Options Controlling the Kind of Output

[mihkhub]

Compilation can involve up to four stages: preprocessing, compilation proper, assembly and linking, always in that order. GCC is capable of preprocessing and compiling several files either into several assembler input files, or into one assembler input file; then each assembler input file produces an object file, and linking combines all the object files (those newly compiled, and those specified as input) into an executable file.

[mihkhub]

--target-help

Print (on the standard output) a description of target-specific command-line options for each tool. For some targets extra target-specific information may also be printed.

$ gcc --target-help
The following options are target specific:
  -m128bit-long-double        sizeof(long double) is 16
  -m32                        Generate 32bit i386 code
  -m3dnow                     Support 3DNow! built-in functions
  -m64                        Generate 64bit x86-64 code
  -m80387                     Use hardware fp
  -m8bit-idiv                 Expand 32bit/64bit integer divide into 8bit
                              unsigned integer divide with run-time check
  -m96bit-long-double         sizeof(long double) is 12
  -mabi=                      Generate code that conforms to the given ABI
  -mabm                       Support code generation of Advanced Bit
                              Manipulation (ABM) instructions.
  -maccumulate-outgoing-args  Reserve space for outgoing arguments in the
                              function prologue
  -maddress-mode=             Use given address mode
  -madx                       Support flag-preserving add-carry instructions
  -maes                       Support AES built-in functions and code generation
  -malign-double              Align some doubles on dword boundary
  -malign-functions=          Function starts are aligned to this power of 2
  -malign-jumps=              Jump targets are aligned to this power of 2
  -malign-loops=              Loop code aligned to this power of 2
  -malign-stringops           Align destination of the string operations
  -mandroid                   Generate code for the Android platform.
  -march=                     Generate code for given CPU
  -masm=                      Use given assembler dialect
  -mavx                       Support MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1,
                              SSE4.2 and AVX built-in functions and code
                              generation
  -mavx2                      Support MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1,
                              SSE4.2, AVX and AVX2 built-in functions and code
                              generation
  -mavx256-split-unaligned-load Split 32-byte AVX unaligned load
  -mavx256-split-unaligned-store Split 32-byte AVX unaligned store
  -mbionic                    Use Bionic C library
  -mbmi                       Support BMI built-in functions and code generation
  -mbmi2                      Support BMI2 built-in functions and code
                              generation
  -mbranch-cost=              Branches are this expensive (1-5, arbitrary units)
  -mcld                       Generate cld instruction in the function prologue.
  -mcmodel=                   Use given x86-64 code model
  -mcrc32                     Support code generation of crc32 instruction.
  -mcx16                      Support code generation of cmpxchg16b instruction.
  -mdispatch-scheduler        Do dispatch scheduling if processor is bdver1 or
                              bdver2 or bdver3 and Haifa scheduling is selected.
  -mf16c                      Support F16C built-in functions and code
                              generation
  -mfancy-math-387            Generate sin, cos, sqrt for FPU
  -mfentry                    Emit profiling counter call at function entry
                              before prologue.
  -mfma                       Support MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1,
                              SSE4.2, AVX and FMA built-in functions and code
                              generation
  -mfma4                      Support FMA4 built-in functions and code
                              generation 
  -mforce-drap                Always use Dynamic Realigned Argument Pointer
                              (DRAP) to realign stack
  -mfp-ret-in-387             Return values of functions in FPU registers
  -mfpmath=                   Generate floating point mathematics using given
                              instruction set
  -mfsgsbase                  Support FSGSBASE built-in functions and code
                              generation
  -mfxsr                      Support FXSAVE and FXRSTOR instructions
  -mglibc                     Use GNU C library
  -mhard-float                Use hardware fp
  -mhle                       Support Hardware Lock Elision prefixes
  -mieee-fp                   Use IEEE math for fp comparisons
  -mincoming-stack-boundary=  Assume incoming stack aligned to this power of 2
  -minline-all-stringops      Inline all known string operations
