Section 11.2. C Compilers

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11.2. C Compilers

Traditionally, a C compiler was a standard component in UNIX, especially versions that came with source code (how else would you modify the code and create a new kernel?). Linux distributions include GNU C (gcc) and GNU C++ (g++) and will be on any system where the developer package(s) have been installed. If you're an old UNIX hack, /usr/bin/cc is a link to /usr/bin/gcc, so you can still type "cc" to invoke gcc. The GNU C compiler works like this:

Utility: gcc -cv [ -o fileName ] [ -pg ] { fileName }*

The gcc utility compiles C program code in one or more files and produces object modules or an executable file. Files specified should have a ".c" extension. Use the -c option to produce object modules suitable for linking later. Use the -o option to specify a filename other than the default "a.out" for the executable. Use the -pg option to produce profiling data for the GNU profiler gprof. Use the -v option to produce verbose commentary during the compilation and/or linking process.