thegeek
2005-01-14, 10:10
Previous iterations of Mac OS X have been based upon successive versions of gcc, the Gnu Compiler Collection (http://www.gnu.org/software/gcc/). Incremental improvements in gcc's optimization abilities have yielded performance increases across the board as nearly every piece of code that our machines run has been compiled with gcc.
The new gcc 4.0 series has a brand new optimization scheme which is claimed to have large advantages over previous versions. It isn't tagged "stable" yet, but basing the development quite on a pre-release compiler is something that Apple has done before.
Do we know if Tiger will be based on the new gcc?
Also, the were some rumors that some technology from IBMs excellent xlc (http://www-306.ibm.com/software/awdtools/xlcpp/) compiler might be slipping our way, or at minimum would be available for the Darwin platform. Seemingly unlikely as IBM is trying to sell xlc for Mac OS X, but the advantages of making the PowerPC run faster seems a worthy goal. Intel gives away their compiler.
The new gcc 4.0 series has a brand new optimization scheme which is claimed to have large advantages over previous versions. It isn't tagged "stable" yet, but basing the development quite on a pre-release compiler is something that Apple has done before.
Do we know if Tiger will be based on the new gcc?
Also, the were some rumors that some technology from IBMs excellent xlc (http://www-306.ibm.com/software/awdtools/xlcpp/) compiler might be slipping our way, or at minimum would be available for the Darwin platform. Seemingly unlikely as IBM is trying to sell xlc for Mac OS X, but the advantages of making the PowerPC run faster seems a worthy goal. Intel gives away their compiler.