Question: Specific vs. Generic Compilers

Hi all,
for many machines compilers are distributed by the machine
producers specialized for this machine (e. g. Sun sells a C-Compiler for
Sun 4). On the other hand generic compilers like gnu-c exist, which can
easily be changed for a new computer. The questions, which I want to ask
all compilers experts are:


    * Which one is better in the aspects of code size, execution time and
effective use of resources and possibilities like delay slots and
processor caches?


    * Is it possible to answer this question globally or is it necessary to
check each compiler on each machine?


    * Do statistics exist and where can I get them from?


    * How far are (hard) real-time considerations taken into account? (I
think of aspects like precalculation of execution time or at least
haveing always the same execution time for the same code.)


Waiting for your answers (by e-mail, if there is enough interest, I will
post a summary) and greetings from Vienna/Austria


CR
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
| Christian Reiser | Tel.: +431 39 16 21 / 247 |
| Alcatel Austria - Elin RC | Fax.: +431 39 14 52 |
| Ruthnergasse 1-7, A-1210 Wien | E-mail: Christian.Reiser@rcvie.co.at |
  ------- AUSTRIA / EUROPE ---------------------------------------------
[It varies by compiler and even by version. For example, in GCC which is
quite machine independent the 1.xx versions do not handle delay slots very
well, while the forthcoming 2.x versions handle them pretty well. -John]
--

Return to the comp.compilers page.
Search the comp.compilers archives again.