@c Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998,@c 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.@c This is part of the GCC manual.@c For copying conditions, see the file gcc.texi.@node G++ and GCC@chapter Programming Languages Supported by GCC@cindex GCC@cindex GNU Compiler Collection@cindex GNU C Compiler@cindex Ada@cindex Fortran@cindex Java@cindex Objective-C@cindex Objective-C++@cindex treelangGCC stands for ``GNU Compiler Collection''.  GCC is an integrateddistribution of compilers for several major programming languages.  Theselanguages currently include C, C++, Objective-C, Objective-C++, Java,Fortran, and Ada.The abbreviation @dfn{GCC} has multiple meanings in common use.  Thecurrent official meaning is ``GNU Compiler Collection'', which refersgenerically to the complete suite of tools.  The name historically stoodfor ``GNU C Compiler'', and this usage is still common when the emphasisis on compiling C programs.  Finally, the name is also used when speakingof the @dfn{language-independent} component of GCC: code shared among thecompilers for all supported languages.The language-independent component of GCC includes the majority of theoptimizers, as well as the ``back ends'' that generate machine code forvarious processors.@cindex COBOL@cindex Mercury@cindex PascalThe part of a compiler that is specific to a particular language iscalled the ``front end''.  In addition to the front ends that areintegrated components of GCC, there are several other front ends thatare maintained separately.  These support languages such as Pascal,Mercury, and COBOL@.  To use these, they must be built together withGCC proper.@cindex C++@cindex G++@cindex Ada@cindex GNATMost of the compilers for languages other than C have their own names.The C++ compiler is G++, the Ada compiler is GNAT, and so on.  When wetalk about compiling one of those languages, we might refer to thatcompiler by its own name, or as GCC@.  Either is correct.@cindex compiler compared to C++ preprocessor@cindex intermediate C version, nonexistent@cindex C intermediate output, nonexistentHistorically, compilers for many languages, including C++ and Fortran,have been implemented as ``preprocessors'' which emit another highlevel language such as C@.  None of the compilers included in GCC areimplemented this way; they all generate machine code directly.  Thissort of preprocessor should not be confused with the @dfn{Cpreprocessor}, which is an integral feature of the C, C++, Objective-Cand Objective-C++ languages.