C Compilers

[decatur-linux]

I am a former main-frame programmer who would like to learn C on my Kubuntu box.

The programming books that I have refer to the C compiler as 'cc' or 'gcc'. I have installed on my Kubuntu box the following:
gcc-4.0
gcc-4.0-base
gcc-4.0-doc

But I also have [NOT installed] the following:
gcc
gcc-3.3
gcc-3.3-base
gcc-3.4
gcc-3.4-base
gcc-3.4-doc
gcc-doc

I am presuming that gcc-4.0 is the latest and greatest, but that the others are for people who have some reason to use an earlier version.

Now assuming that all the above is true, how do I set up an 'alias' or 'link' to gcc-4.0 so that I can execute the command as 'cc' or 'gcc', rather than typing the command as 'gcc-4.0'?

Thanks for your encouragement; this is one great forum, and Kubuntu is one GREAT distro!

[marble]

Re: C Compilers

I got that symlink by default without having to do anything. If you don't have it, you can create it with:

cd /usr/bin
sudo ln -s gcc-4.0 gcc

[a_l_a_n]

Re: C Compilers

Often, when there are multiple versions of a package in the repo, there will be one without a version number, as in this case. These 'dummy' packages refer to the latest versoin. So had you installed the package gcc you would have in effect installed gcc-4.0. I suspect that doing it this way will set up the symlinks for you so that gcc, ld, etc. will point to the latest versions. So in short, try installing gcc.

[decatur-linux]

Re: C Compilers

Here's what I found out after reading the above two messages:

In /usr/bin:
gcc -> gcc-4.0

Also, in /usr/bin:
cc -> /etc/alternatives/cc

And, in /etc/alternatives:
cc -> /usr/bin/gcc

So, in effect, /usr/bin/gcc AND /usr/bin/cc -> gcc-4.0. So I can use either to run the gcc 4.0 compiler.

Now, if I wanted to install gcc-3.4 IN ADDITION TO gcc-4.0, I should check these links AFTER I install gcc-3.4 to make sure that they have not been changed, and then manually set up a separate link to gcc-3.4.

For example, the HOW-TO for setting up the VMWare server with WinXP as a virtual machine calls for gcc-3.4. I don't know if such is REQUIRED, or if that was just the version number when the HOW-TO was written. It may be that gcc-4.0 will work just as well.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Any additional comments are welcomed.