Why does compiling C take so long time?

Question

When I compile a C project it can take about 90 seconds even though I use a fast Intel I7 CPU. Is it because compilation is a low-level task or why are my build times so long? My environment is the Nios 2 IDE for Altera DE2 FPGA.

Answer 1

if your project is managed by Makefile, try "make -jn" to trigger mul-threads in compiling, n is thread num for compiling, e.x. "make -j10"

Answer 2

Is it actually the compile taking the time? My experience of softcore processor (and other embedded development) is that the compile is quick (comparable with compiling host-based code) and the time is taken uploading the new code to the embedded system to test.