Cross compilation: more difficult than it should be?

Question

I am wondering one thing that is quite time-consuming when coding with C/C++ for different architectures and OSes, such as Android and Iphone.

I see that every gcc based compiler must be compiled with:

1. target
2. build
3. host

I wonder if it would be technically possible and technically feasible to have a single compiler binary that can generate code for all the targets, as long as the cross compiled libraries exist. It would be configurable with a flag or set of flags.

Answer 1

I think it is possible but not supported by most compilers. There is a project called ELLCC that is trying to build a multi-target cross compilation environment for embedded systems which makes use of Clang and the LLVM compiler infrastructure.