Re: 64-bit gcc

[Brian Dessent <brian@dessent.net>]

Seyran Avanesyan wrote:

> Does it mean that gcc4.4.0 in mingw-w64 is more like a branch which some
> time is going to be merged with main source code, then a fork, which
> will live with its own life?

No, it's a straight build of unmodified code from the gcc.gnu.org
subversion repository.

The reason that you need projects like mingw-w64 or MinGW or Cygwin is
because gcc is just a compiler.  In isolation it is nearly useless
unless you intend to use a freestanding environment (which you are
almost certainly not doing.)  gcc does not include an assembler, or a
linker, or a C library/headers, etc.  You need the context of a complete
target in order to do real work.

In the case of the common Windows ports this means you have to choose
whether you want to use the Cygwin libc runtime or the Microsoft libc
runtime, and add the headers and libraries of the chosen runtime, as
well as various other support files like the crt*.o startup objects. 
Projects like MinGW and Cygwin coordinate this integration of compiler +
linker + assembler + runtime + headers, much in the same way that Linux
distributions combine a lot of disparate packages to make something
useful.

Brian