  -minline-stringops-dynamically Inline memset/memcpy string operations, but
                              perform inline version only for small blocks
  -mlarge-data-threshold=     Data greater than given threshold will go into
                              .ldata section in x86-64 medium model
  -mlong-double-64            Use 64-bit long double
  -mlong-double-80            Use 80-bit long double
  -mlwp                       Support LWP built-in functions and code
                              generation 
  -mlzcnt                     Support LZCNT built-in function and code
                              generation
  -mmmx                       Support MMX built-in functions
  -mmovbe                     Support code generation of movbe instruction.
  -mms-bitfields              Use native (MS) bitfield layout
  -mno-sse4                   Do not support SSE4.1 and SSE4.2 built-in
                              functions and code generation
  -momit-leaf-frame-pointer   Omit the frame pointer in leaf functions
  -mpc32                      Set 80387 floating-point precision to 32-bit
  -mpc64                      Set 80387 floating-point precision to 64-bit
  -mpc80                      Set 80387 floating-point precision to 80-bit
  -mpclmul                    Support PCLMUL built-in functions and code
                              generation
  -mpku                       Support PKU built-in functions and code generation
  -mpopcnt                    Support code generation of popcnt instruction.
  -mprefer-avx128             Use 128-bit AVX instructions instead of 256-bit
                              AVX instructions in the auto-vectorizer.
  -mpreferred-stack-boundary= Attempt to keep stack aligned to this power of 2
  -mprfchw                    Support PREFETCHW instruction
  -mpush-args                 Use push instructions to save outgoing arguments
  -mrdrnd                     Support RDRND built-in functions and code
                              generation
  -mrdseed                    Support RDSEED instruction
  -mrecip                     Generate reciprocals instead of divss and sqrtss.
  -mrecip=                    Control generation of reciprocal estimates.
  -mred-zone                  Use red-zone in the x86-64 code
  -mregparm=                  Number of registers used to pass integer arguments
  -mrtd                       Alternate calling convention
  -mrtm                       Support RTM built-in functions and code generation
  -msahf                      Support code generation of sahf instruction in
                              64bit x86-64 code.
  -msoft-float                Do not use hardware fp
  -msse                       Support MMX and SSE built-in functions and code
                              generation
  -msse2                      Support MMX, SSE and SSE2 built-in functions and
                              code generation
  -msse2avx                   Encode SSE instructions with VEX prefix
  -msse3                      Support MMX, SSE, SSE2 and SSE3 built-in
                              functions and code generation
  -msse4                      Support MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1 and
                              SSE4.2 built-in functions and code generation
  -msse4.1                    Support MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3 and SSE4.1
                              built-in functions and code generation
  -msse4.2                    Support MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1 and
                              SSE4.2 built-in functions and code generation
  -msse4a                     Support MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3 and SSE4A built-in
                              functions and code generation
  -msseregparm                Use SSE register passing conventions for SF and
                              DF mode
  -mssse3                     Support MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3 and SSSE3 built-in
                              functions and code generation
  -mstack-arg-probe           Enable stack probing
  -mstackrealign              Realign stack in prologue
  -mstringop-strategy=        Chose strategy to generate stringop using
  -mtbm                       Support TBM built-in functions and code generation
  -mtls-dialect=              Use given thread-local storage dialect
  -mtls-direct-seg-refs       Use direct references against %gs when accessing
                              tls data
  -mtune=                     Schedule code for given CPU
  -muclibc                    Use uClibc C library
  -mveclibabi=                Vector library ABI to use
  -mvect8-ret-in-mem          Return 8-byte vectors in memory
  -mvzeroupper                Generate vzeroupper instruction before a transfer
                              of control flow out of the function.
  -mx32                       Generate 32bit x86-64 code
  -mxop                       Support XOP built-in functions and code
                              generation 
  -mxsave                     Support XSAVE and XRSTOR instructions
  -mxsaveopt                  Support XSAVEOPT instruction

