Re: Installing gcc 4.7.2 on Solaris 10 - SPARC platform

[Kai Ruottu <kai.ruottu@wippies.com>]

16.12.2012 2:31, Holmes.Sherlock kirjoitti:
> Thanks *Dennis* for your assistance. However, I have been able to compile gcc
> 4.7.2 on Solaris 10 (SPARC) without your gcc 4.5.1 pre-compiled binary
> package. Here is the precise steps I follwed in case someone else needs it
> later:
>
> 1. Installed gcc 3.4.6 pre-compile binary from  http://sunfreeware.com/
> <http://sunfreeware.com/>   which got installed /usr/local/bin/
> 2. Installed MPFR library under /usr/local: *./configure
> --prefix=/usr/local, make && make install*
> 3. Installed MPC library under /usr/local: *./configure --prefix=/usr/local,
> make && make install*
> 4. Installed GMP library under /usr/local: *./configure --prefix=/usr/local,
> make && make install*
> 5. Installed binutils-2.23.1 under /usr/local: *./configure
> --prefix=/usr/local, make && make install*
> 6. Set the environment variable to force gcc make process to use GNU as:
> AS=/usr/local/bin/as
> 7. Set the environment variable to force gcc make process to use GNU ld:
> AS=/usr/local/bin/ld
> 8. Started gcc build: *./configure --prefix=/usr/local, make && make
> install*
>
> The build process ran over 8 hours (I don't know exactly how much time it
> tiik as I left the office after 8 hours and found itself ready the next
> morning). I did the same process twice on the same machine and it got built
> successfully both the times.

I built gcc-4.7.2 for sparc-solaris2.10 and i686-solaris2.10 targets on 
my laptop with
AMD Athlon64x2 TK-55 1.8 GHz and CentOS 6.3 Linux and it took about 15 
minutes
for each. The GNU Linux binutils 2.23.51.0.x was used for 'as' and 'ld' 
and such and
building them took about 5  minutes for each 
(sparc&sparc64/i686&x86_64).  No
problems at all with these.  Meaning during the builds...

But  what is the problem with using only the GNU binutils always? With 
cross GCCs
using GNU binutils is the only possibility, with native GCCs one can use 
also the native
Sun 'as', 'ld' and so on, but if the GNU ones really work, why one would 
use different
components on the native platform?

Generally I don't understand why anyone would use a platform where compiling
something takes over 8 hours as a development/build environment and not only
as a runtime platform...