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RFC: Dropping the non-GCC bootstrap requirement (Was: Beginner GCCprojects question)
Zack Weinberg wrote:
See, the solution to the crossbuild problem (and to the "non-GCC
bootstrap compiler" problem) is to build cpplib for the build machine,
and wrap a custom tool around it. That part is easy. But once
you've done that, why not make the custom tool a little cleverer so
that it can generate _all_ the dependencies? I don't think it's
hard.
Has anybody considered dropping the requirement of
being able to bootstrap from any C89 compiler?
This requirement was reasonable in the infancy of
GCC, when it wasn't yet the most popular C compiler.
Many platforms come with GCC preinstalled and usually
it's the default compiler. Those that lack GCC can
easily bootstrap from previous GCC versions. Those
where GCC hasn't already been ported can cross-build
it from another platform.
This would still be much more flexible than any other
C compiler allows.
If it makes the build system and C frontend easier
to maintain, I suggest we make this decision even if
it means we loose a rarely used feature such as
bootstrapping from ancient C compilers.
After several years of suffering, we've finally dropped
the K&R C requirement and it made our code much more
readable. Then we've dropped the "any-make" requirement
and as a consequence the build system is going to get
simpler.
I know this is an SC decision, and maybe I don't
understand all the implications, but I'm curious
to see how the other GCC developers feel about it.
--
// Bernardo Innocenti - Develer S.r.l., R&D dept.
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