Richard M. Stallman Books

This manual provides a complete tutorial introduction to the GNU C and C++ compilers, gcc and g++. Many books teach the C and C++ languages, this book teaches you how to use the compiler itself. All the common problems and error messages encountered by new users of GCC are carefully explained, with numerous easy-to-follow "Hello World" examples. Topics covered include: compiling C and C++ programs using header files and libraries, warning options, use of the preprocessor, static and dynamic linking, debugging, optimization, platform-specific options, profiling and coverage testing, paths and environment variables, and the C++ standard library and templates. Features a special foreword by Richard M. Stallman, principal developer of GCC and founder of the GNU Project. All the money raised from the sale of this book will support the development of free software and documentation.

This comprehensive reference manual documents how to use the GNU compilers, as well as their features and incompatibilities, and how to report bugs. It corresponds to the compilers (GCC) version 5.2.0. As the project became so big project over the years, we had to split this reference manual in two parts that are two separate physical books. To keep it consistent with the digital manual, the references and page numbers cover both physical books as it were one. Therefore please note that you probably want to have both parts.

The C preprocessor, often known as cpp, is a macro processor that is used automatically by the C compiler to transform your program before compilation. It is called a macro processor because it allows you to define macros, which are brief abbreviations for longer constructs. The C preprocessor is intended to be used only with C, C++, and Objective-C source code. In the past, it has been abused as a general text processor. It will choke on input which does not obey C's lexical rules. For example, apostrophes will be interpreted as the beginning of character constants, and cause errors. Also, you cannot rely on it preserving characteristics of the input which are not significant to C-family languages. If a Makefile is preprocessed, all the hard tabs will be removed, and the Makefile will not work.

The GNU C Library, described in this document, defines all of the library functions that are specified by the ISO C standard, as well as additional features specific to POSIX and other derivatives of the Unix operating system, and extensions specific to GNU systems. The purpose of this manual is to tell you how to use the facilities of the GNU C Library. We have mentioned which features belong to which standards to help you identify things that are potentially non-portable to other systems. But the emphasis in this manual is not on strict portability. As the GNU C Library became such a big project over the years, we had to split this reference manual in two parts that are two separate physical books. To keep it consistent with the digital manual, the references and page numbers cover both physical books as it were one. Therefore please note that you probably want to have both parts.

The C preprocessor, often known as cpp, is a macro processor that is used automatically by the C compiler to transform your program before compilation. It is called a macro processor because it allows you to define macros, which are brief abbreviations for longer constructs. This reference manual discusses the GNU C preprocessor, which provides a small superset of the features of ISO Standard C.

This comprehensive reference manual documents how to use the GNU compilers, as well as their features and incompatibilities, and how to report bugs. It corresponds to the compilers (GCC) version 5.2.0. As the project became so big project over the years, we had to split this reference manual in two parts that are two separate physical books. To keep it consistent with the digital manual, the references and page numbers cover both physical books as it were one. Therefore please note that you probably want to have both parts.