LLVM 2.8 is available [LWN.net]

LLVM 2.8 is available

Posted Oct 11, 2010 15:04 UTC (Mon) by daglwn (subscriber, #65432)
In reply to: LLVM 2.8 is available by mlopezibanez
Parent article: LLVM 2.8 is available

LLVM is not near ready to be used as the compiler of choice of any Linux distro. It is a matter of time you say, yes, probably, but who will be working on this? Apple?

For time time being, yes, along with plenty of non-Apple people. There's a bug tracking it.

I believe that LLVM has an Apple problem. There's a widespread perception out there that Apple controls everything that happens with LLVM. There are lots of non-Apple people working on LLVM and their work is not in any way dictated by Apple. However, there are certain problems with the way Apple controls things. Foremost among them is keeping some bugs in an internal Apple bug database, with only cryptic references to rdar//this-or-that in commit messages. This opaqueness is a big problem and it's not just limited to the bug database

In order to grow more quickly, LLVM is going to have to shed this perception. I don't know how that will happen but I think it will involve some kind of reorganization/formalization of decision-making bodies. LLVM is approaching the point where the project will need more formal processes than it has now. I believe that's the big hurdle for LLVM and it's a difficult one.

(Log in to post comments)