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60 lines
2.4 KiB
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60 lines
2.4 KiB
Plaintext
@c Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998,
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@c 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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@c This is part of the GCC manual.
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@c For copying conditions, see the file gcc.texi.
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@node G++ and GCC
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@chapter Programming Languages Supported by GCC
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@cindex GCC
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@cindex GNU Compiler Collection
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@cindex GNU C Compiler
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@cindex Ada
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@cindex Fortran
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@cindex Java
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@cindex treelang
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GCC stands for ``GNU Compiler Collection''. GCC is an integrated
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distribution of compilers for several major programming languages. These
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languages currently include C, C++, Java, Fortran, and Ada.
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The abbreviation @dfn{GCC} has multiple meanings in common use. The
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current official meaning is ``GNU Compiler Collection'', which refers
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generically to the complete suite of tools. The name historically stood
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for ``GNU C Compiler'', and this usage is still common when the emphasis
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is on compiling C programs. Finally, the name is also used when speaking
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of the @dfn{language-independent} component of GCC: code shared among the
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compilers for all supported languages.
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The language-independent component of GCC includes the majority of the
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optimizers, as well as the ``back ends'' that generate machine code for
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various processors.
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@cindex COBOL
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@cindex Mercury
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@cindex Pascal
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The part of a compiler that is specific to a particular language is
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called the ``front end''. In addition to the front ends that are
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integrated components of GCC, there are several other front ends that
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are maintained separately. These support languages such as Pascal,
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Mercury, and COBOL@. To use these, they must be built together with
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GCC proper.
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@cindex C++
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@cindex G++
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@cindex Ada
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@cindex GNAT
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Most of the compilers for languages other than C have their own names.
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The C++ compiler is G++, the Ada compiler is GNAT, and so on. When we
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talk about compiling one of those languages, we might refer to that
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compiler by its own name, or as GCC@. Either is correct.
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@cindex compiler compared to C++ preprocessor
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@cindex intermediate C version, nonexistent
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@cindex C intermediate output, nonexistent
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Historically, compilers for many languages, including C++ and Fortran,
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have been implemented as ``preprocessors'' which emit another high
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level language such as C@. None of the compilers included in GCC are
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implemented this way; they all generate machine code directly. This
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sort of preprocessor should not be confused with the @dfn{C
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preprocessor}, which is an integral feature of the C and C++ languages.
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