Frank McIngvale writes:

Hi, I was wondering if there is a portable way to determine if a C compiler is available for compiling extensions. I'm working on a package that has some extensions that aren't strictly required, and I'd like to turn on/off building them based on whether a C compiler is available.

(I know how to do the turn on/off thing, I just need to know how to check for a C compiler.)

Any hints?

Try it and catch an exception? I don't think there's a mechanism for asking (could be wrong though). Cheers, M. -- There are 'infinite' number of developed artifacts and one cannot develop appreciation for them all. It would be all right to not understand something, but it would be imbecilic to put judgements on things one don't understand. -- Xah, comp.lang.lisp