"zig cc" Cross-Compiler: Difference between revisions
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If you want to write an operating system in C, you'll [[Why_do_I_need_a_Cross_Compiler|need a cross-compiler]]. However, [[GCC_Cross-Compiler|building a GCC cross-compiler]] can be painful. If you just want to write C (not C++), you can use [https://andrewkelley.me/post/zig-cc-powerful-drop-in-replacement-gcc-clang.html <kbd>zig cc</kbd>] - a C cross-compiler that comes with the [https://ziglang.org/ Zig programming language]. There are [https://ziglang.org/download/ pre-compiled binaries] for Windows, Linux, MacOS, and FreeBSD.
This section describes how to build [[Bare Bones]] using <kbd>zig cc</kbd>. First off, install the following software:
* [https://ziglang.org/download/ Zig] (tested with version 0.6.0)
*
* [[NASM]]
<
This should create a <kbd>kernel.o</kbd> file, just the same as if you had used gcc.
When you get to the linking step, we won't be able to use <kbd>i686-elf-gcc</kbd>, but luckily, modern versions of [[LD|GNU <kbd>ld</kbd>]] are able to emulate almost any other linker, so we can use the system <kbd>ld</kbd> like so:
<
And at that point, you can carry on with [[Bare Bones]], and you should have an operating system, compiled without having to compile your own cross-compiler!
[[Category:Compilers]]
[[Category:Zig]]
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Latest revision as of 04:16, 9 June 2024
If you want to write an operating system in C, you'll need a cross-compiler. However, building a GCC cross-compiler can be painful. If you just want to write C (not C++), you can use zig cc - a C cross-compiler that comes with the Zig programming language. There are pre-compiled binaries for Windows, Linux, MacOS, and FreeBSD.
Bare-Bones with zig cc
This section describes how to build Bare Bones using zig cc. First off, install the following software:
- Zig (tested with version 0.6.0)
- GNU binutils (we just care about the linker - if ld --version reports "GNU ld", you're good to go)
- NASM
Start off with the standard Bare Bones setup, but use the boot.asm file provided in Bare Bones with NASM instructions (since Zig does not come with an assembler, just a C compiler). At that point, you can continue with Bare Bones, but instead of using i686-elf-gcc, use the following command to build kernel.c:
zig build-obj --c-source kernel.c -target i386-freestanding
This should create a kernel.o file, just the same as if you had used gcc.
When you get to the linking step, we won't be able to use i686-elf-gcc, but luckily, modern versions of GNU ld are able to emulate almost any other linker, so we can use the system ld like so:
ld -m elf_i386 -T linker.ld -o myos.bin boot.o kernel.o
And at that point, you can carry on with Bare Bones, and you should have an operating system, compiled without having to compile your own cross-compiler!