Chapter 5. gcc Options and Extensions

To use gcc, the standard C compiler used with Linux, you need to know the command-line options. Also, gcc extends the C language in several ways. Even if you intend to write only ANSI-C-compliant source code, you will need to know some of the extensions to understand the Linux header files.

Most of gcc’s command-line options are normal, as C compilers go. For a few options, there do not appear to be any standards. We cover the most important options, options that are used on a day-to-day basis.

Standard—ISO-standard—C is a useful goal, but as low-level as C is, there are situations in which it is not expressive enough. There are two areas in Linux in which gcc’s extensions get particular use: interfacing with ...

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