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(gcc-295.info)Overall Options

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Options Controlling the Kind of Output
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   Compilation can involve up to four stages: preprocessing, compilation
proper, assembly and linking, always in that order.  The first three
stages apply to an individual source file, and end by producing an
object file; linking combines all the object files (those newly
compiled, and those specified as input) into an executable file.

   For any given input file, the file name suffix determines what kind
of compilation is done:

`FILE.c'
     C source code which must be preprocessed.

`FILE.i'
     C source code which should not be preprocessed.

`FILE.ii'
     C++ source code which should not be preprocessed.

`FILE.m'
     Objective-C source code.  Note that you must link with the library
     `libobjc.a' to make an Objective-C program work.

`FILE.h'
     C header file (not to be compiled or linked).

`FILE.cc'
`FILE.cxx'
`FILE.cpp'
`FILE.C'
     C++ source code which must be preprocessed.  Note that in `.cxx',
     the last two letters must both be literally `x'.  Likewise, `.C'
     refers to a literal capital C.

`FILE.s'
     Assembler code.

`FILE.S'
     Assembler code which must be preprocessed.

`OTHER'
     An object file to be fed straight into linking.  Any file name
     with no recognized suffix is treated this way.

   You can specify the input language explicitly with the `-x' option:

`-x LANGUAGE'
     Specify explicitly the LANGUAGE for the following input files
     (rather than letting the compiler choose a default based on the
     file name suffix).  This option applies to all following input
     files until the next `-x' option.  Possible values for LANGUAGE
     are:
          c  objective-c  c++
          c-header  cpp-output  c++-cpp-output
          assembler  assembler-with-cpp

`-x none'
     Turn off any specification of a language, so that subsequent files
     are handled according to their file name suffixes (as they are if
     `-x' has not been used at all).

   If you only want some of the stages of compilation, you can use `-x'
(or filename suffixes) to tell `gcc' where to start, and one of the
options `-c', `-S', or `-E' to say where `gcc' is to stop.  Note that
some combinations (for example, `-x cpp-output -E' instruct `gcc' to do
nothing at all.

`-c'
     Compile or assemble the source files, but do not link.  The linking
     stage simply is not done.  The ultimate output is in the form of an
     object file for each source file.

     By default, the object file name for a source file is made by
     replacing the suffix `.c', `.i', `.s', etc., with `.o'.

     Unrecognized input files, not requiring compilation or assembly,
     are ignored.

`-S'
     Stop after the stage of compilation proper; do not assemble.  The
     output is in the form of an assembler code file for each
     non-assembler input file specified.

     By default, the assembler file name for a source file is made by
     replacing the suffix `.c', `.i', etc., with `.s'.

     Input files that don't require compilation are ignored.

`-E'
     Stop after the preprocessing stage; do not run the compiler
     proper.  The output is in the form of preprocessed source code,
     which is sent to the standard output.

     Input files which don't require preprocessing are ignored.

`-o FILE'
     Place output in file FILE.  This applies regardless to whatever
     sort of output is being produced, whether it be an executable file,
     an object file, an assembler file or preprocessed C code.

     Since only one output file can be specified, it does not make
     sense to use `-o' when compiling more than one input file, unless
     you are producing an executable file as output.

     If `-o' is not specified, the default is to put an executable file
     in `a.out', the object file for `SOURCE.SUFFIX' in `SOURCE.o', its
     assembler file in `SOURCE.s', and all preprocessed C source on
     standard output.

`-v'
     Print (on standard error output) the commands executed to run the
     stages of compilation.  Also print the version number of the
     compiler driver program and of the preprocessor and the compiler
     proper.

`-pipe'
     Use pipes rather than temporary files for communication between the
     various stages of compilation.  This fails to work on some systems
     where the assembler is unable to read from a pipe; but the GNU
     assembler has no trouble.

`--help'
     Print (on the standard output) a description of the command line
     options understood by `gcc'.  If the `-v' option is also specified
     then `--help' will also be passed on to the various processes
     invoked by `gcc', so that they can display the command line options
     they accept.  If the `-W' option is also specified then command
     line options which have no documentation associated with them will
     also be displayed.