I think that there’s a legit rejoinder of “Why aren’t you optimizing the code to reduce compilation time, if it’s such a problem?”
For something like C++, ccache, distcc, PIMPL (to reduce use of templates, which blows up C++ compilation time), precompiled headers, make code more modular to reduce the size of the compilation unit that changes when any one change happens, break stuff into libraries, etc. Look to see whether there are things like build timestamps being inserted into headers that are producing unnecessary recompilations. clang and gcc can profile compilations to identify what’s chewing up time.
In my experience, [proprietary] projects are doing well if their Makefile isn’t so broken that they have to run it twice just to make sure everything actually compiles. And you want them to actually optimize it…?!
I think that there’s a legit rejoinder of “Why aren’t you optimizing the code to reduce compilation time, if it’s such a problem?”
For something like C++, ccache, distcc, PIMPL (to reduce use of templates, which blows up C++ compilation time), precompiled headers, make code more modular to reduce the size of the compilation unit that changes when any one change happens, break stuff into libraries, etc. Look to see whether there are things like build timestamps being inserted into headers that are producing unnecessary recompilations.
clangandgcccan profile compilations to identify what’s chewing up time.Taking a comic about a flimsy excuse and doing a serious analysis of a joke problem is such an xkcd thing to do.
Well, now I know where that term comes from.
That makes you one of today’s Lucky 10,000.
(The figure is US-based, but it has become proverbial even beyond the US)
In my experience, [proprietary] projects are doing well if their
Makefileisn’t so broken that they have to run it twice just to make sure everything actually compiles. And you want them to actually optimize it…?!“Sure, just give me the raise I’ve been asking for and I’ll get right on that.”
“…”
“That’s what I thought.”