# gcc version on FreeBSD 9.0?



## GODhack (Feb 20, 2012)

I installed FreeBSD 9.0 and realised that my gcc version is only 4.2.1 20070831. And there is no updates through freebsd-update or portsnap. Is this normal? What is the best way to update?


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## jdn06 (Feb 20, 2012)

All is about licence of the later gcc releases; they are available by ports, but not in the distribution itself. It is not recommended to update this piece, as some software in the ports will probably not compile with your new gcc.


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## funky (Feb 20, 2012)

It is no problem to install different versions of gcc side by side. You can install newer versions up to the current development branch of gcc, version 4.7, via ports or packages. However, forcefully compile ports with newer gcc versions might fail. Some ports support compiling with newer versions of gcc via make config (i.e. www/chromium).


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## estrabd (Feb 20, 2012)

I'm using lang/gcc46 because I needed gfortran and the latest OpenMP support. Works great!  I didn't change my base compiler or the compiler used for Ports, though. I'm not going down that road.  YMMV if you do.


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