How to understand gcc source code?

[Aaron Gray]

> Aaron Gray wrote:
>>>   * what is the proportion of cross-compilation? I have no real clue. 
>>> I would suppose that during all the GCC runs in the last month, only a 
>>> minority was cross-compilation (for some embedded systems). Of these, 
>>> what are the favorite target machines & systems. I really don't know 
>>> this one (maybe ARM or PowerPC32?).
>> 
>> Don't forget all the Linux based routers like OpenWRT and Netgear 
>> devices that are cross compiled using GCC. GCC+Linux is very scalable !
> 
> Aren't they often ARM boards running Linux? But usually, you cross 
> compile (on Linux/x86 or AMD64, towards target Linux/ARM or whatever)...

AFAIK Mainly MIP's based CPU's.
 
> I'm more interested in figures from the GCC user perspective. A device 
> with some embedded Linux, even if sold in the millions, has its software 
> probably compiled only a few times for the last release (and perhaps a 
> thousand times for its entire development). Linux based routers could 
> not run the GCC compiler (inside the router)!

Yes, I was not totally clear in my "GCC+Linux" comment :)

Aaron