Boost Python Release Builds - Ouch!

I just did a release build of PyPN just to see how fast it ran when everything was built release. It took 14 minutes to build! To put that into perspective, the entirety of the main PN executable takes less than 3 minutes to build. Most of the 14 minutes is spent in the Generating Code stage.

Of course, the first time I ran PN it crashed straight away, due to a compiler settings mismatch - doh! Another 14 minutes down the drain.

The delay is all due to compiling and optimizing Boost Python. All those templates are eventually going to slow a compiler down, and my poor 2Ghz Athlon is not impressed! Once I have this first developer build with PyPN out the door it’s time to get around to trying out SWIG as an alternative (as I promised ages ago). If I have to write a couple of hours more code to get SWIG working as well, then it may be worth it for the compile-time savings.

Update: On my laptop (1.8Ghz Pentium-M) it takes only 4 minutes to compile in release, so I guess that’s more usable. Also, I think my desktop may have something wrong with it, even PN runs like a dog - time for a re-pave.