Compilers

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Compilers: OverviewDMDGDCLDC

DMD »

Digital Mars D compiler
The official reference D compiler.

GDC »

GCC D compiler
The DMD compiler front end coupled with the GCC compiler back end. Fast and open source.

LDC »

LLVM D compiler
The DMD compiler front end coupled with the LLVM compiler back end. Fast and open source.

Which compiler should I use?

For beginners, DMD is the recommended choice, as it is the implementation closest to the D Language Specification. Otherwise, the best choice depends on the project's needs, the target platforms, and personal preferences. GDC and LDC both generate substantially faster binaries than DMD.

Comparison

DMD GDC LDC
Platforms
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • OS X
  • FreeBSD
  • Windows (alpha)
  • Linux
  • OS X (untested)
  • FreeBSD (untested)
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • OS X
  • FreeBSD
  • OpenSolaris
  • iOS (alpha)
  • Android
Architectures
  • i386
  • amd64

Complete (runtime / standard library) support:

  • i386
  • amd64
  • x32
  • armel
  • armhf

Partial or bare-metal only support (packages for gdc in debian):

  • alpha
  • arm64 (aarch64)
  • hppa
  • hurd-i386
  • kfreebsd-amd64
  • kfreebsd-i386
  • m68k
  • mips
  • mipsel
  • ppc
  • pcc64
  • ppc64el
  • s390x
  • sparc64

Complete (runtime / standard library) support:

  • i386
  • amd64
  • armel
  • armhf

Near-complete support:

  • arm64 (aarch64)
  • ppc
  • ppc64
  • ppc64el
  • mips64

Partial or bare-metal only support:

  • mips
  • s390x
Distribution
  • Source
  • Multi-platform source/binary archive
  • Multi-platform installer (DVM)
  • Windows installer
  • OS X package (.dmg)
  • Debian/Ubuntu package (.deb)
  • Fedora package (.rpm)
  • OpenSUSE (.rpm) package
  • Debian/Ubuntu repository via http://d-apt.sourceforge.net
  • OS-X homebrew and macports repositories
  • Nix/NixOS package (for NixOS, other Linux and OS X)
  • Source
  • Windows / Linux binary archive
  • Debian/Ubuntu repository
  • Gentoo repository
  • Archlinux repository
  • Source
  • Windows / Linux / OS X binary archive
  • Debian/Ubuntu repository
  • Fedora repository
  • Gentoo repository
  • FreeBSD repository
  • GNU Guix
  • Nix/NixOS package (for NixOS, other Linux and OS X)
Backend DMD (DMC fork) GCC LLVM
License Boost GPL 3 or later LDC-specific code: 3-clause BSD
Inline assembler
  • DMD Intel-like syntax (i386/amd64)
  • GCC syntax (all targets)
  • DMD Intel-like syntax (i386/amd64)
  • GCC syntax (all targets)
  • LLVM inline IR
SIMD Partial (?) Partial (?) Partial (?)
Phobos as a shared library
  • Linux
  • FreeBSD ?
  • Linux
  • FreeBSD ?
  • Linux
Building D code as shared library
  • Linux
  • FreeBSD ?
  • Windows ?
  • Linux
  • OS X
Dynamic loading of D shared libraries
  • Linux
  • Linux
  • OS X

Linux specific
Object file format ELF ELF ELF

Mac specific
Object file format Mach-O Mach-O Mach-O

Windows specific
Object file format OMF (32) / COFF (32 & 64) COFF COFF

Package and/or binary availability, by platform and compiler

Some unofficial repositories and downloads are listed here, but of course many more do exist. With a little searching, you may be able to find something more up to date for your chosen OS.

Very old compilers are (mostly) omitted, as they are unlikely to be of interest to users.


Platform
Compiler
DMD GDC LDC
Windows
OS X
iOS
Android
Linux (generic)
Cross-platform
  • DVM (Any version)
Distribution-specific packages
Debian
Ubuntu

gdc

ldc

Fedora

See https://apps.fedoraproject.org/packages/ldc

OpenSuse
CentOS
Arch Linux
  • Community
Gentoo see https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Dlang
FreeBSD

Experimental compilers and forks

  • SDC (Snazzy D Compiler) - from-scratch D compiler implementation, written in idiomatic D.
  • LDC for iOS - LDC-based toolkit for cross-compiling to iOS
  • D for Android - Toolkit for cross-compiling to Android (x86 using DMD and ARM using LDC)
  • Calypso - LDC fork which provides direct Clang interoperability, allowing the use of C headers directly.
  • DCompute (LDC CUDA and SPIRV) - Library and LDC fork to "target CUDA and SPIR to enable hassle free native execution on the gpu" -upstreamed into LDC
  • MicroD - DMD fork which outputs C source code instead of object files
  • dtojs - DMD fork which outputs JavaScript source code instead of object files
  • DIL - D compiler written in D2/Tango (inactive project)
  • dscripten - LDC/emscripten-based toolchain for compiling D to asm.js / WebAssembly

Category page: Experimental compilers