  Known assembler dialects (for use with the -masm-dialect= option):
    att intel

  Known ABIs (for use with the -mabi= option):
    ms sysv

  Known code models (for use with the -mcmodel= option):
    32 kernel large medium small

  Valid arguments to -mfpmath=:
    387 387+sse 387,sse both sse sse+387 sse,387

  Known vectorization library ABIs (for use with the -mveclibabi= option):
    acml svml

  Known address mode (for use with the -maddress-mode= option):
    long short

  Valid arguments to -mstringop-strategy=:
    byte_loop libcall loop rep_4byte rep_8byte rep_byte unrolled_loop

  Known TLS dialects (for use with the -mtls-dialect= option):
    gnu gnu2

Assembler options
=================

Use "-Wa,OPTION" to pass "OPTION" to the assembler.

  -Q                      ignored
  -V                      print assembler version number
  -k                      ignored
  -n                      Do not optimize code alignment
  -q                      quieten some warnings
  -s                      ignored
  --32/--64/--x32         generate 32bit/64bit/x32 code
  --divide                ignored
  -march=CPU[,+EXTENSION...]
                          generate code for CPU and EXTENSION, CPU is one of:
                           generic32, generic64, i386, i486, i586, i686,
                           pentium, pentiumpro, pentiumii, pentiumiii, pentium4,
                           prescott, nocona, core, core2, corei7, l1om, k1om,
                           k6, k6_2, athlon, opteron, k8, amdfam10, bdver1,
                           bdver2, bdver3, bdver4, znver1, btver1, btver2
                          EXTENSION is combination of:
                           8087, 287, 387, no87, mmx, nommx, sse, sse2, sse3,
                           ssse3, sse4.1, sse4.2, sse4, nosse, avx, avx2,
                           avx512f, avx512cd, avx512er, avx512pf, avx512dq,
                           avx512bw, avx512vl, noavx, vmx, vmfunc, smx, xsave,
                           xsaveopt, xsavec, xsaves, aes, pclmul, fsgsbase,
                           rdrnd, f16c, bmi2, fma, fma4, xop, lwp, movbe, cx16,
                           ept, lzcnt, hle, rtm, invpcid, clflush, nop, syscall,
                           rdtscp, 3dnow, 3dnowa, padlock, svme, sse4a, abm,
                           bmi, tbm, adx, rdseed, prfchw, smap, mpx, sha,
                           clflushopt, prefetchwt1, se1, clwb, pcommit,
                           avx512ifma, avx512vbmi, ospke, clzero, mwaitx
  -mtune=CPU              optimize for CPU, CPU is one of:
                           generic32, generic64, i8086, i186, i286, i386, i486,
                           i586, i686, pentium, pentiumpro, pentiumii,
                           pentiumiii, pentium4, prescott, nocona, core, core2,
                           corei7, l1om, k1om, k6, k6_2, athlon, opteron, k8,
                           amdfam10, bdver1, bdver2, bdver3, bdver4, znver1,
                           btver1, btver2
  -msse2avx               encode SSE instructions with VEX prefix
  -msse-check=[none|error|warning]
                          check SSE instructions
  -moperand-check=[none|error|warning]
                          check operand combinations for validity
  -mavxscalar=[128|256]   encode scalar AVX instructions with specific vector
                           length
  -mevexlig=[128|256|512] encode scalar EVEX instructions with specific vector
                           length
  -mevexwig=[0|1]         encode EVEX instructions with specific EVEX.W value
                           for EVEX.W bit ignored instructions
  -mevexrcig=[rne|rd|ru|rz]
                          encode EVEX instructions with specific EVEX.RC value
                           for SAE-only ignored instructions
  -mmnemonic=[att|intel]  use AT&T/Intel mnemonic
  -msyntax=[att|intel]    use AT&T/Intel syntax
  -mindex-reg             support pseudo index registers
  -mnaked-reg             don't require `%' prefix for registers
  -mold-gcc               support old (<= 2.8.1) versions of gcc
  -madd-bnd-prefix        add BND prefix for all valid branches
  -momit-lock-prefix=[no|yes]
                          strip all lock prefixes

Linker options
==============

Use "-Wl,OPTION" to pass "OPTION" to the linker.

