That means you want to compile code specifically designed for 64-bit ARM processors that run on Linux operating systems. This is useful if you have an ARM processor and want to write programs in C or C++, but don’t know how to do it using the standard GCC compiler.
The prebuilt binary bundles can be unpacked and executed directly without any additional setup required. However, if you prefer to build from source, you can use Linaro ABE (Advanced Build Environment) with provided manifest files. This allows for more customization options during the building process.
To download the toolchain manifest file, go to https://developer.arm.com/tools-and-software/open-source-software/developer-tools/gnu-toolchain/downloads and select the required version. Then, copy the URL for the manifest file (e.g., gcc-arm-aarch64-none-elf-abe-manifest.txt) into your build directory using wget or another tool of your choice.
To configure ABE, navigate to the build directory and run ../abe/configure. This will set up the environment for building with Linaro ABE. Then, download the manifest file from https://developer.arm.com/tools-and-software/open-source-software/developer-tools/gnu-toolchain/downloads using wget or another tool of your choice and copy it into the build directory (e.g., gcc-arm-aarch64-none-elf-abe-manifest.txt).
To build the toolchain from sources, run ../abe/abe.sh –manifest
Note that if you’re on macOS, the provided binaries are not signed or notarized. To use signed and notarized binaries, download them from https://developer.arm.com/tools-and-software/open-source-software/developer-tools/gnu-toolchain/downloads in pkg format instead of tar.xz format.
Also note that if you install multiple Windows toolchains using the provided installer (.exe file), only the last installed toolchain will be visible in the Add/Remove Programs menu on your computer. The other installed Windows toolchains can still be used or uninstalled by invoking their respective uninstaller from their respective install directories.
When decompressing windows packages, you may encounter a warning about overwriting certain files due to similar names with different case. This is because the files have identical names on a Windows host and are treated as such during installation. You can choose to overwrite these files if desired.
Finally, be aware that using MVE Intrinsics polymorphic variants in nested forms may cause GCC to hang or crash due to depth of nesting limitations. This issue is reported on high-end workstations when nesting 7 times or more, but can occur with fewer levels of nesting on less powerful machines.
If you have any questions about using the toolchain, please visit https://community.arm.com/ forums and support resources. If you encounter any bugs, report them via Linaro Bugzilla at https://bugs.linaro.org/.