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Compiler: Installing multiple GCC compilers on a CentOS 7 system with Tux

Hey, my name is "Tux"! Did you ever wonder how you can install multiple GCC compilers on your Linux system?

Hey, my name is "Tux" and this tutorial will show you how you can get multiple GCC compilers on a single Linux system in case you need it running in parallel.


Start of tutorial

Installing required tools and a GCC compiler from default repository: 

$ yum install git make gmp-devel mpfr-devel libmpc-devel
$ yum groupinstall "Development Tools"

Now navigate to the following directory: 

$ cd /tmp

Download the desired GCC release:
Note: Replace the following placeholders <x> with the release number according to the desired GCC release: 

$ curl https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gcc/gcc-<x>.<x>.<x>/gcc-<x>.<x>.<x>.tar.gz -O

Now decompress the downloaded package: 

$ tar -zxvf gcc-<x>.<x>.<x>.tar.gz

Now create a temporary build directory: 

$ mkdir gcc-<x>.<x>.<x>-build

Navigate into that build directory: 

$ cd gcc-<x>.<x>.<x>-build

Execute Makefile configuration: 

$ ../gcc-<x>.<x>.<x>/configure --enable-languages=c,c++ --disable-multilib --prefix=/usr/local/gcc-<x>.<x>.<x>

Start compiling: 

$ make -j$(nproc) && make install

Now the installation should be done.
By going the described way it is possible to install multiple GCC compilers in parallel.
Now when it is required to set a specific compiler version for CMAKE there are two settings required to be set each time:
Beware: The following two settings are only applied temporary for the current session by the operating system. If it is required to set a specific default GCC version have a look on the info box Optional further down.

  1. Attaching the path of the desired GCC compiler version's executables in global path settings: 

    $ export PATH=/usr/local/gcc-<x>.<x>.<x>/bin:$PATH

  2. Attaching the path of the desired GCC compiler version's Shared Libraries in global library path settings: 

    $ export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/gcc-<x>.<x>.<x>/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

Check whether the desired GCC version is being used by system now: 

$ gcc --version

Optional

If it is required to set a specific default GCC compiler version for the operating system global path variables and global library path variables have to be set inside the following file: 

$ vi /etc/profile

Add the following content: 

export PATH=/usr/local/gcc-<x>.<x>.<x>/bin:$PATH
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/gcc-<x>.<x>.<x>/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

Save the file and quit the editor.

Now reboot the system: 

$ reboot -h now

Check whether the desired default GCC version is being used by system now: 

$ gcc --version


End of tutorial



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