Re: PATCH RFA: Do not build java by default

[Steven Bosscher <stevenb.gcc@gmail.com>]

Hello,

Ian Lance Taylor wrote:
> This is not a proposal to remove the Java frontend nor is it leading up
> to that.  It is a proposal to not build the frontend by default, putting
> Java in the same category as Ada and Objective C++.  The main argument
> in favor of this proposal is twofold: 1) building libjava is a large
> component of gcc bootstrap time, and thus a large component in the
> amount of time it takes to test changes; 2) it is in practice very
> unusual for middle-end or back-end changes to cause problems with Java
> without also causing problems for C/C++, thus building and testing
> libjava does not in practice help ensure the stability of the compiler.

The argument against disabling java as a default language always was
that there should be at least one default language that requires
non-call exceptions. I recall testing many patches without trouble if
I did experimental builds with just C, C++, and Fortran, only to find
lots of java test suite failures in a complete bootstrap+test cycle.
So the second point is, IMVHO, not really true.

Is it possible to build and test java without all of libjava?

Ciao!
Steven