Compiling GCC 2.8.1 on SGI IRIX 6.2, 6.3, and 6.4

This page describes how to compile the GNU C and C++ 2.8.1 compilers (GCC) on the Silicon Graphics (SGI) IRIX 6.x platform. Previous versions of GCC did not support the IRIX 6.x platform; there were tricks available that allowed you to build an IRIX 5.3 compiler version, but there was no native support for the new n32 and 64 binary formats. The new 2.8.1 GCC versions supports IRIX 6.x in native mode.

The instructions on this page can also be used to compile egcs, according to Ian McKellar (thanks Ian!).

Instead of compiling GCC 2.8.1 yourself, you can also get a .tardist from Ariel Faigon's freeware for IRIX site. This package installs directly from the web.

Note: if you have build GCC 2.8.0 according to the instructions on this page, you should definitively upgrade to GCC 2.8.1 and build it according to this new instructions. After joining the gcc2 mailing list, it turned out that I made some mistakes in my compiling instructions.

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Do you need libg++?

Before you build GCC, you have to decide if you want to compile libg++. Libg++ is considered obsolete and its functionality has been replaced by libstdc++. For compatibility reasons, there is still an up-to-date versions of libg++ available. If you have software that depends on libg++, you have to download and compile it; if not, libstdc++ is sufficient.

What do you need?

• A Silicon Graphics machine running IRIX 6.2, 6.3, or 6.4 with a C compiler already installed; this can be the IRIX MipsPRO C compiler, or an older version of GCC. It should be possible to cross-compile GCC for IRIX from another OS, but I don't have experience with this. You can also use GCC 2.7.2.2 at Ariel Faigon's freeware for IRIX site to compile GCC 2.8.1. (Note: I haven't tried this, I'm just pointing out a possibility.)
• The subsystem eoe.hdr.lib has to be installed. This subsystem contains the necessary header files to compile GCC. eoe.hdr.lib is on the IRIX CDs, not on the Integrated Development Option (IDO) CD.
• Use the SGI assembler and linker. They will be packaged with the core OS in IRIX 6.5. For IRIX 6.2/6.3/6.4, you can also get them for free on the IRIX Development Foundation & Libraries set of CDs. You can request them through devprogram@sgi.com.
• Use GNU make because SGI make can't handle the Makefiles. The GNU make source is available from ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/. Use the latest version (I compiled everything using GNU make 3.76.1). Here is a binary of GNU make for IRIX 6.3 (will also run on IRIX 6.2 and 6.4). You can also use an inst'able version of gmake from SGI's freeware site.
• Of course, you'll need the GCC source, available at ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/ and various mirrors all around the world. You'll also need the libstdc++ source, and probably libg++. Available at the same site from where you downloaded the GCC source.

What do you get?

You'll get a copy of the world-famous freeware GNU C compiler on your IRIX system. GCC supports C, C++, and Objective C. You can use GCC for various reasons:

• To compile software that can't be compiled with the IRIX MipsPRO compilers.
• To compile software specifically written for GCC. For example: The Gimp, the wonderful free image manipulation software.
• To get more useful error messages during software development (the IRIX MipsPRO compiler is a bit cryptic sometimes).
• To get a compiler anyway on your IRIX system. This will be true with IRIX 6.5, when the assembler and the linker will no longer be part of the IDO package. You can also get the IRIX assembler and linker for IRIX 6.2/6.3/6.4 by requesting the IRIX Development Foundation & Libraries set of CDs at devprogram@sgi.com.
• Just because it is an open source product. We all know that open source software is better anyway... ;-))

GCC supports both the n32 and the 64 ABI. GCC will generate n32 binaries as a default, but you can force it to generate 64 binaries by using the -mabi=64 command line option. The older 32 ABI is not yet supported, but you can generate an 32 compiler by just configuring for irix5.

