[plt-scheme] mzc: native code path + plt/collects/mzlib

At Thu, 17 Apr 2003 00:35:52 -0500, Bill Richter wrote:
> but these files in ~/plt/collects/mzlib are only byte-compiled.  Don't
> I need native code compiled files?  [...]
> Why wasn't this done automatically when I installed plt?  The native
> code is supposed to be so much faster that the byte-compiled files.

Native code is currently not built automatically for several reasons:

 1. mzc compilation often fails to provide any speed increase.

 2. Compiling to native code introduces yet another point of
    failure for installation (C compiler not found, something wrong
    with include paths and library paths, files getting out of sync,
    etc.)

 3. The vast majority of DrScheme users run in Windows or Mac OS with
    no C compiler in the path.

The idea is that someone can run setup-plt with --collection-extension
(as you write) if they find the result sufficiently useful.

If lots of people find it useful, then we should reconsider.

Matthew