Re: [Q] Configure: Choosing as on Solaris, --with-gnu-as, and --with-as

[Phil Edwards <pedwards at disaster dot jaj dot com>]

On Mon, Feb 26, 2001 at 03:27:24PM +0100, Wolfgang Bangerth wrote:
> Oh, so I don't understand much about it, I fear. But how's it that gcc
> takes an assembler depending on where it is installed? That does not seem
> intuitive. (It isn't anyway, since gcc even takes /usr/ccs/bin/as if that
> is not in $PATH.) Could someone clarify the rules which assembler is
> taken?

This is just a data point, not an explanation:  if I build binutils along
with gcc (e.g., a unified source tree), AND specify --with-gnu-as, AND do
not specify --with-as=anything, then the installed gcc will use the GNU 'as'
(which was built and installed alongside gcc).

Under any other conditions under Solaris, gcc will try to use /usr/ccs/bin/as
(in fact, it's easy to fool gcc into using the native assembler when it
thinks it's using the GNU assembler, thereby breaking everything).

Same goes for the linker.  Truthfully I have this problem more often with
the linker than the assembler.

Don't let me discourage you when I say that I gave up trying to figure
out exactly what twisty little problems are involved here.  Once I found
that the above combination *always* worked, I stopped asking.  (Yes,
it's serious cargo cult programming, and no, I'm not proud of it...)


Phil

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