The Definitive Guide to GCC, Second Edition (Kindle Edition)

by William von Hagen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
<p><i>The Definitive Guide to GCC</i> is a comprehensive tutorial and guide to using the newest version of GCC, the GNU Compiler Collection. GCC is quite simply the most used and most powerful tool for programmers on the planet. GCC has long been available for most major hardware and operating system platforms and is often the preferred compiler for those platforms. As a general-purpose compiler, GCC produces higher quality, faster performing executable code with fewer bugs than equivalent offerings supplied by hardware and software vendors. GCC, along with GNU Emacs, the Linux operating system, the Apache web server, the Sendmail mail server, and the BIND DNS server, is one of the showpieces of the free software world and proof that sometimes you <i>can</i> get a free lunch.</p>

<p>In <i> The Definitive Guide to GCC</i>, authors William von Hagen and Kurt Wall teach you how to build, install, customize, use, and troubleshoot GCC 3.2. This guide goes beyond just command-line invocations to show you how to use GCC to improve the quality of your code (with debugging, code profiling, and test code coverage), and how to integrate other GNU development tools, such as libtool, automake, and autoconf, into your GCC-based development projects.</p>

About the Author
William von Hagen holds degrees in computer science, English writing, and art history. William has worked with UNIX systems since 1982, during which time he has been a system administrator, systems programmer, software developer, development manager, computing facilities operations manager, writer, documentation manager, and (now) content manager. William has written a number of books, including <i>Linux Filesystems</i>, <i>Installing Red Hat Linux 7</i>, and <i>SGML For Dummies</i>, and he contributed to writing <i>Red Hat 7 Unleashed</i>. Most recently, Hagen coauthored <i>Mac OS X Power User’s Guide</i> with Brian Proffitt. William has written articles and software reviews for publications including <i>Linux Magazine</i>, <i>Linux Format</i> (UK), <i>Maximum Linux</i>, <i>Mac Tech Magazine</i>, <i>Mac Home Magazine</i>, and <i>Mac Directory</i>, and he has written extensive online material for CMP Media, Linux Planet, and Corel.

Kurt Wall first touched a computer in 1980 when he learned FORTRAN on an IBM mainframe of forgotten vintage; things have only gotten better since. A professional technical writer by trade, Kurt has worked for companies as diverse as Virtual Solutions Inc. to Caldera Systems, where he created the documentation for the OpenLinux eServer and eDesktop and associated tools. These days, Kurt works for TimeSys Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he writes all of the Linux documentation for TimeSys’s embedded Linux products. Kurt is the author of <i>Red Hat Linux Networking and System Administration</i>, <i>Linux Programming Unleashed, Second Edition</i>, and <i>Linux Programming by Example</i>, and he’s the coauthor of <i>Red Hat Linux Weekend Crash Course, Third Edition</i>. He has contributed to over 15 other Linux-related books covering topics such as system administration, performance tuning, clustering, and programming.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• Print Length: 584 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 2 edition (January 5, 2004)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• ASIN: B001GNBTY6
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #34,392 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Greatly expands the standard documentation, April 28, 2004

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Definitive Guide to GCC (Paperback)

To some of us, gcc is an old friend. It has been around since the 80s. Predating linux, and from a time when free open source code was something weird. Gcc is a collection of compilers, and if you have a linux machine, gcc appears on it by default.

But if gcc is free, why do you need this book? Well, the authors discovered a curious omission in the computing marketplace. There does not seem to be any other book in print, devoted to gcc. Other programming books, if they refer to gcc, do so only briefly. You might then ask, "can't I just use the accompanying documentation?" Yes, but that documentation is geared towards the experienced gcc user. It is terse at the best of times, and portions can be opaque.

Wall and Hagen point out that this lack of understandable documentation often turns users off gcc. They end up never using many of the powerful features added to it by experienced designers over the years. You should exploit their efforts, via this book. It explains at length the innumerable compiler options that most users never try. After reading this book, you do not have to shy away by using simple Makefiles. You can get enough understanding to actually build more powerful Makefiles; that use more fully gcc's potential.

The book also treats affiliated programs. Like gcov for doing test coverage analysis. Or libtool, to make libraries.

The heft of the book also answers a possible objection to the authors' efforts. That is, is there really enough to discuss to warrant an entire book? Indeed there is. Between the detailed discussion and a plentitude of examples, you might gain some appreciation of why the standard gcc documentation has been fleshed out here.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Reference, April 30, 2007

By	Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Definitive Guide to GCC, Second Edition (Paperback)

The Definitive Guide to GCC covers the ways to use the GCC Compiler to compile programs written in C, C++, Fortran, and Java. For each of these languages the author discusses how it is implemented within the GCC compiler. While all the sections of the book are good the parts I found the best were the ones on optimizing and analyzing code as well as troubleshooting GCC. These are very well done sections and cover stuff that is often left out of other texts or not explained nearly as well.

This can be a dauntingly technical book for those unfamiliar with programming and compiling but that is also what makes it so perfect for the experienced user. It is an extensive reference that includes not only the common options but also some of the more obscure options and switches that can be highly useful in the right circumstances.

The Definitive Guide to GCC is typical of the "Definitive Guide" series by Apress and does not disappoint in terms of expertise, detail, and easy to follow explanations. If you want to know the GCC compiler, the details of how to use it, and troubleshoot compilation problems you will find this book to be one of the best resources you can find. The Definitive Guide to GCC is highly recommended.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just GCC, August 25, 2004

By	R. Morillo (South of Nashville, North of Heaven) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Definitive Guide to GCC (Paperback)

--Warning only coves C and C++ bits of GCC--
This book earns the coveted 5th star for it's clear and consise discusion on how to get automake and friends built. Better than the entire contents of the Automake and Autonconf book for someone not alread familiar with getting them set up. Good explanaation of GCC and updates from the "GCC: The Complete Reference" to cover V 3.x