Should cross and native compilers ever be version-matched?
The current debian gcc build process is controlled by the DEB_CROSS
and DEB_CROSS_INDEPENDENT variables. (See debian/rules.defs in gcc
source).
We are about to change this to cater for canadian and 'reverse cross'
(built != host, host==target) which has caused me to think about
this and wonder what the point is.
DEB_CROSS is set when HOST=!TARGET in order to do normal cross-build
things.
DEB_CROSS_INDEPENDENT just sets whether the binary packge produced
depends on gcc-base or gcc-cross-foo-base
In effect, unless DEB_CROSS_INDEPENDENT is set, the versions of native
and cross compiler are tied together and you have to upgrade both
together.
My question is, is it ever useful to tie the cross and native versions together in this
way, or should the functionality of these two variables be collapsed
into one (DEB_CROSS), so that cross-compilers are always independent
of the native compiler version?
It seems to me that whilst some people may want to keep the same
versions installed, having it enforced by the package is not useful,
as there are so many occaisions where you want the flexibility to
upgrade them independently.
Emdebian-built cross-tools always have DEB_CROSS and
DEB_CROSS_INDEPENDENT set, so they ammount to the same thing. Does
anyone have a need to building cross-tools _without_
DEB_CROSS_INDEPENDENT set?
P.S. (is there a generally-accepted name for the 'reverse cross' case
mentioned above)?
Wookey
--
Principal hats: Balloonz - Toby Churchill - Aleph One - Debian
http://wookware.org/
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