理解g++、GCC、GDB、GNU以及各种后缀

language translate

There are 4 phases for a Program to finally get translated into an executable file viz:

1. Preprocessing : It expands the code (For example - expansion of macros, removal of comments and conditional compilation)
2. Compilation : Translates the code into assembly language, which an assembler can understand
3. Assembly : Assembler translates the code into machine code or byte code
4. Linking : It links various modules of the code, i.e. the function calls and finally delivers the executable

Compiler VS. Interpreter

Compiler : Scans the entire program and translates it as a whole into machine code. It continues translating the program until the first error is met, in which case it stops. Hence debugging is easy. For example Java.

Interpreter : Translates program one statement at a time and does not generate Object Code. It gives error only after scanning the entire program. For example Python.

GUN

GUN, recursive acronym for “GUN’s Not Unix”, is a Unix-like operating system and free software under General Public License(GPL). It is intended to develop and share software for free, for all its users.

GCC

GCC(GNU Compiler Collection) is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project under General Puublic License, supports various programming languages.

Earlier it was named GNU C Compiler as it only supported C programming language. GCC can compile both C and C++ files(for example .c/.cpp files).

It provides various options, for example:

• -o Option (to specify the output name for the executable)
• -wall Option(to enable warnings)