• Re: GNU/GCC 3.4.6 for ATARI

    From Francois LE COAT@3:633/10 to All on Monday, August 17, 2026 14:20:39
    Hi,

    Francois LE COAT wrote:
    I put this message in a bottle...

    Can somebody build me a 3.4.6 version of GNU/GCC for ATARI?

    Sources are available there: <https://github.com/freemint/m68k-atari-mint-gcc/archive/refs/tags/gnu/
    releases/gcc-3.4.6.tar.gz>


    For the moment I have the ARAnyM miniPack, and a system development
    kit <https://archimedium.fr/gcc3.3.6SDK.zip> with GNU/GCC 3.3.6 that
    is not suitable to build the GNU/GCC compiler myself. Can you help me?

    I need the 3.4.6 GNU/GCC compiler to work with my Eureka 2.12 software.

    Are binaries of GNU/GCC available somewhere? Can you build it for me?

    Thanks, and Merry Christmas for now...

    For Eureka 2.12, I tested the GNU/GCC 4 compiler in isolation, linking
    against GNU/GCC 2/3 and thus using the older ATARI libraries.

    In other words, my test involved the GNU/GCC 4 compiler using the old
    library bindings (headers) with the obsolete `-mshort` option. Well,
    it simply doesn't work. This implies that the old ATARI libraries have
    become obsolete with GNU/GCC 4, and so has the Eureka 2.12 code.
    Revising the Eureka 2.12 code avoiding using the `-mshort` option has
    become impossible. The GNU/GCC 4 syntax has evolved too much and differs
    too significantly for me, to maintain my software.

    It is one of the quirks of the C language. While compiler options for
    backward compatibility do exist, but they are unavailable in the ATARI
    version of GNU/GCC 4. There is nothing to be done about it.

    All my tests with GNU/GCC 4 fail, so I am sticking with the ATARI
    version of GNU/GCC 3.3.6. GNU/GCC 3.4.6 would likely offer some
    improvements, particularly for the MC68060. But unfortunately, an
    ATARI version of GNU/GCC 3.4.6 does not exist. It was never ported.

    Then again, the C language "portability" is full of such quirks!
    It makes questioning the famous language's reputation for portability.

    Regards,

    --
    Fran‡ois LE COAT
    Author of Eureka 2.12 (2D Graph Describer, 3D Modeller) https://eureka.atari.org/


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