elf_x86_64: 
  --audit=AUDITLIB            Specify a library to use for auditing
  -Bgroup                     Selects group name lookup rules for DSO
  --build-id[=STYLE]          Generate build ID note
  -P AUDITLIB, --depaudit=AUDITLIB
                  Specify a library to use for auditing dependencies
  --disable-new-dtags         Disable new dynamic tags
  --enable-new-dtags          Enable new dynamic tags
  --eh-frame-hdr              Create .eh_frame_hdr section
  --exclude-libs=LIBS         Make all symbols in LIBS hidden
  --hash-style=STYLE          Set hash style to sysv, gnu or both
  -z combreloc                Merge dynamic relocs into one section and sort
  -z common-page-size=SIZE    Set common page size to SIZE
  -z defs                     Report unresolved symbols in object files.
  -z execstack                Mark executable as requiring executable stack
  -z global                   Make symbols in DSO available for subsequently
                   loaded objects
  -z initfirst                Mark DSO to be initialized first at runtime
  -z interpose                Mark object to interpose all DSOs but executable
  -z lazy                     Mark object lazy runtime binding (default)
  -z loadfltr                 Mark object requiring immediate process
  -z max-page-size=SIZE       Set maximum page size to SIZE
  -z muldefs                  Allow multiple definitions
  -z nocombreloc              Don't merge dynamic relocs into one section
  -z nocopyreloc              Don't create copy relocs
  -z nodefaultlib             Mark object not to use default search paths
  -z nodelete                 Mark DSO non-deletable at runtime
  -z nodlopen                 Mark DSO not available to dlopen
  -z nodump                   Mark DSO not available to dldump
  -z noexecstack              Mark executable as not requiring executable stack
  -z norelro                  Don't create RELRO program header
  -z now                      Mark object non-lazy runtime binding
  -z origin                   Mark object requiring immediate $ORIGIN
                processing at runtime
  -z relro                    Create RELRO program header
  -z stacksize=SIZE           Set size of stack segment
  -z bndplt                   Always generate BND prefix in PLT entries
  --ld-generated-unwind-info  Generate exception handling info for PLT.
  --no-ld-generated-unwind-info Don't do so.
elf32_x86_64: 
  --audit=AUDITLIB            Specify a library to use for auditing
  -Bgroup                     Selects group name lookup rules for DSO
  --build-id[=STYLE]          Generate build ID note
  -P AUDITLIB, --depaudit=AUDITLIB
                  Specify a library to use for auditing dependencies
  --disable-new-dtags         Disable new dynamic tags
  --enable-new-dtags          Enable new dynamic tags
  --eh-frame-hdr              Create .eh_frame_hdr section
  --exclude-libs=LIBS         Make all symbols in LIBS hidden
  --hash-style=STYLE          Set hash style to sysv, gnu or both
  -z combreloc                Merge dynamic relocs into one section and sort
  -z common-page-size=SIZE    Set common page size to SIZE
  -z defs                     Report unresolved symbols in object files.
  -z execstack                Mark executable as requiring executable stack
  -z global                   Make symbols in DSO available for subsequently
                   loaded objects
  -z initfirst                Mark DSO to be initialized first at runtime
  -z interpose                Mark object to interpose all DSOs but executable
  -z lazy                     Mark object lazy runtime binding (default)
  -z loadfltr                 Mark object requiring immediate process
  -z max-page-size=SIZE       Set maximum page size to SIZE
  -z muldefs                  Allow multiple definitions
  -z nocombreloc              Don't merge dynamic relocs into one section
  -z nocopyreloc              Don't create copy relocs
  -z nodefaultlib             Mark object not to use default search paths
  -z nodelete                 Mark DSO non-deletable at runtime
  -z nodlopen                 Mark DSO not available to dlopen
  -z nodump                   Mark DSO not available to dldump
  -z noexecstack              Mark executable as not requiring executable stack
  -z norelro                  Don't create RELRO program header
  -z now                      Mark object non-lazy runtime binding
  -z origin                   Mark object requiring immediate $ORIGIN
                processing at runtime
  -z relro                    Create RELRO program header
  -z stacksize=SIZE           Set size of stack segment
  --ld-generated-unwind-info  Generate exception handling info for PLT.
  --no-ld-generated-unwind-info Don't do so.
elf_i386: 
  --audit=AUDITLIB            Specify a library to use for auditing
  -Bgroup                     Selects group name lookup rules for DSO
  --build-id[=STYLE]          Generate build ID note
  -P AUDITLIB, --depaudit=AUDITLIB
                  Specify a library to use for auditing dependencies
  --disable-new-dtags         Disable new dynamic tags
  --enable-new-dtags          Enable new dynamic tags
  --eh-frame-hdr              Create .eh_frame_hdr section
  --exclude-libs=LIBS         Make all symbols in LIBS hidden
  --hash-style=STYLE          Set hash style to sysv, gnu or both
  -z combreloc                Merge dynamic relocs into one section and sort
  -z common-page-size=SIZE    Set common page size to SIZE
  -z defs                     Report unresolved symbols in object files.
  -z execstack                Mark executable as requiring executable stack
  -z global                   Make symbols in DSO available for subsequently
                   loaded objects
  -z initfirst                Mark DSO to be initialized first at runtime
  -z interpose                Mark object to interpose all DSOs but executable
