ca> wrote
> as another user, I strongly disagree.  can't people with f77 code
> simply compile with older versions of gcc?

Not if they need (for example) both
(a) interlanguage calling between C, C++, and F77 code, which to be
    safe means (among other things) using the same gcc versions for
    all three languages, *and*
(b) the excellent C++ support of newer gcc versions

There has been some discussion in this thread of how gcc's primary
goal is to support free software.  FWIW, I have both (a) and (b) on
each of two different free software projects right now...

ciao,

-- 
-- Jonathan Thornburg <jthorn@aei.mpg.de>      
   Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut),
   Golm, Germany, "Old Europe"     http://www.aei.mpg.de/~jthorn/home.html      
   "Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the
    powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral."
                                      -- quote by Freire / poster by Oxfam