June 30, 2026
Compile speed, comment speedrun
Pystd, similar-ish functionality with a fraction of the compile time
A speed-obsessed coder tried to fix C++ — and the comments instantly turned chaotic
TLDR: Pystd is a new from-scratch C++ library that promises similar useful features with much faster build times. Commenters were split between admiring the speed push, mocking the Python-sounding name, and arguing that a faster library means little if it can’t replace the huge world of existing C++ code.
A developer showed up with a bold claim: the real reason C++ feels painfully slow to build isn’t just the language itself, but the giant pile of standard library code that gets dragged in when you use basic features. Their answer is Pystd, a from-scratch alternative library meant to give similar everyday tools with far less waiting around. The pitch is simple and spicy: why should a tiny “hello world” app take wildly longer to compile just because it uses modern C++ conveniences?
But the community didn’t just debate the idea — they pounced on the name. One of the loudest reactions was basically: Pystd sounds like a Python project, what are we even doing here? That complaint stole the spotlight fast, turning the launch into a mini branding roast. Another big tension point: even if this new library is faster, does it matter if it doesn’t play nicely with the mountain of existing C++ software? That kicked off the classic tech-comment-section showdown between "cool experiment" and "nice, but now rebuild the whole ecosystem".
There were also side quests. One commenter reminded everyone that newer approaches, like package-style modules in Microsoft’s tools, already try to solve some of this pain. Another was genuinely delighted that Pystd includes a cleaner file-path system, calling it what the official file tools could have been. And of course, no nerd drama is complete without someone asking for benchmarks against rivals and another politely requesting documentation. In other words: one person tried to start a performance revolution, and the internet replied with naming slander, ecosystem panic, cautious praise, and homework.
Key Points
- •The article introduces Pystd as a from-scratch C++ library with standard-library-like functionality and design priorities of compilation time, simplicity, and performance.
- •It reports example compile times of about 0.02 seconds for a C hello-world program versus about 1 to 2.3 seconds for a comparable C++ example using `#include <print>`.
- •The post argues that standard library header expansion is a major cause of slow compilation, citing preprocessed sizes of about 29,000 lines for `<vector>` and up to 80,000 for `<filesystem>`.
- •According to the article, building Pystd and all tests from scratch takes 4 seconds on one core, 9 seconds with optimizations, and 1.9 seconds on 16 cores.
- •Pystd currently includes containers, strings, maps, algorithms, smart pointers, and functionality roughly comparable to Python modules such as argparse, pathlib, regex, and tempfile.