Update GCC on OSX

Question

So I am a new programmer and I just installed XCode on my Macbook to get the GCC. I think Xcode is the only way for getting GCC on OSX. Now when I run my Hello World application, in C++, g++ comes up saying it is version 4.0.1 but when I look for commands starting with g I also see g++-4.2. Is there any way of making 4.2 default rather than 4.0.1, and also is there a way to updating gcc to the latest version 4.4.0?

EDIT: Ok, so I installed macports and installed gcc4.4 and it shows up on terminal as gcc-mp-4.4 and how do I make it default with gcc_select, like what are the commands and stuff. Thanks.

Answer 1

If you install macports you can install gcc select, and then choose your gcc version.

/opt/local/bin/port install gcc_select 

To see your versions use

port select --list gcc 

To select a version use

sudo port select --set gcc gcc40 

Answer 2

I know it is an old request. But it might still be useful to some. With current versions of MacPorts, you can choose the default gcc version using the port command. To list the available versions of gcc, use:

$ sudo port select --list gcc

Available versions for gcc: gcc42 llvm-gcc42 mp-gcc46 none (active) 

To set gcc to the MacPorts version:

$ sudo port select --set gcc mp-gcc46