Step by step instructions

1. Get the source (sic).
2. Uncompress the source:
   gzip -dc gcc-2.8.1.tar.gz | tar xvf -
   gzip -dc libstdc++-2.8.1.tar.gz | tar xvf -
3. Clean up your path. You should not have any reference s to old GCC versions or (worse) GNU assembler and linker in your path. A good path is:
   /usr/sbin /sbin /usr/bsd /usr/bin /bin /usr/bin/X11
   Your mileage may vary.
4. Go tho the GCC directory and configure GCC:
   cd gcc-2.8.1
   ./configure --enable-threads --prefix=/usr/gnu
   Choose the prefixes you like, read the GNU autoconf documentation for more information.
5. Compile the stage1 compiler using the native SGI compiler:
   gmake LANGUAGES=c
   
6. Install the stage1 compiler:
   gmake stage1
7. Compile the stage2 compiler using the just installed stage1 compiler:
   gmake CC="stage1/xgcc -Bstage1/" CFLAGS="-g -O"
8. Install the stage2 compiler:
   gmake stage2
9. Compile the stage3 compiler using the just installed stage2 compiler:
   gmake CC="stage2/xgcc -Bstage2/" CFLAGS="-g -O"
10. Check if the compiler is build properly:
    gmake compare
    You should not get any error.
11. Install GCC:
    gmake install CC="stage2/xgcc -Bstage2/" CFLAGS="-g -O"
    You probably have to be root to do this.
12. Go to the libstdc++ directory:
    cd ../libstc++-2.8.1
13. Set the CC and CXX environment variable to the freshly installed GCC (csh style):
    setenv CC /usr/gnu/bin/gcc
    setenv CXX /usr/gnu/bin/gcc
    Or Bourne shell style:
    CC=/usr/gnu/bin/gcc ; export CC
    CXX=/usr/gnu/bin/gcc ; export CXX
14. Configure libstdc++:
    ./configure --prefix=/usr/gnu
    Again, use the prefixes you like, but use the same prefixes as you used for GCC itself.
15. Compile libstdc++:
    gmake
16. Install libstdc++:
    gmake install

That's it, you now have a running copy of GCC 2.8.1 on your system. If you want to install libg++, you'll have to compile and install it now. I don't need it, so I did not compile it. (If you provide me with building instructions, I will include them on this page).

Hints for compiling libg++

To compile libg++, you have to untar the libg++ source in the libstdc++ directory. Now configure and install libstdc++ in the usual way, and libg++ will automatically be configured and installed in the right way. I have not tried this on IRIX machines, but it worked perfectly on a SunOS 4.1.3 machine. Your mileage may vary.

Known bugs (and fixes)

If you're using C++ templates, you can get the following linker warnings when using g++:

ld: WARNING 131: Multiply defined weak symbol:(__tf6f_NODE) in
libfoo.a(bar.o) and
libgnu.a(gnats.o) (2nd definition ignored).

The linker is correct, but there's nothing you can do about it; this is just the way g++ handles templates. If these warnings annoy you, you can switch them off by editing the file /usr/gnu/lib/gcc-lib/mips-sgi-irix6.3/2.8.1/specs: search for the link entry and insert -woff 131 just before -_SYSTYPE_SVR4. In future versions of g++, this warning will be switched off as a default.

If you are using a SGI MipsPRO 7.0 compiler, be sure to set the -32 flag when compiling the stage1 compiler. From Jim Wilson on the egcs mailing list (egcs@cygnus.com):

> 2. Is "cc -n32" support truly buggy, or can we use it?

Every SGI compiler I tried up through 7.0beta had a bug that caused gcc to be miscompiled. 7.0beta had only a single bug, which caused an optimization to be disabled, but did not cause bad code. Hence if using 7.0beta, a stage2/stage3 comparison would fail, but a stage3/stage4 comparison would succeed. The one bug I reported against 7.0beta was fixed in 7.1. All versions prior to 7.0beta have serious bugs that can not be worked around easily.

I never tested any compiler after 7.0beta, by then I had gotten in the habit of always using cc -32 when using the SGI compiler. My suspicion though is that bootstrapping with -n32 would work with 7.1 and later compilers. The 7.1 compilers have probably been out for 2 years or so by now.

Setting the -32 flag for the stage1 compiler can be done by using CFLAGS="-32" in step 5. I have not tried this (using a 7.1 compiler), so your mileage may vary.

You should also read Ariel Faigon's notes on using gcc 2.8.1.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to:

• Ariel Faigon for helping me compiling the 2.8.0 version of GCC, and for pointing me to the gcc2 mailing list.
• Alexis Cousein (SGI Belgium/Luxembourg) for pointing out that you can get SGI assembler and linker for IRIX 6.2/6.3/6.4 for free now.
• Ian McKellar for letting me know that the instructions also work for egcs.
• The people who made GCC in the first place.

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