Beginners • Re: Win 11 C Cross Compiler for Pi Zero ?

Hardly complicated when you just type "make" and out pops an executable. How is that any more complicated than doing it under Linux, or on a Pi ?

but from your earlier post:

Can anyone suggest how to set up a C cross compiler for the Pi Zero W

If you have to "set up" a cross compiler, then its always going to be easier instead to just type "make" on the target machine.

I very much doubt if a fresh Windows install comes with a cross compiler for the Pi already set up and the required libraries and headers etc already downloaded. There is no reason why it should - its not a fault of Windows.

The compiler on Pi Zero W on the other hand (using Raspberry Pi OS and most other native OS's) is already there, all set up, including the correct dependencies - nothing to do, it "just works".

Huge programs (such as the GCC compiler suite!) can take a long time to build on the Zero, and that's the real motivation. The cross compiler setup time may then be amortised over a small number of builds.

Statistics: Posted by jahboater — Mon Dec 22, 2025 5:29 pm

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