  -z lazy                     Mark object lazy runtime binding (default)
  -z loadfltr                 Mark object requiring immediate process
  -z max-page-size=SIZE       Set maximum page size to SIZE
  -z muldefs                  Allow multiple definitions
  -z nocombreloc              Don't merge dynamic relocs into one section
  -z nocopyreloc              Don't create copy relocs
  -z nodefaultlib             Mark object not to use default search paths
  -z nodelete                 Mark DSO non-deletable at runtime
  -z nodlopen                 Mark DSO not available to dlopen
  -z nodump                   Mark DSO not available to dldump
  -z noexecstack              Mark executable as not requiring executable stack
  -z norelro                  Don't create RELRO program header
  -z now                      Mark object non-lazy runtime binding
  -z origin                   Mark object requiring immediate $ORIGIN
                processing at runtime
  -z relro                    Create RELRO program header
  -z stacksize=SIZE           Set size of stack segment
  --ld-generated-unwind-info  Generate exception handling info for PLT.
  --no-ld-generated-unwind-info Don't do so.
elf_l1om: 
  --audit=AUDITLIB            Specify a library to use for auditing
  -Bgroup                     Selects group name lookup rules for DSO
  --build-id[=STYLE]          Generate build ID note
  -P AUDITLIB, --depaudit=AUDITLIB
                  Specify a library to use for auditing dependencies
  --disable-new-dtags         Disable new dynamic tags
  --enable-new-dtags          Enable new dynamic tags
  --eh-frame-hdr              Create .eh_frame_hdr section
  --exclude-libs=LIBS         Make all symbols in LIBS hidden
  --hash-style=STYLE          Set hash style to sysv, gnu or both
  -z combreloc                Merge dynamic relocs into one section and sort
  -z common-page-size=SIZE    Set common page size to SIZE
  -z defs                     Report unresolved symbols in object files.
  -z execstack                Mark executable as requiring executable stack
  -z global                   Make symbols in DSO available for subsequently
                   loaded objects
  -z initfirst                Mark DSO to be initialized first at runtime
  -z interpose                Mark object to interpose all DSOs but executable
  -z lazy                     Mark object lazy runtime binding (default)
  -z loadfltr                 Mark object requiring immediate process
  -z max-page-size=SIZE       Set maximum page size to SIZE
  -z muldefs                  Allow multiple definitions
  -z nocombreloc              Don't merge dynamic relocs into one section
  -z nocopyreloc              Don't create copy relocs
  -z nodefaultlib             Mark object not to use default search paths
  -z nodelete                 Mark DSO non-deletable at runtime
  -z nodlopen                 Mark DSO not available to dlopen
  -z nodump                   Mark DSO not available to dldump
  -z noexecstack              Mark executable as not requiring executable stack
  -z norelro                  Don't create RELRO program header
  -z now                      Mark object non-lazy runtime binding
  -z origin                   Mark object requiring immediate $ORIGIN
                processing at runtime
  -z relro                    Create RELRO program header
  -z stacksize=SIZE           Set size of stack segment
  --ld-generated-unwind-info  Generate exception handling info for PLT.
  --no-ld-generated-unwind-info Don't do so.
elf_k1om: 
  --audit=AUDITLIB            Specify a library to use for auditing
  -Bgroup                     Selects group name lookup rules for DSO
  --build-id[=STYLE]          Generate build ID note
  -P AUDITLIB, --depaudit=AUDITLIB
                  Specify a library to use for auditing dependencies
  --disable-new-dtags         Disable new dynamic tags
  --enable-new-dtags          Enable new dynamic tags
  --eh-frame-hdr              Create .eh_frame_hdr section
  --exclude-libs=LIBS         Make all symbols in LIBS hidden
  --hash-style=STYLE          Set hash style to sysv, gnu or both
  -z combreloc                Merge dynamic relocs into one section and sort
  -z common-page-size=SIZE    Set common page size to SIZE
  -z defs                     Report unresolved symbols in object files.
  -z execstack                Mark executable as requiring executable stack
  -z global                   Make symbols in DSO available for subsequently
                   loaded objects
  -z initfirst                Mark DSO to be initialized first at runtime
  -z interpose                Mark object to interpose all DSOs but executable
  -z lazy                     Mark object lazy runtime binding (default)
  -z loadfltr                 Mark object requiring immediate process
  -z max-page-size=SIZE       Set maximum page size to SIZE
  -z muldefs                  Allow multiple definitions
  -z nocombreloc              Don't merge dynamic relocs into one section
  -z nocopyreloc              Don't create copy relocs
  -z nodefaultlib             Mark object not to use default search paths
  -z nodelete                 Mark DSO non-deletable at runtime
  -z nodlopen                 Mark DSO not available to dlopen
  -z nodump                   Mark DSO not available to dldump
  -z noexecstack              Mark executable as not requiring executable stack
  -z norelro                  Don't create RELRO program header
  -z now                      Mark object non-lazy runtime binding
  -z origin                   Mark object requiring immediate $ORIGIN
                processing at runtime
  -z relro                    Create RELRO program header
  -z stacksize=SIZE           Set size of stack segment
  --ld-generated-unwind-info  Generate exception handling info for PLT.
  --no-ld-generated-unwind-info Don't do so.

