Why does the gcc package provide /usr/bin/gcc instead of using alternatives system?

[Mike Fedyk]

[ Sending to ubuntu-users since it hasn't gone through the moderation 
queue on ubuntu-devel ]

Hi,

In Dapper, the gcc package provides a symlink from /usr/bin/gcc ->
/usr/bin/gcc-4.0 and does not use the alternatives system.

I noticed this while helping a friend set up vmware server on their 
system.  It needs gcc-3.4 to build the kernel modules.

Steps to reproduce:
apt-get install gcc gcc-4.0 gcc-3.4
apt-get remove gcc-4.0
gcc -v
bash: /usr/bin/gcc: No such file or directory

I was going to report a bug against gcc-3.4 about using the alternatives
system and then I noticed from gcc -> gcc-4.0 in /usr/bin from the gcc
package.

Since this issue affects both gcc-4.0 and gcc-3.4 I'm sending this
message to this list for advise on proceeding further.

What is the best way to get this fixed?  And who should I send patches
to?  Should the call to update-alternatives go in post-inst or what?

Mike