llvm dev - Mar 2016 - lld COFF auto-import feature

I read the thread (
http://lists.llvm.org/pipermail/llvm-dev/2016-February/096115.html ).
I think the wonderful feature of the MinGW/Cygwin ld is the option
--enable-auto-import.
The option is limited to COFF, but LINK.exe doesn't have it.
Could we add the feature to lld-link ?
If it is possible, many people will change the coding pattern for using
DLL. -- no more if-def declspec(dllimport)
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On Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 8:50 AM, Sangjin Han via llvm-dev <
llvm-dev at lists.llvm.org> wrote:
> I read the thread (
> http://lists.llvm.org/pipermail/llvm-dev/2016-February/096115.html ).
> I think the wonderful feature of the MinGW/Cygwin ld is the option
> --enable-auto-import.
> The option is limited to COFF, but LINK.exe doesn't have it.
> Could we add the feature to lld-link ?
> If it is possible, many people will change the coding pattern for using
> DLL. -- no more if-def declspec(dllimport)
>
Technically we can add the feature, but I'm skeptical if it's worth the
cost associated with it. Also, if you rely on that feature, then your
program is no longer linkable with the MSVC linker, so I'd expect that most
people would continue using declspec(dllimport) anyways. That means the
feature wouldn't be used often.
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On Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 2:42 AM, Rui Ueyama via llvm-dev <
llvm-dev at lists.llvm.org> wrote:
>
> Technically we can add the feature, but I'm skeptical if it's worth
the
> cost associated with it. Also, if you rely on that feature, then your
> program is no longer linkable with the MSVC linker, so I'd expect that
most
> people would continue using declspec(dllimport) anyways. That means the
> feature wouldn't be used often.
>
Auto-imports seem like a really useful tool for porting Unix-y code to
Windows. Before we go there, though, we really need a GNU-style command
line syntax for LLD. Doing auto-imports kind of puts the cart before the
horse.

I continue to think supporting the GNU syntax is a good idea. Martell
posted some patches for mignw a while back, but Rui felt they were too
invasive. I don't know what the right design is, but I'm sure with some
effort we could find the right balance.
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