The Definitive Guide to GCC [Paperback]

William von Hagen (Author), Kurt Wall (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1590591097 | ISBN-13: 978-1590591093 | Publication Date: October 22, 2003

The GCC Book 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. It goes beyond just command line invocations and teaches 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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

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 Red Hat Linux Networking and System Administration, Linux Programming Unleashed, Second Edition, and Linux Programming by Example, and he's the coauthor of Red Hat Linux Weekend Crash Course, Third Edition. He has contributed to over 15 other Linux-related books covering topics such as system administration, performance tuning, clustering, and programming.

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 Linux Filesystems, Installing Red Hat Linux 7, and SGML For Dummies, and he contributed to writing Red Hat 7 Unleashed. He coauthored Mac OS X Power User's Guide with Brian Proffitt. William has written articles and software reviews for publications including Linux Magazine, Linux Format (UK), Maximum Linux, Mac Tech Magazine, Mac Home Magazine, and Mac Directory, and he has written extensive online material for CMP Media, Linux Planet, and Corel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: A-Press (October 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590591097
• ISBN-13: 978-1590591093
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,000,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > Compilers

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
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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.

22 of 29 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