> > If you want to see a really slow compiler I suggest
> > you try using ADA (yuk!) if you haven't already.

To confirm what others have said:

" .... They carefully review their programs before they first compile or
  test them.  If you want a quality product, you must spend the time to
  personally engineer it, review it, and rework it until you are satisfied
  with its quality.  Only then is it ready for compiling and testing.

  Contrast this method with the more common approach where once the
  program is coded, the engineer immediately tries to compile it.  The
  compiler then leads the engineer by the nose from one problem to the
  next.  When the program finally compiles, the engineer is so relieved
  that the immediate desire is to see if it will run.  One of the best
  clues that a shop follows this approach is complaints about how slow the
  compilers are."

                                -- Watts S. Humphrey
                                   A Discipline for Software Engineering