Preface

This brief guide comes as a result of requiring C++11 support under a Dell Latitude D620 with only Mac OS 10.6.8 peasantry.

Special thanks to those who initially wrote information regarding these processes:

• How to use a recent GCC with Xcode 5? answer – frogcjn
• Integrating GCC 4.4 to Xcode (MacOS/Snow Leopard) – Sergey Kurganov

Stage 1. Install GCC 4.8 from Homebrew

For this process, we’ll be using Homebrew – alternatives like macports or manual compilation can be adapted to work as well.

brew update
brew install homebrew/versions/gcc48 --with-all-languages

Stage 2. Link in new GCC 4.8

For this stage, I opted to keep a similar feel as per the standard GCC versions in /usr/bin, such as /usr/bin/gcc-4.0:

ln -sf /usr/local/Cellar/gcc48/4.8.5/bin/g++-4.8 /usr/bin/g++-4.8
ln -sf /usr/local/Cellar/gcc48/4.8.5/bin/c++-4.8 /usr/bin/c++-4.8
ln -sf /usr/local/Cellar/gcc48/4.8.5/bin/gcc-4.8 /usr/bin/gcc-4.8
ln -sf /usr/local/Cellar/gcc48/4.8.5/bin/ccp-4.8 /usr/bin/cpp-4.8

Thereafter we can link the system gcc/g++/etc. binaries to the new 4.8 versions:

ln -sf /usr/bin/g++-4.8 /usr/bin/g++
ln -sf /usr/bin/c++-4.8 /usr/bin/c++
ln -sf /usr/bin/gcc-4.8 /usr/bin/gcc
vi /usr/bin/cpp
  line 51: CPP="gcc-4.8 -E"

Stage 3. Install/Create XCode GCC 4.8 plugin

At this point we need a GCC 4.8 compiler plugin for XCode.

Your first option is to download this zip file and extract it to:

/Developer/Library/Xcode/PrivatePlugIns/Xcode3Core.ideplugin/Contents/SharedSupport/Developer/Library/Xcode/Plug-ins

Your second option is to use the following steps (terminal-centric):

cd /Developer/Library/Xcode/PrivatePlugIns/Xcode3Core.ideplugin/Contents/SharedSupport/Developer/Library/Xcode/Plug-ins
cp -rfpv GCC\ 4.2.xcplugin GCC\ 4.8.xcplugin
cd GCC\ 4.8.xcplugin/Contents/
plutil -convert xml1 Info.plist
vi Info.plist
  line 10: <string>com.apple.xcode.compilers.gcc.4_8</string>
  line 14: <string>GCC 4.8 Compiler Xcode Plug-in</string>
plutil -convert binary1 Info.plist
cd Resources
mv GCC\ 4.2.xcspec GCC\ 4.8.xcspec
vi GCC\ 4.8.xcspec
  line 10: Identifier = "com.apple.compilers.gcc.4_8";
  line 13: Name = "GCC 4.8";
  line 14: Description = "GNU C/C++ Compiler 4.8";
  line 16: Version = "4.8";
  line 38: ExecPath = "/usr/bin/gcc-4.8"
  line 41: ShowInCompilerSelectionPopup = YES;
  line 42: IsNoLongerSupported = NO;
  line 252: DefaultValue = NO;
  line 876: DefaultValue = NO;
  line 1016: DefaultValue = NO;
cd English.lproj
mv GCC\ 4.2.strings GCC\ 4.8.strings
vi GCC\ 4.8.strings
  line 11: "Name" = "GCC 4.8";
  line 12: "Description" = "GNU C/C++ Compiler 4.8";
  line 13: "Version" = "4.8";

Reload XCode and select GCC 4.8 under Build Settings -> Build Options -> Compiler for C/C++/Objective-C.

Congratulations, you can now compile with GCC 4.8!

Even more fun, you now have C++11 at your disposal by setting –std=c++11 under Build Settings -> GCC 4.8 - Language -> Other C++ Flags

Even More Congratulations, you can now compile with lamdas!