>Should the compiler get to decide arbitrarily at which point a program becomes important enough to optimize
It probably already does. In a real program run with a real compiler you cannot reasonably know what the optimization process is going to do. You have to look at the output.
>It's to get you, the programmer, to think about the cost you incur by going further down in this table when choosing your language/environment.
>Lots of programmers today aren't aware of this table.
Please don't. You don't have to be a CS prodigy to notice the size of an executable or the fact that a program is starting slow.
It probably already does. In a real program run with a real compiler you cannot reasonably know what the optimization process is going to do. You have to look at the output.
>It's to get you, the programmer, to think about the cost you incur by going further down in this table when choosing your language/environment.
>Lots of programmers today aren't aware of this table.
Please don't. You don't have to be a CS prodigy to notice the size of an executable or the fact that a program is starting slow.