> The point being that generated code from C compilers being always the one to beat is an urban myth.

Ok.

> C compilers are only speed monsters thanks to almost 50 years of research in optimizing C and C++ compiler backends.

Lots of those optimizations apply in one form or another to other languages as well.

And... so which is it? Are C compilers fast and the thing to beat or did that research go nowhere?

C is the speed benchmark because 'beating C' is what will get you a foot in the door. Being 'slower than C' is going to get your pet language booted out the door because:

- companies tend to compete on speed of execution

- the speed of the compiler itself is a major factor in turnaround time for the typical edit-compile-test cycle

- nobody cares about security until they've been bitten hard.

This is all very frustrating but it seems to - in my experience - accurately reflect priorities in lots of corporations. It is up to us to change that.

See the title: it is about the speed of execution, and it uses one technology 'GPU' to challenge another 'CPU' and yet the accent is on which language was used.