[bad_user]

This is very true; that's why I hate the Scala compiler and when working with Java I take special care to have a lean and mean compilation strategy.

For example with Java I use manually written Rakefiles (I prefer it over Ant since I have more control), I make sure it doesn't compile unless files have actually changed and in case the project is getting big I start separating functionality in multiple projects, having multiple JARs as a result.

Then, I'm using Emacs and in Emacs I can start a build whenever I'm hitting "Save" on a file. And in case of compilation errors, Emacs even highlights the errors for me.

You have to work on it a little and you lose time on the actual build process, but you can achieve a lean and mean setup (unless the compiler really sucks).

Of course, this is the advantage of an IDE - it takes care of annoying details for you; but then you have to put up with all the bloat that brings. And for humongous projects, your IDE will choke anyway, even if you have the latest state-of-the-art hardware; try loading the Firefox codebase in Eclipse CDT or in Visual Studio sometimes.