[ILUG] Can anyone see any reason why a customer would need to compile a new compiler?

[Brian Foster]

  | From: Declan Moriarty <junk_mail at iol.ie>
  | Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2006 16:10:25 +0100
  |
  |[ ... ]  I think it extremely
  | unlikely that a vanilla gcc-4.1 will compile on any sort of an old
  | system. They seem to be using very recent kernel headers and binutils
  | versions to get it going.

 probably wrong.

 some evidence: both gcc-4.1.0 (the compiler itself),
 and programs (and libraries) compiled with it, both
 compile and run find on "older" systems — in my case,
 a 2.4.1x (where <x> is something like 5).  however,
 the binutils are fairly new (c.3 years old), so I
 cannot confirm "older" binutils would work.

 some logic:  why would the kernel matter?  gcc can
 be built as a cross-compiler for, and to run on,
 other systems (not Linux), so ergo, kernel headers
 aren't too important.  which makes sense:  a compiler
 is not a kernel; there is not too much in the kernel
 headers a compiler needs.
 ( I can say this with some assurance, since a large
  part of my current $ob is maintaining a compiler
  (not C) which runs on multiple platforms (not all
  Linux).  there is, AFAICR, only two kernel headers
  used by the system-independent code, and the system
  dependent-code needs only one more.
   those three headers comprise exactly half of the
  known system/architecture dependencies within the
  compiler. )

cheers!
	-blf-
-- 
Experienced (20+ yrs) kernel/software Eng: | Brian Foster   Montpellier,
 • Unix, embedded, &tc;  • Linux;  • doc;  | blf at utvinternet.ie   FRANCE
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