When will the LLVM compiler be introduced and replace the current one XOJO for OSX ?
Summer 2014, per the announcement from the 2013 Xojo Conference Keynote:
http://www.realsoftwareblog.com/2013/04/highlights-from-keynote.html
From the keynotes it seems to indicate you are talking about all platforms and LLVM at the same time? Or will Windows come after OSX?
I don’t know that we are ready to be that specific about the schedule this far in advance.
Thanks, Paul. I know this going in, so I am not complaining, but again my point in an earlier point, Windows always plays secoind banana to OSX. Just how it is.
While I’m not sure what I can say about timetables, it’s worth noting that it won’t immediately replace the existing one when released. The current backend will continue to be supported for some time after the LLVM-based compiler is released until we’re confident everyone’s project works correctly (or those projects that don’t were relying on bugs in the compiler).
We’re really hoping to push it out on all platforms at once when the time comes, but there are certain factors at play that aren’t entirely in our control and it’s not a guarantee.
The Highlights From The Keynote document on the blog mentions this:
"iOS
We plan to be in beta by late summer. iOS will be shipping in December 2013."
So I presume you ARE releasing LLVM in 2013 but ONLY for iOS ( for which there is no current old compiler to replace and regression test anyway )
I can say that we will be using the LLVM backend for our ARM builds. It still has to behave correctly and match the current compiler’s behavior.
In the case of LLVM, the reason is the LLVM project is also creating linkers and the linker for Windows is far behind the linkers for OS X and Linux. It is our hope that it will catch up before we would have to dive in and write our own.
While that might be considered a fair comment around the framework side of things, this isn’t their issue alone on the LLVM side. Just for another perspective (and because I’m crazy?), I actually went through some Clang and LLVM stuff a while back to see what it would take to link a PE/windows executable myself. I found some success with MS link, and then some with MinGW…eventually. But there are big, obvious problems using either of those approaches with Xojo- from license to dependency to cross-platform etc.
Bottom line- after doing some of my own experimentation and research I concur and think they’re taking the right approach by waiting for (and helping along) the LLVM project itself to get to Windows linking…
It looks like there is some kind of progress on the Windows side of the LLVM front, but still far from having complete support:
LLVM Project Blog
Not to be prickly about iOS… but it summer is technically over. 
As someone who’s pushed off having to delve into Objective-C for a project coming up in 2014, and knowing that this was coming. I’m getting to the point now of having to crack open the books and start working with Obj-C…
Which I would rather just keeping our code base on Xojo! Which as a small team, makes life easier.
Technically? Fall starts September 22…
Reality is that “End of Summer” is / was an estimate based on everything we knew at the time.
This thread illustrates perfectly why we tend to not preannounce availability dates etc.
Folks mistake it for “we promise it will be …”
I was actually half kidding. I mean, I would love to have it now, but I realize its “software”…
[quote=32590:@Norman Palardy]Reality is that “End of Summer” is / was an estimate based on everything we knew at the time.
This thread illustrates perfectly why we tend to not preannounce availability dates etc.
Folks mistake it for “we promise it will be …”[/quote]
Plus, you get responses such as this post on the old forum where somebody suggested you were late on your promised Fall release schedule because there was snow on the ground. You may need to consult the Farmers Almanac before announcing any release schedule.
On the flip side, you shouldn’t be surprised when users get their expectations up when you post teasers like this (From the Real Studio) blog:
“However, we are quite confident that 2012 Release 1, scheduled to ship in February, will bring our Cocoa support to the point where we can remove the beta label.”
That was posted on October 5, 2011. This is software, things happen, we all know this. But every time someone brings up a date, someone from Xojo talks them down. I think you guys should be a little more upbeat about users looking forward to your products, instead of a thorn in your side.
[quote=32676:@Dennis Wilkerson]On the flip side, you shouldn’t be surprised when users get their expectations up when you post teasers like this (From the Real Studio) blog:
…
But every time someone brings up a date, someone from Xojo talks them down[/quote]
The phrase ‘Between a rock and a hard place’ comes to mind. If Xojo mention nothing then people will assume and declare that nothing is happening and if they mention something then people want dates and commitments. It is not easy for either Xojo Inc. or we the users either. However managing expectations properly is important and I prefer the cautious approach that Xojo Inc. takes as it is more realistic as you state below: