GCC Compiler

[Brian Densmore]

This will probably be my last post for a week.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Timothy R. Morley [mailto:morley at cheerful.com]
> Sent: Monday, April 29, 2002 2:59 PM
> To: Brian Densmore; KC Linux
> Subject: Re: GCC Compiler
> 
> 
> Why do you say that?  I've never had any problems compiling 
> anything on a 
> Redhat box using the gcc-2.96 compiler.  Go to www.bero.org 
Everything this man says is true. Perhaps I should have been more
specific.

3.0.x "stable" gcc is not yet stable.

2.96 is a competent compiler. Unfortunately there is a lot of
non-compliant c/c++ code
out there. This code either won't compile, or worse will compile and
behave in strange and unpredictable ways, with the 2.96 compiler.

If you haven't had problems with 2.96, you either haven't compiled a lot
of code or you've been damn lucky. I putting my money on damn lucky. I
have only had one or two programs cause me a problem because of this.
Think it was cdrecord, but it might have been a video player, or X or
KDE, or Qt. Qt has some interesting bugs. I know there are a number of
programs out there that warn you right up front "Don't compile with
anything newer than 2.95, and if you do don't ask for support.". 

So it's not really the compiler's fault, but the program using
non-standard c/c++, making use of "undocumented features" of older
compilers.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents,
Brian