Building ARM GNU Cross compiler

Question

A similiar (less descriptive) post is here.

I\'m trying to roll my own tool chain using recent releases on Ubuntu and was hoping there was enough of a Linux communit

Answer 1

Welcome, you're not alone.

The story

I don't know why ARM cross-compiling is such a nightmare. It's not my opinion, let's see, what others say...

Building a gcc / glibc cross-toolchain for use in embedded systems development used to be a scary prospect, requiring iron will, days if not weeks of effort, lots of Unix and Gnu lore, and sometimes willingness to take dodgy shortcuts. ( http://www.kegel.com/crosstool/ )

My ARM computer (GuruPlug) is running on Debian, so I just need a standard G++ compiler, without any tweaks.

I'm using 32-bit Ubuntu on my notebook. There are deb packages for AVR cross-compiler, or even for Z80, but none for ARM - why? OK, we have to compile one. Let's go. The compilation process of the toolchain is a bit confusing for me. 14k lines long Makefile, thank you.

After some days (and nights) I've failed.

The solution

Finally, I've found an out-of-the box soluion. I've just downloaded the lite edition of this stuff: http://www.codesourcery.com/sgpp/lite_edition.html and now I'm happy. It has an ugly installer, but it works. It says: arm-none-linux-gnueabi-g++ (Sourcery G++ Lite 2010q1-202) 4.4.1, which is an up-to-date G++ version.

(My friend has a Mac, and he has also failed compiling the toolchain after fighting with it for a week. He is now using this compiler on a VM running Ubuntu.)