The GCC Book

Rating:
Summary: More than just GCC
Review: --Warning only coves C and C++ bits of GCC--
This book earns the coveted 5th star for it's clear and consise discusion on how to get automake and friends built. Better than the entire contents of the Automake and Autonconf book for someone not alread familiar with getting them set up. Good explanaation of GCC and updates from the "GCC: The Complete Reference" to cover V 3.x

Rating:
Summary: Greatly expands the standard documentation
Review: To some of us, gcc is an old friend. It has been around since the 80s. Predating linux, and from a time when free open source code was something weird. Gcc is a collection of compilers, and if you have a linux machine, gcc appears on it by default.

But if gcc is free, why do you need this book? Well, the authors discovered a curious omission in the computing marketplace. There does not seem to be any other book in print, devoted to gcc. Other programming books, if they refer to gcc, do so only briefly. You might then ask, "can't I just use the accompanying documentation?" Yes, but that documentation is geared towards the experienced gcc user. It is terse at the best of times, and portions can be opaque.

Wall and Hagen point out that this lack of understandable documentation often turns users off gcc. They end up never using many of the powerful features added to it by experienced designers over the years. You should exploit their efforts, via this book. It explains at length the innumerable compiler options that most users never try. After reading this book, you do not have to shy away by using simple Makefiles. You can get enough understanding to actually build more powerful Makefiles; that use more fully gcc's potential.

The book also treats affiliated programs. Like gcov for doing test coverage analysis. Or libtool, to make libraries.

The heft of the book also answers a possible objection to the authors' efforts. That is, is there really enough to discuss to warrant an entire book? Indeed there is. Between the detailed discussion and a plentitude of examples, you might gain some appreciation of why the standard gcc documentation has been fleshed out here.