Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)

Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)

1 Programming Languages Supported by GCC

GCC stands for “GNU Compiler Collection”. GCC is an integrated distribution of compilers for several major programming languages. These languages currently include C, C++, Objective-C, Objective-C++, Java, Fortran, Ada, and Go.

The abbreviation GCC has multiple meanings in common use. The current official meaning is “GNU Compiler Collection”, which refers generically to the complete suite of tools. The name historically stood for “GNU C Compiler”, and this usage is still common when the emphasis is on compiling C programs. Finally, the name is also used when speaking of the language-independent component of GCC: code shared among the compilers for all supported languages.

The language-independent component of GCC includes the majority of the optimizers, as well as the “back ends” that generate machine code for v