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by tresta 5171 days ago
> I was surprised to find that the process of building gcc-4.7 from sources on Ubuntu is so complicated, after all, this is a Linux system …

It didn't look all that complicated to me. It seems like it is just the standard steps for installing gcc? Or am I missing something?
1 comments
RSeldon 5171 days ago
If you have installed before gcc from sources on Ubuntu you will notice that this time you need to do some extra steps.

A typical build should be as simple as:

./configure --prefix=where_you_want_this_installed make -j number_of_processors sudo make install

this is not the case if you read the various "bugs" reported on Ubuntu mailing lists.

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tresta 5171 days ago
I have manually installed a local gcc from patched sources on gentoo, and this seems like the standard procedure.

There might be a few more helper libraries needed now than in earlier versions, but this isn't really complicated...

And the need for setting a few environment variables is hardly very taxing.

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RSeldon 5171 days ago
patched sources ... gentoo ... environment variables ...

Please stop right there and think at the average Ubuntu user, or at a person that has used Windows as his primary OS and just recently has tried Linux hoping to learn/try/test some C++0x/C++11 codes.

Obviously the linked article was not written with a hard core Linux user in mind.

I understand that, from where you stand, this is trivially simple. Just don't assume everyone has your experience.

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tresta 5171 days ago
> patched sources

it was for... I don't recall exactly, something non-standard gcc did with templates, possibly? Anyways, they sent me the sources pre-patched, I just compiled it.

> gentoo

that I didn't administer, I only used it. I was a real newbie at the time. I just figured that since you specified ubuntu...

> I understand that, from where you stand, this is trivially simple. Just don't assume everyone has your experience.

I see your point, though. I might be looking back at it with the rose-tinted glasses of experience. Also, when I first skimmed through it I only read up until the point where it said that it was complicated and then I got interrupted by the real world for a while, building suspense.

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