Egcs- or Gcc-compiler: what's the difference? (Slack7.1 experiences?)

[MBMarduk]

Hi people,
Yesterday I installed Slack 7.1.

Compiling a kernel -and failing at that- I checked what version of GCC I have in Slack 7.1.
To my surprise it wasn't GCC but EGCS. (As most of you Slack-users out there already know)

I had heard of this compiler before, but never used it.

Q1) Is is as good/better than GCC?
Q2) What compatibility issues are there?
Q3) Could it be the reason my compile failed?
Q4) what are other users' experiences with it?

Thanx!
-Mike

[MBMarduk]

Bump...
Anyone out there?

Q5) Where does Egcs keep its c++ libs, so I can check the version. (Gcc keeps 'em in /usr/lib/libg++.so.*,..I think...)