newbie questions

[Wulf Hofbauer]

Hi,

I am trying to evaluate RTEMS for a DAQ/process control system
using a MVME147 board. I am pretty confused by the building
procedure.

So far, I have been using an m68k-elf-gcc (3.2) and
m68k-elf-binutils (2.13) for the MVME147 on an x86 GNU/Linux
system, along with a homegrown port of newlib.

The documentation in the RTEMS 4.5.0 tree as well as the
beginner's guide claim that some pretty ancient and customized
versions of gcc and binutils are required. A customized version
of newlib also seems to be necessary just in order to build the
RTEMS kernel itself.

I'd prefer to work with the toolchain I have in place. Is it
really necessary to have specific versions of gcc and binutils
(if so, why)?

Also, the relation between RTEMS and newlib puzzles me. I'd
expect to build a C library on top of RTEMS if needed. The
apparent mutual interdependence strikes me as somewhat bizzarre.
Is there a way to build RTEMS without newlib?

I am feeling considerable unease at the prospect of being locked
into a highly specific toolchain version, especially as I fail to
see a valid reason why there should be such strict requirements
for creating statically linked, self-contained binaries for the
target system. Eventually, the code will be converted to S-records
anyway...

Would someone be so kind as to fill me in about the various ifs and
whys?

Thanks in advance,

- Wulf