Cross Compile vs Canadian Cross

[pocketchange]

I've been reading the configure.pdf ("The GNU configure and build system") from the gnuarm.com support section. It describes the difference of Cross-Compiling vs a Canadian Cross. I'm really confused because it says a Canadian Cross compile has the build, target, and host all different, but the example only says

While running on a GNU/Linux, you can build a program which will run on a Solaris system. You would use a GNU/Linux cross Solaris compiler to build the program.
Of course, you could not run the resulting program on your GNU/Linux system. You would have to copy it over to a Solaris system before you would run it.


If I'm on an ubuntu system, trying to build a program for an ARM-based board, am I using cross-compiling or canadian cross?

[dwhitney67]

A cross-compiler.

[mmix]

The Canadian Cross is a method to make first-cross-compiler.

Using metaphor: compiler-compiler.

Here,


Canadian Cross

The Canadian Cross is a technique for building cross compilers for other machines. Given three machines A, B, and C, one uses machine A to build a cross compiler that runs on machine B to create executables for machine C. When using the Canadian Cross with GCC, there may be four compilers involved:

* The proprietary native Compiler for machine A (1) is used to build the gcc native compiler for machine A (2).
* The gcc native compiler for machine A (2) is used to build the gcc cross compiler from machine A to machine B (3)
* The gcc cross compiler from machine A to machine B (3) is used to build the gcc cross compiler from machine B to machine C (4)

The end-result cross compiler (4) will not be able to run on your build machine A; instead you would use it on machine B to compile an application into executable code that would then be copied to machine C and executed on machine C.

For instance, NetBSD provides a POSIX Unix shell script named build.sh which will first build its own toolchain with the host's compiler; this, in turn, will be used to build the cross-compiler which will be used to build the whole system.

The term Canadian Cross came about because at the time that these issues were all being hashed out, Canada had three national political parties.[1]