The ccontrol program replaces the compiler and linker functions.
What makes ccontrol particularly useful is its ability to enable centralized control over commands and options, such as enabling distcc(1) and ccache(1). To get the most out of it, it's recommended to install dietlibc. Doing so will result in a smaller binary and faster compile times (by a few percent).
Installation is straightforward. If you want to install ccontrol in your home directory (e.g. ~/bin), you can use the command "./configure --bindir=$HOME/bin". Alternatively, if you use a simple "./configure" command, the binaries will be placed in /usr/local/lib/ccontrol, which you'll have to add to your PATH. Once installed, you can run "make" and "make install".
One thing to keep in mind is that you need to run "./ccontrol-init" to create your ".ccontrol/default" file. If you'd like to skip the probe for distcc hosts on the local network, you can set DISTCC_HOSTS before running ccontrol-init (e.g. DISTCC_HOSTS="one two three" ./ccontrol-init).
Recent updates to the software add a GNOME applet for changing symlinks and a portability fix for running on PPC platforms. Additionally, better performance and less thrashing is experienced when using ccache and distcc, especially when ccache hits frequently.
Overall, ccontrol is a powerful tool for managing software compilation. With its ability to centralize control over commands and options, alongside its suite of features that help streamline the compilation process, it's hard to go wrong with giving it a try.
Version 0.9.0: N/A