1@c Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998,
2@c 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3@c This is part of the GCC manual.
4@c For copying conditions, see the file gcc.texi.
5
6@node G++ and GCC
7@chapter Programming Languages Supported by GCC
8
9@cindex GCC
10@cindex GNU Compiler Collection
11@cindex GNU C Compiler
12@cindex Ada
13@cindex Fortran
14@cindex Go
15@cindex Java
16@cindex Objective-C
17@cindex Objective-C++
18GCC stands for ``GNU Compiler Collection''.  GCC is an integrated
19distribution of compilers for several major programming languages.  These
20languages currently include C, C++, Objective-C, Objective-C++, Java,
21Fortran, Ada, and Go.
22
23The abbreviation @dfn{GCC} has multiple meanings in common use.  The
24current official meaning is ``GNU Compiler Collection'', which refers
25generically to the complete suite of tools.  The name historically stood
26for ``GNU C Compiler'', and this usage is still common when the emphasis
27is on compiling C programs.  Finally, the name is also used when speaking
28of the @dfn{language-independent} component of GCC: code shared among the
29compilers for all supported languages.
30
31The language-independent component of GCC includes the majority of the
32optimizers, as well as the ``back ends'' that generate machine code for
33various processors.
34
35@cindex COBOL
36@cindex Mercury
37@cindex Pascal
38The part of a compiler that is specific to a particular language is
39called the ``front end''.  In addition to the front ends that are
40integrated components of GCC, there are several other front ends that
41are maintained separately.  These support languages such as Pascal,
42Mercury, and COBOL@.  To use these, they must be built together with
43GCC proper.
44
45@cindex C++
46@cindex G++
47@cindex Ada
48@cindex GNAT
49Most of the compilers for languages other than C have their own names.
50The C++ compiler is G++, the Ada compiler is GNAT, and so on.  When we
51talk about compiling one of those languages, we might refer to that
52compiler by its own name, or as GCC@.  Either is correct.
53
54@cindex compiler compared to C++ preprocessor
55@cindex intermediate C version, nonexistent
56@cindex C intermediate output, nonexistent
57Historically, compilers for many languages, including C++ and Fortran,
58have been implemented as ``preprocessors'' which emit another high
59level language such as C@.  None of the compilers included in GCC are
60implemented this way; they all generate machine code directly.  This
61sort of preprocessor should not be confused with the @dfn{C
62preprocessor}, which is an integral feature of the C, C++, Objective-C
63and Objective-C++ languages.
64