I suspect those modern compilers are also optimizing more than Delphi 2 was, and are probably parsing a somehow larger language.
Granted, it could be a case of a code base adapting to change poorly over time.
Granted, it could be a case of a code base adapting to change poorly over time.
> parsing a somehow larger language
That would also explain it, but I think it's appropriate to acknowledge the effect it has on compile times when you add complexity to the language. A lot of folks avoid C++ features (or the language entirely) simply because they would inflate compilation times too much, and it clearly wasn't a priority for the language committee when those features were added.
At work we currently use Delphi 10.3 (10.4 was recently released), and it compiles and links ~1Mloc in less than 10 seconds, on my older 4770k with a Samsung 850 SATA SSD.