"Sheryl Canter" <sheryl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes: > If I understand correctly, gcc compiled for mingw gives you a gcc for > Windows--you can run it outside of msys--whereas gcc compiled with cygwin > must be used within the cygwin environment, which allows you to run any Unix > program. What difference does it make whether the compiler is a > gcc-for-mingw that targets Linux, or gcc-for-cygwin that targets Linux? I > can't see how it matters. It's just a question of how you run it, not what > comes out of it. You are correct in terms of how you run it. The difference is in how you build it, and that is in fact where you have had trouble. gcc is a Unix program. It's a lot easier to build gcc in the cygwin environment. gcc for mingw is a specialization of gcc to generate Windows binaries. That doesn't help you, since you need to build the compiler yourself, for a target which nobody has cleaned up for you. So you should use the cygwin build environment. I know you've already made good progress the mingw build environment. It will be much simpler in the cygwin environment, though. And you will have access to the tools you need to get the cross-support you need. Assuming you don't install Linux somewhere. Ian
