What dir do I put the tar.gz file in i downloaded it to home but do all programs get installed from /usr/local/src or something like that.

I made sure that gcc was not installed
I downloaded gcc.3.3.3.tar.gz and can't
seem to do anything with it.

Please help!!!

I would suggest installing by rpm. I assume you have the RH9 discs? It's on there.
I have compiled many programs from source and trust me, its not worth the hassle
most of the time.

"to compile a compiler, you need a compiler"

the binary compiler is essential to any distro; install the software development tools for redhat via rpm's on the cd

Thanks for the tip on the rpm side of it.
Say I wanted to complie this just to learn how would I
complete this task. It seems if I want to use Linux I will
at some point need to compile the software. I know that it
is troublesome but I am really willing to learn.

I am trying the Red Hat CD install right now.
Will let you know how it goes.

I use apt to install any packages I need on my RH9 and FC1 boxes. You can download it here http://apt.freshrpms.net/ It also takes care of checking for and installing any dependencies.

Thanks for the info about freshrpms.net i'm sure that will help me in the future.

I installed all the gcc app and the samba server. So far it worked it don't have anything to test the gcc with yet but as for the samba it created a link in gnome for me and I'm working on configuring it.

I still want to learn how to compile though I know it's hard but once you try and try you've got to get it.

Thankyou everyone for the patience and carful instructions.

Bravo....
I'm sure I'll be back with questions on setting up my samba server and securing my netwkork.

Once again thanks.