[mihkhub]

--help={class|[^]qualifier}[,...]

Print (on the standard output) a description of the command-line options understood by the compiler that fit into all specified classes and qualifiers. These are the supported classes:

• optimizers

  Display all of the optimization options supported by the compiler.

• warnings

  Display all of the options controlling warning messages produced by the compiler.

• target

  Display target-specific options. Unlike the ‘--target-help’ option however, target-specific options of the linker and assembler are not displayed.

• params

  Display the values recognized by the --param option.

These are the supported qualifiers:

• undocumented

Examples

[mihkhub]

-v

Print (on standard error output) the commands executed to run the stages of compilation. Also print the version number of the compiler driver program and of the preprocessor and the compiler proper.

$ gcc -v
Using built-in specs.
COLLECT_GCC=gcc
COLLECT_LTO_WRAPPER=/usr/libexec/gcc/x86_64-redhat-linux/4.8.5/lto-wrapper
Target: x86_64-redhat-linux
Configured with: ../configure --prefix=/usr --mandir=/usr/share/man --infodir=/usr/share/info --with-bugurl=http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla --enable-bootstrap --enable-shared --enable-threads=posix --enable-checking=release --with-system-zlib --enable-__cxa_atexit --disable-libunwind-exceptions --enable-gnu-unique-object --enable-linker-build-id --with-linker-hash-style=gnu --enable-languages=c,c++,objc,obj-c++,java,fortran,ada,go,lto --enable-plugin --enable-initfini-array --disable-libgcj --with-isl=/builddir/build/BUILD/gcc-4.8.5-20150702/obj-x86_64-redhat-linux/isl-install --with-cloog=/builddir/build/BUILD/gcc-4.8.5-20150702/obj-x86_64-redhat-linux/cloog-install --enable-gnu-indirect-function --with-tune=generic --with-arch_32=x86-64 --build=x86_64-redhat-linux
Thread model: posix
gcc version 4.8.5 20150623 (Red Hat 4.8.5-11) (GCC) 

[mihkhub]

If you only want some of the stages of compilation, you can use ‘-x’ (or filename suffixes) to tell gcc where to start, and one of the options -c, -S, or -E to say where gcc is to stop. Note that some combinations (for example, ‘-x cpp-output -E’) instruct gcc to do nothing at all.

-c

Compile or assemble the source files, but do not link.

-S

Stop after the stage of compilation proper; do not assemble. The output is in the form of an assembler code file for each non-assembler input file specified. By default, the assembler file name for a source file is made by replacing the suffix ‘.c’, ‘.i’, etc., with .s.

-E

Stop after the preprocessing stage; do not run the compiler proper.

[mihkhub]

For any given input file, the file name suffix determines what kind of compilation is done:

file.c

C source code that must be preprocessed.

file.s

Assembler code.

file.i

C source code that should not be preprocessed.

file.ii

C++ source code that should not be preprocessed.

file.S, file.sx

Assembler code that must be preprocessed.