Re: I don't know if I have a bug or what

[Nick Clifton]

Hi Danny,

> My compiler is a 2.96 and when I type in gcc myfile.c it will output 
> a.out but it is not an executable file. I am a new user of Linux and
> I don't know what I am doing wrong. 

First of all, the best place to report a problem like this is the gcc
bugs mailing list:

        address@hidden

Secondly, it really helps if you can provide some information about
the system you are using (which version of Linux, have any upgrades
been applied, etc), what kind of machine you are running it on (an x86
processor, an Alpha, a PowerPC ?), and which version of the tools that
you are using.  (Not just the compiler, but the assembler and linker
too).

Thirdly it is always a good idea to provide a reproducible example of
the problem so that we can try to duplicate it ourselves.  So for
example can you include a copy of myfile.c and also a copy of the
command line that you use to compile it.  Note - it is important that
this be a *small* example.  Please do not spam the mailing lists with
large posts.

Fourthly it would help if you can provide some more details about the
failure.  For example you say that the file is not executable, but how
do you know ?  Does it not have the executable bit set ?  Does it
start to run but then die ?  What happens if you run the programs
'file' or 'objdump' over the program ?  Were there any error messages
reported when you compiled your program ?

Cheers
        Nick