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I have had confusion over this terminology for a long time. I have tried to google this question and have been getting some contradictory answers.

One site says cross compiler is the same as a tool chain, some sites say cross compiler is a part of a toolchain. I have clearly not found this useful.

To be specific, I have used PowerPCeabi cross-compiler and Atmel AVR toolchain. Are these both toolchains and/or cross-compilers or are they different?

I guess, my very specific question would be, if I had to put this in my resume, will it be right in saying Experienced in powerpceabi and AVR toolchains ?

Edit: For the people who marked this question as unclear what you're asking, how much more clear should I have to make this ?

Modified question: Can I mention powerpceabi and AVR together as toolchains ?

ctrl-shift-esc
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    A tool chain is a *collection* of tools which, taken together, hopefully get you from the input (source code) all the way to the desired output (executable binary, or installable package). That's only a programming example, though; a cinematographer will have a different purpose for her tool chain, as will a hair dresser. – Kerrek SB Mar 31 '14 at 07:55
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    @Adriano I thought an answer directly from an experienced programmer would help me in clearing my doubt. – ctrl-shift-esc Mar 31 '14 at 07:56

1 Answers1

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If we define the word "host" to mean a computer on which you are compiling, and "target" as the computer on which you want to run the code, then a native compiler is one where the target and the host are the same (kind). A cross-compiler is a compiler where the target is different from the host.

A toolchain is the set of compiler + linker + librarian + any other tools you need to produce the executable (+ shared libraries, etc) for the target. A debugger and/or IDE may also count as part of a toolchain.

So

Experience with Powerpceabi and AVR toolchains

would be how I'd express it if I had some experience with those.

Mats Petersson
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