Compiler advice please!

Hi this is probably of the scope of the list since it is a c++ question. (sorry) I'm trying to learn a few things about c++ and I'm using "gcc" on my Linux box. The problem I encountered is with the floating point manipulation classes or functions like "fixed" and "showpoint", I get a compile error saying they are not declared. I triyed the gcc.gnu site but I could not find a support maillist like this one. After endless fruitless searches on the web I decided to give you a shot since you have answered many of my PHP questions and I know some of you do a lot more than just PHP related development. Could someone point me in the right direction please, maybe a site or mailgroup where I could ask about this? Thanks in advance and sorry for the inconvenience! Gerry