GNU Compiler Collection

Also known as GCC, GNU C Compiler, GNU C++ Compiler, Gcc, G++

optimizing compiler produced by the GNU Project, key component of the GNU tool-chain and standard compiler for most projects related to GNU and the Linux kernel.

AI overview

The GNU Compiler Collection is a free software tool that translates computer code into programs that computers can run, and it's designed to make those programs run efficiently. It's the standard compiler used by most Linux and GNU projects, making it a foundational piece of software infrastructure that much of the open-source world depends on.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Original author: Richard Stallman
Developer: GNU Project
Initial release: March 22, 1987 ; 39 years ago ( 1987-03-22 )
Stable release: 16.1 / 30 April 2026 ; 34 days ago ( 30 April 2026 )
Written in: C , C++
Operating system: Cross-platform
Platform: GNU and many others
Size: ~15 million LOC
Available in: English
Type: Compiler
License: GPLv3+ with GCC Runtime Library Exception
Website: gcc .gnu .org
Repository: gcc .gnu .org /git /gcc .git

via Wikipedia infobox

~21 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC; formerly GNU C Compiler) is a collection of compilers from the GNU Project that support various programming languages, hardware architectures, and operating systems. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) distributes GCC as free software under the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL). GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain which is used for most projects related to GNU and the Linux kernel. With roughly 15 million lines of code in 2019, GCC is one of the largest free programs in existence. It has played an important role in the growth of free software, as both a tool and an example.

When it was first released in 1987 by Richard Stallman, GCC 1.0 was named the GNU C Compiler since it only handled the C programming language. It was extended to compile C++ in December of that year. Front ends were later developed for Objective-C, Objective-C++, Fortran, Ada, Go, D, Modula-2, Rust, COBOL, and ALGOL 68 among others. The OpenMP and OpenACC specifications are also supported in the C and C++ compilers.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “GNU Compiler Collection” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.