Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Llvm is better than gcc at modularity and extensibility (or at least it was when llvm was released, I haven't followed gcc evolutions in a while). People who work on new languages typically use llvm because it's designed to make such things simple.

Now, in terms of end results, llvm and gcc each have their qualities. When llvm was released, gcc typically produced faster binaries but llvm optimizations were easier to understand. Since then, both have evolved and I haven't tried to catch up.

Bottom line: having two back-ends for rust or any other language is good. Among other things, it's a good way to check for bugs within an implementation of the compiler, it can be used to increase the chances of finding subtle bugs in safety-critical code, etc.




One thing GCC excels over LLVM is quality of debug information. If you switch from Clang to GCC, you will see less "optimized out" in GDB. This is pretty much guaranteed.

https://robert.ocallahan.org/2018/11/comparing-quality-of-de...




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2025 batch! Applications are open till May 13

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: