1@c Copyright (C) 1988-2016 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
2@c This is part of the GCC manual.
3@c For copying conditions, see the file gcc.texi.
4
5@node G++ and GCC
6@chapter Programming Languages Supported by GCC
7
8@cindex GCC
9@cindex GNU Compiler Collection
10@cindex GNU C Compiler
11@cindex Ada
12@cindex Fortran
13@cindex Go
14@cindex Java
15@cindex Objective-C
16@cindex Objective-C++
17GCC stands for ``GNU Compiler Collection''.  GCC is an integrated
18distribution of compilers for several major programming languages.  These
19languages currently include C, C++, Objective-C, Objective-C++, Java,
20Fortran, Ada, and Go.
21
22The abbreviation @dfn{GCC} has multiple meanings in common use.  The
23current official meaning is ``GNU Compiler Collection'', which refers
24generically to the complete suite of tools.  The name historically stood
25for ``GNU C Compiler'', and this usage is still common when the emphasis
26is on compiling C programs.  Finally, the name is also used when speaking
27of the @dfn{language-independent} component of GCC: code shared among the
28compilers for all supported languages.
29
30The language-independent component of GCC includes the majority of the
31optimizers, as well as the ``back ends'' that generate machine code for
32various processors.
33
34@cindex COBOL
35@cindex Mercury
36@cindex Pascal
37The part of a compiler that is specific to a particular language is
38called the ``front end''.  In addition to the front ends that are
39integrated components of GCC, there are several other front ends that
40are maintained separately.  These support languages such as Pascal,
41Mercury, and COBOL@.  To use these, they must be built together with
42GCC proper.
43
44@cindex C++
45@cindex G++
46@cindex Ada
47@cindex GNAT
48Most of the compilers for languages other than C have their own names.
49The C++ compiler is G++, the Ada compiler is GNAT, and so on.  When we
50talk about compiling one of those languages, we might refer to that
51compiler by its own name, or as GCC@.  Either is correct.
52
53@cindex compiler compared to C++ preprocessor
54@cindex intermediate C version, nonexistent
55@cindex C intermediate output, nonexistent
56Historically, compilers for many languages, including C++ and Fortran,
57have been implemented as ``preprocessors'' which emit another high
58level language such as C@.  None of the compilers included in GCC are
59implemented this way; they all generate machine code directly.  This
60sort of preprocessor should not be confused with the @dfn{C
61preprocessor}, which is an integral feature of the C, C++, Objective-C
62and Objective-C++ languages.
63