I am a 100% complete n00b when it comes to linux, need a few q's answered

[ThaGrandCow]

I'm looking into learning the in's and out's of the OS, but I heard that gcc 3.0 was out. Should I wait until the next point release of redhat or mandrake that includes 3.0 or just use 2.95 (I think that's what it is)? Also, I tried to install Red Hat before, and I think I got it all configured except installing my wireless drivers. I've got an Orinoco Gold card and a RG-1000 access point. Can anyone point me to some step by step instructions on how to configure this pcmcia card and get it on the network? Last time I tried for 3 weeks but couldn't get it on the network (instructions I was able to find were carp). Finally I reinstalled windows2000 because I needed my laptop.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< I'm looking into learning the in's and out's of the OS, but I heard that gcc 3.0 was out. Should I wait until the next point release of redhat or mandrake that includes 3.0 or just use 2.95 (I think that's what it is)? >>



Dont worry about it, it wont matter for a while.



<< Also, I tried to install Red Hat before, and I think I got it all configured except installing my wireless drivers. I've got an Orinoco Gold card and a RG-1000 access point. Can anyone point me to some step by step instructions on how to configure this pcmcia card and get it on the network? >>



linuxdoc.org
redhat.com (if you use redhat, try another website for another distribution)



<< Last time I tried for 3 weeks but couldn't get it on the network (instructions I was able to find were carp). Finally I reinstalled windows2000 because I needed my laptop. >>



Fishy instructions huh?

 

[ThaGrandCow]

<< Fishy instructions huh? >>


hehe, sorry. Thats an impulse from having to get around language filters 😉
It actually has become an inside joke between my group of friends.

 

[thornc]

Untill they solve the issues between gcc 3.x and new glibc versions you should probably stay away from that gcc version...

 

[manly]

I agree that GCC 3.0 is still some time away from becoming a standard.

As far as setting up the orinoco gold, under the best case scenario (your distro already supports orinoco WiFi networking), you just need to edit /etc/pcmcia/network.opts and /etc/pcmcia/wireless.opts

Under the best case scenario, the Linux kernel already includes the orinoco_cs drivers (as of version 2.4.10 I think). Since the latest official RH 7.2 kernel is 2.4.9, you may need to get the orinoco_cs drivers separately.

If you have specific questions, feel free to reply or PM. I don't recall a single step-by-step guide that I could refer.

 

[ThaGrandCow]

<< If you have specific questions, feel free to reply or PM. I don't recall a single step-by-step guide that I could refer. >>


You're going to hate me after about 3 days...

 

[Derango]

GCC 3.x is not reccomended right now....because it fixes a lot of bugs in the old gcc compiler as well as becoming stricter about the standard C/C++ code syntax.

But some might say: Wait a minute! Both of those are good things! So why are they bad? Because thousands uppon thousands of linux programs are coded by 5 year olds 🙂 They actually rely on bugs and the lax syntax of the previous GCC versions to compile their programs. Sad isn't it?

When it does work, GCC produces more compact executables that tend to run faster as well. However, it only works on a few packages now 🙂

GCC 3.x has been out for at least a year, and still none of the mainstream distros are using it (some of the smaller ones are though, but thats to be expected). Thats saying somthing right there.

 

[ThaGrandCow]

<< When it does work, GCC produces more compact executables that tend to run faster as well. However, it only works on a few packages now >>


You mean 3.0, right?

 

[Nothinman]

When it does work, GCC produces more compact executables that tend to run faster as well. However, it only works on a few packages now

Actually as I remember it, the binaries were slightly larger, think it had to do with data alignment, and I've used it to compile numerous things from kernels to programs with little problems. In fact 3.0 is needed to compile the DAC960 driver because of optimization bugs in the older versions.

Also 3.0 is necessary on some non-x86 arches for C++ programs because it fixes some major bugs, I'm pretty sure KDE and the like won't even compile on alpha without gcc 3.0.

As I see it since you can have both versions of gcc installed there's no reason to avoid 3, if you have something it won't compile see if the older version will, and if you feel up to it figure out if it's a program or compiler bug and report it, it'll only help 3 get accepted faster.