Improving Gettext by Minimizing Compile-Time Dependencies

In this article, Andrea Leopardi explains a significant issue encountered with Gettext, Elixir's localization library, due to heavy compile-time dependencies created when using macros. Initially, when Gettext was developed, the focus was not on the implications of generating numerous macros and functions at compile time. This led to a situation where every time translations were added or modified, it necessitated recompilation of all modules using Gettext macros. The blog details how a new API was devised to separate the backend definition from macro usage, allowing for more efficient compilation. The updated system separates translation pattern matches in backends from macro imports in user modules, effectively reducing unnecessary dependencies and speeding up compilation times, especially in Phoenix applications.