Cannot install xapian-full on Ubuntu 12.04.1

[jeick]

gem install xapian-full produces the following result on 12.04.1

checking whether make sets $(MAKE)... yes
checking how to create a ustar tar archive... gnutar
checking build system type... x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
checking host system type... x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
checking how to print strings... printf
checking for style of include used by make... GNU
checking for gcc... gcc
checking whether the C compiler works... no
configure: error: in /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/xapian-full-1.2.3/xapian-core-1.2.3': configure: error: C compiler cannot create executables Seeconfig.log' for more details.
rake aborted!

Tasks: TOP => default
(See full trace by running task with --trace)

Gem files will remain installed in /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/xapian-full-1.2.3 for inspection.
Results logged to /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/xapian-full-1.2.3/./gem_make.out

An error occurred while installing xapian-full (1.2.3), and Bundler cannot continue.
Make sure that gem install xapian-full -v '1.2.3' succeeds before bundling.

If you look more closely at the C output you get the following:

gcc version 4.6.3 (Ubuntu/Linaro 4.6.3-1ubuntu5)
configure:3846: $? = 0
configure:3835: gcc -V >&5
gcc: error: unrecognized option '-V'
gcc: fatal error: no input files
compilation terminated.
configure:3846: $? = 4
configure:3835: gcc -qversion >&5
gcc: error: unrecognized option '-qversion'
gcc: fatal error: no input files
compilation terminated.
configure:3846: $? = 4
configure:3866: checking whether the C compiler works
configure:3888: gcc -R/var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/xapian-full-1.2.3/lib conftest.c >&5
gcc: error: unrecognized option '-R'
configure:3892: $? = 1
configure:3930: result: no
configure: failed program was:
| /* confdefs.h /
| #define PACKAGE_NAME "xapian-core"
| #define PACKAGE_TARNAME "xapian-core"
| #define PACKAGE_VERSION "1.2.3"
| #define PACKAGE_STRING "xapian-core 1.2.3"
| #define PACKAGE_BUGREPORT "http://xapian.org/bugs"
| #define PACKAGE_URL ""
| #define PACKAGE "xapian-core"
| #define VERSION "1.2.3"
| / end confdefs.h. */
|
| int
| main ()
| {
|
| ;
| return 0;
| }
configure:3935: error: in `/var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/xapian-full-1.2.3/xapian-core-1.2.3':
configure:3939: error: C compiler cannot create executables