C compiler for OSX

robbiemullen · Oct 13, 2006

Does anyone know of a good free C compiler for OSX ?

novicew · Oct 13, 2006

You can compile C programs in the Terminal using GCC which is preinstalled on your Mac. You can also find lots commercial / free GUI compilers as well. Apple’s very own XCode 2 is one of the best (according to Apple) but I am kind of disappointed with its complicated structure. Eclipse with the CDT plugin is another free alternative and works pretty well

mac57 · Oct 13, 2006

gcc is the golden standard in the open source world and it is available on your Mac. If not , you need only install it from your system DVD. I think it is under XCode Tools or some such. It works great - I use it all the time. Tiger comes with gcc-4.0.1.

jakeroberts · Aug 30, 2007

Here's a good place to get it compiled with PPC in mind. http://hpc.sourceforge.net/

DoubleCap · Aug 31, 2007

gcc + pico (editor) = my favorite.

Cachibache · Mar 14, 2008

novicew said:
You can compile C programs in the Terminal using GCC which is preinstalled on your Mac. You can also find lots commercial / free GUI compilers as well. Apple’s very own XCode 2 is one of the best (according to Apple) but I am kind of disappointed with its complicated structure. Eclipse with the CDT plugin is another free alternative and works pretty well

Will this work for compiling programs such as ps2pdf (from Ghostview or similar). I attempted to compile the above and my MacBook Pro said there was no compiler available. When I resorted to the help window and punched in C compiler nothing at all came up. How do you use it and where can it be found?

Thank you

Disregard my question above, I found the Xcode Tools and installed the Compiler and it works now. Thank you

Discerptor · Mar 23, 2008

prpandey said:
gcc + pico (editor) = my favorite.

Excuse me, but real programmers use butterflies.

And to be on topic, I find the GCC that comes with Xcode developer tools is perfectly fine, even if it is 4.0.1. I would actually recommend against using the GCC from HPC, because it seems the installation of python assumes you have access to certain Apple-only gcc options, and it's possible this could cause an issue if anything else assumes the same thing when it detects Darwin (though it's highly likely only Python does this, and I'm pretty sure you can install it with an installer anyway... I'd at least keep both on your system, just to be on the safe side).