Want to join the discussion? Head over to Reddit. Introduction and Disclaimers Compilers have always been surrounded by an air of mystery and magic. This has led many of us to believe that they do things (well) that they don't, or that they don't do things (well) that they do.1 In this article is one some way a follow-up of a previous one on compiler optimization. Here, I've collected some misconceptions I've come across over the years (many of them mine), doing my best to clear up any confusion...