Re: netcdf and compilers

> Organization: Atmospheric Environment Service, CANADA
> Keywords: 199404121608.AA20777

Hi Jim,

> I am trying to install the netCDF software on two systems.
> 
> 1) SUN sparc station running Solaris 2.1 under SUN OS 5.1
> 2) IBM PC compatible 386SX with co-pro under MS DOS 6.0
> 
> I have fortran compilers for both systems.  SparcCompiler
> Fortran 2.0.1 for the Sun and Microsoft Fortran 4.1 for 
> the PC.
> 
> 1) For the SUN: when I run the configure script, I get the
>    error:
> 
>    /usr/ucb/cc: language optional software package not installed
> 
>    Presumably, the basic C compiler cannot handle some of the
>    calls or routines.  Which C compiler would be recommended
>    for me to purchase?  Would the SparcCompiler C be adequate?

Under SunOS 5.1, /usr/ucb/cc is just a shell script that invokes the
compiler in /usr/ccs/bin/ucbcc, which requires installing the SparcCompiler
C.  This is not a netCDF-specific problem, but a problem you would see
trying to compile any C program with /usr/ucb/cc on your system.  Although
the Sun C compiler would be adequate, any other commercial C compiler for
SPARCstations should work OK too, and any recent version of the freely
available gcc compiler also works, although I've never figure out how to get
the Fortran interface working if you are using the Sun Fortran compiler with
the GNU gcc compiler.

> 2) For the PC, the same question:  Which C compiler would be
>    recommended for purchase?

We build, test, and provide instructions for installing netCDF with the
Microsoft C compiler, but other users have succeeded in building netCDF with
the Borland C++ compiler.  You might not have to get a compiler at all for
the PC version, since we make compiled versions of the netCDF and XDR
libraries available via anonymous FTP from

        ftp://ftp.unidata.ucar.edu/pub/netcdf/msdos/

and

        ftp://ftp.unidata.ucar.edu/pub/netcdf/contrib/borland/

__________________________________________________________________________
                      
Russ Rew                                              UCAR Unidata Program
address@hidden                                        P.O. Box 3000
(303)497-8645                                 Boulder, Colorado 80307-3000