[PaulDavisThe1st]

Right, but that means it has to be implemented by someone. It could be a language builtin, but almost nobody is going to switch languages for such a feature (if it could even exist as a language feature anyway). Or it could be a library, in which case the question of better languages is again moot.

The idea that the compiler could somehow pick "the right" implementation of a sparse unordered map based on a list of constraints that combine to create potentially dozens of versions strikes me as far-fetched. Even specifying "lock-free" for example is very, very far from providing enough detail about what is actually required. Wait-free? Readers-not-blocked-by-writers? Writers-not-blocked-by-readers? etc. etc.

I don't dream of a future when compilers (or something) can somehow do all this, and I'm not convinced it will arrive. But I've been (very) wrong before.

[eternalban]

Fair points. It would need to be a meta langauge of sorts, with compilation stages, stuff like that. Maybe a compromise can be reached with customizable compilers. PaulDavisThe1st's meta-compiler may know which sparse lock-free doodad you want. Even a CnC machine can't just spit out anything under the sun. Key thought here is industrialization of software production. It will (has to) happen (not that I'm pining for it :o) And our little chat here is whether programming languages will have a role to play here.