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On a C project at work, make builds for various targets, one of them apparently being powerpc-405. The build for that specific target fails because I don't have the toolchain installed.

make[7]: /opt/crosstool/gcc-4.2.4-glibc-2.3.6/powerpc-405-linux-gnu/bin/powerpc-405-linux-gnu-gcc: Command not found

Q: I have a very shaky understanding of the "download source code, then build it yourself" paradigm that's common in Linux-land. Can someone please describe how I can do this specific to the noted toolchain in the error?

So far, I've determined/think that I need to go to ftp://gcc.gnu.org/pub/gcc/releases/gcc-4.2.4/ .

Q: What should I download from here? I assume I can safely ignore things like fortran, and java. But from among { gcc-4.2.4, gcc-core-4.2.4, gcc-g++-4.2.4, gcc-testsuite-4.2.4 }, which should I download? All?

Q: After downloading+extracting the correct set of tarballs, what exactly is next? I have a tentative understanding that eventually I will be doing the configure; make; make install incantation, but I'm unclear what I need to do before and after.

Q: You'll note the error mentions glibc-2.3.6. Where does this fit into the picture? As noted above, the ftp site I'm at only mentions gcc-4.2.4. I'm unclear what "melds" gcc-4.2.4 and glibc-2.3.6 for purposes of resolving the build error.

Q: The noted ftp site looks like a "generic" gcc. I.e. from the filenames, I don't perceive any relation to powerpc-405. Am I on the right track, or should I be looking elsewhere? I did google for various combinations of "powerpc" and "gcc" and did not find anything that looked like it led to a powerpc-405-specific gcc.

>uname -a
Linux linuxbox 3.11.10-301.fc20.x86_64 #1 SMP Thu Dec 5 14:01:17 UTC 2013 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

From working through this specific example, I'd like to develop an understanding of how Linux users/developers understand where to go to download cross-compiler toolchains and compile them.

StoneThrow
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  • Don’t your colleagues have a working compiler for this? – Stephen Kitt Jun 22 '17 at 04:21
  • What linux distribution are you using, why download tarballs when the tools are in the repos ? You can, don't get me wrong, but why would you ? – thecarpy Jun 22 '17 at 07:13
  • See http://www.kegel.com/crosstool/current/doc/crosstool-howto.html for how to add a platform. It is all explained in the quickstart section. – thecarpy Jun 22 '17 at 07:23
  • @thecarpy - Thanks for your answer. RE: your question "why download tarballs when the tools are in the repos?" - I don't think I understand your question - what do you mean by "the tools are in the repos"? Maybe that's already answered by your posted answer; I'm reading and trying to digest all the information. – StoneThrow Jun 22 '17 at 17:17
  • @StephenKitt - As it turns out, yes, but I was just taking the opportunity to educate myself about the "download source then build it yourself" paradigm since I'm trying to gain Linux experience. – StoneThrow Jun 22 '17 at 18:43
  • Yes, I understand — and that way you get the best of both worlds, your colleagues’ compiler and knowledge so you can get your job done (and have a known-good reference), and still the opportunity to learn about cross-compilers. – Stephen Kitt Jun 22 '17 at 19:38

1 Answers1

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I have a very shaky understanding of the "download source code, then build it yourself" paradigm that's common in Linux-land. Can someone please describe how I can do this specific to the noted toolchain in the error?

Basically, read the quick start and troubleshooting sections of http://www.kegel.com/crosstool/current/doc/crosstool-howto.html

More generally, see How to compile and install programs from source for compilation from source.

This should answer some of your questions.

What should I download from here? I assume I can safely ignore things like fortran, and java. But from among { gcc-4.2.4, gcc-core-4.2.4, gcc-g++-4.2.4, gcc-testsuite-4.2.4 }, which should I download? All?

Note that crosstool downloads them for you!

After downloading+extracting the correct set of tarballs, what exactly is next? I have a tentative understanding that eventually I will be doing the configure; make; make install incantation, but I'm unclear what I need to do before and after.

crosstool compiles it/them for you.

More generally: You first read the build instructions on the website BEFORE you download the source of what you want.

Generally, the ./configure && make && sudo make install goes like this:

The source you extract to a temporary directory, cd into the directory and run ./configure This will check that all prerequisites are fulfilled. It will mention any missing libraries, these are in dev(debian)/devel(redhat/suse) packages that you will need. Locate them and install, and try ./configure again.

Once it completes without errors, you issue make.

Hopefully it completes without errors, you issue sudo make install.

Sometimes, you get a autogen.sh instead of configure ... read the instructions on the website.

You'll note the error mentions glibc-2.3.6. Where does this fit into the picture? As noted above, the ftp site I'm at only mentions gcc-4.2.4. I'm unclear what "melds" gcc-4.2.4 and glibc-2.3.6 for purposes of resolving the build error.

glibc is the c library used. The c library on the target platform must be a compatible version or you will get issues. Again, crosstool handles this for you.

So glibc is a c library, like a DLL, that all programs compiled with gcc (the C compiler) use. gcc compiles source code (text files) for a given platform/glibc version combination into binaries, executables and libraries.

You can see dependencies of a given program using ldd, like ldd /usr/bin/gawk, for example.

The noted ftp site looks like a "generic" gcc. I.e. from the filenames, I don't perceive any relation to powerpc-405. Am I on the right track, or should I be looking elsewhere? I did google for various combinations of "powerpc" and "gcc" and did not find anything that looked like it led to a powerpc-405-specific gcc.

The gcc source can be compiled for a number of target platforms. Here, you see the source code, platform-independent, one source fits all.

Rui F Ribeiro
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thecarpy
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  • Your answer and the howto you pointed me to are very good reads. So as I understand it, Mr. Kegel's crosstool is actually a "wrapper" that helpfully combines the download+building of both gcc and glibc, which are actually separate entities but are ultimately both needed in order to do cross-compilation - do I have that right? – StoneThrow Jun 22 '17 at 20:22
  • Yes, indeed, that is what the howto reads, I have not used that tool ... – thecarpy Jun 22 '17 at 20:30