C++ Truths

One of the practical issues with C++ meta-programming is its speed. C++ programs that use heavy meta-programming can be notoriously slow to compile on contemporary compilers. Things are changing, however. Check the following comparison of gcc 4.5 against gcc 4.4.3. The first graph is obtained from a program that creates a binary tree of template instantiations. The x-axis shows the number of instantiations when value of N goes from 8 to 17. I could not build up patience for gcc 4.4.3 beyond 16363 instantiations (N=13). On the other hand, gcc 4.5 does pretty good and its increase in compilation time is indeed linear as mentioned here . Here is the program that creates a binary tree of template instantiations. template <int Depth, int A, typename B> struct Binary { enum { value = 1 + Binary<depth-1, 0, Binary>::value + Binary<depth-1, 1, Binary>::value }; }; template<int a, typename B> struct Binary<0, A, B> { enum { value = 1 }; ...