Compiling GCC

Abstract

Compiling GCC compilers from source is widely considered a difficult or even risky undertaking. I respectfully disagree. Admittedly, the process of compiling a compiler from source is complex, but the GNU development team takes care of most of the complexity for you. Moreover, merely building a compiler imposes no risk at all. Installing it, or rather, installing it incorrectly, can certainly destabilize your system. You can, however, install the newly built compiler as a supplemental or secondary compiler rather than as the system compiler and completely sidestep this risk. On the other hand, if you follow the instructions in this chapter, you can install the latest version of GCC as your primary compiler without impacting your system’s overall stability.