Seyran Avanesyan wrote: > Does it mean that gcc4.4.0 in mingw-w64 is more like a branch which some > time is going to be merged with main source code, then a fork, which > will live with its own life? No, it's a straight build of unmodified code from the gcc.gnu.org subversion repository. The reason that you need projects like mingw-w64 or MinGW or Cygwin is because gcc is just a compiler. In isolation it is nearly useless unless you intend to use a freestanding environment (which you are almost certainly not doing.) gcc does not include an assembler, or a linker, or a C library/headers, etc. You need the context of a complete target in order to do real work. In the case of the common Windows ports this means you have to choose whether you want to use the Cygwin libc runtime or the Microsoft libc runtime, and add the headers and libraries of the chosen runtime, as well as various other support files like the crt*.o startup objects. Projects like MinGW and Cygwin coordinate this integration of compiler + linker + assembler + runtime + headers, much in the same way that Linux distributions combine a lot of disparate packages to make something useful. Brian
