Peter Linnell <scribusdocs at atlantictechsolutions.com> writes: > I am surprised, you can't install gcc 3.2 in parallel in Debian. > Parallel versions of gcc can be built and exist side by side. I know its > possible even on cygwin. Redhat has had this for a long time as well.
It should be possible. Just make sure that you don't update the gcc package (this points to the default compiler) but install gcc-3.3 (or whatever) from testing. As far as I can see, this will lead to an update of the libc from 2.2.x to 2.3.x, though. This in turn does lead to an upgrade of other packages that depend on the libc version. But if you already installed binary packages from testing, it is likely your libc was upgraded already. Otherwise, you might find a back-ported version of gcc-3.3 on www.apt-get.org (these packages are unoffical). And a last hint: If you use an entry in the apt config files like APT::Default-Release "stable"; to be able to access testing and stable in parallel, don't use aptitude for selective upgrades, that wants to install a lot of recommended packages also (by default?). apt-get seems to install only the necessary packages. Michael
