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How to Build a GCC Cross-Compiler for the Raspberry Pi

34 points by bezzi 11y ago

sliken 11y ago
I have one of the new Pi's with 1GB ram. With a fast 64GB microsd card ($21 on black friday). I've been pretty impressed with fast it compiles with make -j4.
- stinos 11y ago
  Yes especially the difference with the very first A model is night and day :]
dima55 11y ago
Heh? Debian cross toolchains work fine: https://packages.debian.org/sid/gcc-4.9-arm-linux-gnueabi https://packages.debian.org/sid/gcc-4.9-arm-linux-gnueabi for armel and https://packages.debian.org/sid/gcc-4.9-arm-linux-gnueabihf https://packages.debian.org/sid/gcc-4.9-arm-linux-gnueabihf for armhf
- fit2rule 11y ago
  Cool if you're running Debian.
  - dima55 11y ago
    Well, not having to build your own cross-compilers is a HUGE reason to run Debian. Other distros probably have packages too in any case.
    - fit2rule 11y ago
      OSX.
      - dima55 11y ago
        Right. Get something better.
      - duskwuff 11y ago
        Crosstool-NG will take care of that.
  - tomjen3 11y ago
    Find a vagrant Debian image and it doesn't much matter what you run. Cross compiling is such a pain that it is worth avoiding it if at all possible.
- voltagex_ 11y ago
  Those packages haven't been in Debian for that long but I'm sure as hell glad they are. Cross compilers are still really difficult.
hannibalhorn 11y ago
I'd recommend just using a project like buildroot - it's really easy to begin with, and afterwards every odd device you eventually decide you need to cross compile for (old router with a MIPS CPU, etc.) becomes just as easy.
jwatte 11y ago
I went one step further and built a Canadian that was built on x64, ran on raspberry pi, and targeted teensy cortex m4! https://github.com/jwatte/teensy-canadian https://github.com/jwatte/teensy-canadian
fit2rule 11y ago
Great, this brings me one step closer to a dream: setting up distcc on every computer in the house so I can build rPi software in seconds, not hours..
oso2k 11y ago
Couldn't tell from the guide, is this armv6 (A/A+, B/B+, Compute) or armv7 (B2)?
poseid 11y ago
thanks for sharing! understanding how to cross-compile is increasingly important for upcoming (cheap) embedded hardware. maybe related a blog post on compiling a sketch for Arduino: http://thinkingonthinking.com/an-arduino-sketch-from-scratch/ http://thinkingonthinking.com/an-arduino-sketch-from-scratch...
karmicthreat 11y ago
You might consider building Linaro instead, especially if you are going to use a RPI 2.

34 points by bezzi 11y ago

I have one of the new Pi's with 1GB ram. With a fast 64GB microsd card ($21 on black friday). I've been pretty impressed with fast it compiles with make -j4.

stinos 11y ago
Yes especially the difference with the very first A model is night and day :]

dima55 11y ago

Heh? Debian cross toolchains work fine: https://packages.debian.org/sid/gcc-4.9-arm-linux-gnueabi https://packages.debian.org/sid/gcc-4.9-arm-linux-gnueabi for armel and https://packages.debian.org/sid/gcc-4.9-arm-linux-gnueabihf https://packages.debian.org/sid/gcc-4.9-arm-linux-gnueabihf for armhf

fit2rule 11y ago
Cool if you're running Debian.
- dima55 11y ago
  Well, not having to build your own cross-compilers is a HUGE reason to run Debian. Other distros probably have packages too in any case.
  - fit2rule 11y ago
    OSX.
    - dima55 11y ago
      Right. Get something better.
    - duskwuff 11y ago
      Crosstool-NG will take care of that.
- tomjen3 11y ago
  Find a vagrant Debian image and it doesn't much matter what you run. Cross compiling is such a pain that it is worth avoiding it if at all possible.
voltagex_ 11y ago
Those packages haven't been in Debian for that long but I'm sure as hell glad they are. Cross compilers are still really difficult.

hannibalhorn 11y ago

I'd recommend just using a project like buildroot - it's really easy to begin with, and afterwards every odd device you eventually decide you need to cross compile for (old router with a MIPS CPU, etc.) becomes just as easy.

jwatte 11y ago

I went one step further and built a Canadian that was built on x64, ran on raspberry pi, and targeted teensy cortex m4! https://github.com/jwatte/teensy-canadian https://github.com/jwatte/teensy-canadian

fit2rule 11y ago

Great, this brings me one step closer to a dream: setting up distcc on every computer in the house so I can build rPi software in seconds, not hours..

oso2k 11y ago

Couldn't tell from the guide, is this armv6 (A/A+, B/B+, Compute) or armv7 (B2)?

poseid 11y ago

thanks for sharing! understanding how to cross-compile is increasingly important for upcoming (cheap) embedded hardware. maybe related a blog post on compiling a sketch for Arduino: http://thinkingonthinking.com/an-arduino-sketch-from-scratch/ http://thinkingonthinking.com/an-arduino-sketch-from-scratch...

karmicthreat 11y ago

You might consider building Linaro instead, especially if you are going to use a RPI 2.