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@c Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998,

@c 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

@c This is part of the GCC manual.

@c For copying conditions, see the file gcc.texi.

@node G++ and GCC

@chapter Programming Languages Supported by GCC

@cindex GCC

@cindex GNU Compiler Collection

@cindex GNU C Compiler

@cindex Ada

@cindex Fortran

@cindex Java

@cindex Objective-C

@cindex Objective-C++

@cindex treelang

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, and Ada.

The abbreviation @dfn{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 @dfn{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

various processors.

@cindex COBOL

@cindex Mercury

@cindex Pascal

The part of a compiler that is specific to a particular language is

called the ``front end''.  In addition to the front ends that are

integrated components of GCC, there are several other front ends that

are maintained separately.  These support languages such as Pascal,

Mercury, and COBOL@.  To use these, they must be built together with

GCC proper.

@cindex C++

@cindex G++

@cindex Ada

@cindex GNAT

Most of the compilers for languages other than C have their own names.

The C++ compiler is G++, the Ada compiler is GNAT, and so on.  When we

talk about compiling one of those languages, we might refer to that

compiler by its own name, or as GCC@.  Either is correct.

@cindex compiler compared to C++ preprocessor

@cindex intermediate C version, nonexistent

@cindex C intermediate output, nonexistent

Historically, compilers for many languages, including C++ and Fortran,

have been implemented as ``preprocessors'' which emit another high

level language such as C@.  None of the compilers included in GCC are

implemented this way; they all generate machine code directly.  This

sort of preprocessor should not be confused with the @dfn{C

preprocessor}, which is an integral feature of the C, C++, Objective-C

and Objective-C++ languages.