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The reference D compiler is now open source

forum.dlang.org

11–20 of 313 posts

Re: The reference D compiler is now open source

#11
Walter, thank you so much for finally doing this! I am so happy that Symantec finally listened. It must have been really frustrating to have to wait so long for this to happen. I have really been enjoying D and I love all the innovation in it. I'm really looking forward to seeing the reference compiler packaged for free operating systems.

Thanks again, this news makes me very happy!

Re: The reference D compiler is now open source

#12
This was something that always rubbed me the wrong way about the language, and it was an impediment for adoption for me (for D, but also Shen and a few others). In this era, there is no excuse for a closed source reference compiler (I could care less if it's not a reference compiler, I just won't use it). I'm surprised it took this long to do this, it seems like D has lost most of its relevance by now...relevance it could have kept with a little more adoption. I wonder if it can recover.

Re: The reference D compiler is now open source

#13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Each of dmd/gdc/ldc has their individual strengths and styles. It's an embarrassment of riches.

> Each of dmd/gdc/ldc has their individual strengths and styles. I'd be really interested to hear a comparison of those from someone experienced with D and its community.

DMD compiles really fast. At the level of Go. As the reference compiler it always has the latest features.

LDC compiles to fast code and only slightly lags behind the reference. It might even catch up soon.

GDC compiles to fast code and supports many architectures in theory. It lags behind the most and architecture support also requires a ported runtime.

Re: The reference D compiler is now open source

#14

And best of all, it's the Boost license! Here it is: https://github.com/dlang/dmd/pull/6680

Why is this a good thing? I'm not familiar with the Boost license.

In short: it is extremely permissive, very similar to the MIT license but even more so (the license does not need to be included with binary copies).

Re: The reference D compiler is now open source

#15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this a good thing? I'm not familiar with the Boost license.

It is the least encumbering, very permissive and very well regarded in both oss and corporate circles. Really a good choice to stick with it.

We liked Boost because it is "corporate lawyer approved". You can make both open and closed source derived works from it.

Re: The reference D compiler is now open source

#16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this a good thing? I'm not familiar with the Boost license.

It is the least encumbering, very permissive and very well regarded in both oss and corporate circles. Really a good choice to stick with it.

I would be careful calling it the "least encumbering"- there are definitely shorter, easier to understand licenses with fewer restrictions (i.e. zero).

Re: The reference D compiler is now open source

#17

This was something that always rubbed me the wrong way about the language, and it was an impediment for adoption for me (for D, but also Shen and a few others). In this era, there is no excuse for a closed source reference compiler (I could care less if it's not a reference compiler, I just won't use it). I'm surprised it took this long to do this, it seems like D has lost most of its relevance by now...relevance it…

D is easier than Rust and safer than C++. That is a valuable point IMHO.

Re: The reference D compiler is now open source

#19

Interesting change! Before, people had a choice between the proprietary Digital Mars D (dmd) compiler, or the GCC-based GDC compiler. And apparently, since the last time I looked, also the "LDC" compiler that used the already-open dmd frontend but replaced the proprietary backend with LLVM. I wonder how releasing the dmd backend as Open Source will change the balance between the various compilers, and what people wil…

Many people have been reluctant to contribute to the backend because of the license, which was very understandable. Now this barrier is obliterated.

Re: The reference D compiler is now open source

#20
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is the least encumbering, very permissive and very well regarded in both oss and corporate circles. Really a good choice to stick with it.

I would be careful calling it the "least encumbering"- there are definitely shorter, easier to understand licenses with fewer restrictions (i.e. zero).

We investigated public domain, but that has international legal problems with it. Boost was the best solution.
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