(resolved) getting Creator to "pick up" new version of GCC

mzimmers

I'm still learning my way around tool chains. I just downloaded GCC 4.7 (into /opt/local/bin), and got a whole bunch of binaries there. And, /opt/local/bin is in my PATH variable. So, how do I get Creator to see it automatically?

Thanks.

tobias.hunger

Creator picks up the first GCC it discovers in PATH automatically. So put /opt/local/bin to the front and it should find that one.

I'd just set up a tool chain manually though.

mzimmers

Thanks, Tobias. I'm not ignoring your suggestion to set it up manually, but I want to see that I can get it to work automatically first. I just rearranged my PATH variable, but it still picks up the compiler in /usr/bin. This tells me that one of two things is happening:

I screwed up the install (possible, though I used Macports and it seemed OK)
Creator is looking for a specific filename that it's not finding, so maybe I need to make a link.

Do either of these seem likely to you?

EDIT:

Here are (at least some of) the files produced by macports. According to a thread I read (not in Qt-land), these are what to expect.

bq. mac mini:~ mzimmers$ cd /opt/local/bin
mac mini:bin mzimmers$ ls gcc*
gcc-ar-mp-4.7 gcc-nm-mp-4.7
gcc-mp-4.7 gcc-ranlib-mp-4.7
mac mini:bin mzimmers$ ls g++*
g++-mp-4.7
mac mini:bin mzimmers$

I also tried making a link in /opt/local/bin:

@mac mini:bin mzimmers$ sudo ln g++-mp-4.7 gcc
@

and made a similar link for "g++", but Creator is still picking up the other version (4.2 in /usr/bin) instead.

Here's my PATH variable:

@mac mini:bin mzimmers$ echo $PATH
/opt/local/bin:/opt/local/sbin://usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/X11/bin:.:/opt/local/lib:/Developer/Applications/Qt/Desktop/Qt/4.8.0/gcc/bin:/opt/subversion/bin:/usr/local/Cellar/boost/1.49.0/include/boost
ma@

So...do I need to do something to get creator to re-examine the paths to the tool chains? Restarting it doesn't seem to do anything.

tobias.hunger

Restarting should cause Creator to pick up the PATH. Does "which g++" find the right thing?

mzimmers

I assume you mean restarting Creator, not restarting my system, right. And yes, "which g++" does find the one I want:

@mac mini:~ mzimmers$ which g++
/opt/local/bin/g++
@

mzimmers

Any other suggestions for what I might look at here?

mzimmers

As another data point, I also added the path to llvm-gcc-4.2, but Creator didn't pick this one up, either.

Does Creator need a link with a recognizable name like "g++" to see the compilers?

tobias.hunger

Creator will set the path for the executable to be picked up. Unfortunately qmake will ignore the actual binary specified and fall back to whatever is encoded in its mkspec:-( So you will need to make sure the compiler executable is actually the one the mkspec will run.

I am not really happy with the current state of the tool chains and qmake integration, but do not see much I can do at this time to improve the situation in time for 2.5:-( For 2.6 we are already planing to improve the situation a lot.

mzimmers

bq. Unfortunately qmake will ignore the actual binary specified and fall back to whatever is encoded in its mkspec:-( So you will need to make sure the compiler executable is actually the one the mkspec will run.

So, how do I go about doing that? With a manual addition to the tool chain? Or do I need to create a mkspec directory for the new compiler(s)? (Is there documentation on how to do the latter, by the way? I couldn't find any.)

tobias.hunger

You will need copy one of the directories in QTDIR/mkspecs (choose one close to what you want to use) and then edit the files in that directory.

mzimmers

Yes, I understand that (I think), but...then what?

I'm trying to understand the whole process of introducing a new mkspec directory into the build process. So:

by creating this directory, how does Creator find it?
are there any naming conventions I should be aware of?
will it get overwritten/deleted/lost when I update Qt at some point? I notice the mkspec directories are under a directory named "4.8.0" so I imagine this must be a concern somehow.

Come to think of it...this is all under a directory called "gcc." So, for non-gcc compilers (like LLVM), should I create a parallel directory path, and if so, how many of the files from gcc would I need?

Lots of questions...so much I don't know...

tobias.hunger

There are LLVM mkspecs in unsupported (use them via -spec unsupported/whatever) already.

Creator will find all the mkspecs that are available in the Qt version you selected. IIRC you can also specify a absolute path to mkspecs somewhere else.

You will need all the files you end up using:-) Stupid answer, I know, but it depends a lot on how you define the mkspec. Just check existing ones and use them as examples.