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> C compilers get better all the time. Every time someone improves the gcc code generator, seL4 automatically gets a bit faster. Less mainstream programming languages get better only if you maintain an expensive in-house team working on the compiler.

Doesn't SeL4 need -O1 codegen to make their extraction from the generated code (and the thus the rest of the formal proof) work out?

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The 2017 paper [1] says that they "can handle most of seL4 even at optimisation level 2", presumably it got better in the meantime.

Also, it's not like code generation is the only advantage of using a well-supported, externally developed compiler. It's just the one I picked as an illustrative example. GCC releases improve code generation, general usability, diagnostic format support, profilers, etc., at a rate that would be hard to match for a niche language, especially without hiring a dedicated compiler development team.

[1] https://ts.data61.csiro.au/publications/nicta_full_text/6449...

[2] https://gcc.gnu.org/gcc-9/changes.html

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