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GNU Compiler Collection VS Portable C Compiler

Compare GNU Compiler Collection VS Portable C Compiler and see what are their differences

GNU Compiler Collection logo GNU Compiler Collection

The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting...

Portable C Compiler logo Portable C Compiler

pcc is a C99 compiler which aims to be small, simple, fast and understandable.
  • GNU Compiler Collection Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-12
  • Portable C Compiler Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-11-06

GNU Compiler Collection features and specs

  • Open Source
    GCC is free software and its source code is open to the public, allowing developers to contribute, modify, and distribute it.
  • Cross-Platform
    GCC supports a wide range of hardware architectures and operating systems, making it highly versatile for different development environments.
  • Multi-language Support
    It supports multiple programming languages, including C, C++, Fortran, Ada, Go, and more, providing flexibility for developers working in different contexts.
  • Optimization
    GCC provides powerful optimization capabilities that can improve the performance of the compiled code significantly.
  • Strong Community
    There is a large and active community of users and developers that contribute to the project's continuous improvement and provide extensive support.

Possible disadvantages of GNU Compiler Collection

  • Complexity
    GCC can be complex and somewhat daunting for beginners due to its wide array of command-line options and settings.
  • Compilation Speed
    In some cases, GCC can be slower to compile compared to some commercial compilers, particularly at high optimization levels.
  • Error Messages
    The error diagnostics can sometimes be cryptic or less user-friendly, which can make debugging difficult for less experienced programmers.
  • Default Settings
    GCC defaults might not always be the most optimized for every use case, requiring users to manually configure options for best performance.

Portable C Compiler features and specs

  • Simplicity
    PCC is designed to be simple and easy to understand, making it a good choice for educational purposes and for those learning about compilers.
  • Portability
    As its name suggests, PCC is portable and can be easily adapted to different machine architectures, allowing for broad platform support.
  • Small Size
    PCC has a smaller code base compared to other compilers like GCC, which makes it more lightweight and quicker to compile.
  • Legacy Code Support
    PCC is useful for compiling older C code that may not comply with modern C standards, providing support for legacy systems.

Possible disadvantages of Portable C Compiler

  • Limited Features
    PCC may lack some of the advanced features and optimizations found in more modern compilers like GCC or Clang.
  • Performance
    The performance of code compiled with PCC may not be as optimized as that compiled with other contemporary compilers.
  • Community and Support
    PCC has a smaller community and less active development compared to larger projects, potentially leading to fewer updates and less troubleshooting support.
  • Standard Compliance
    PCC may not fully support the latest C standards, which could be a limitation for projects that need to adhere to modern specifications.

GNU Compiler Collection videos

The GNU Compiler Collection, Dr Jeremy Bennett at Manchester Free Software

More videos:

  • Review - What's New in the GNU Compiler Collection

Portable C Compiler videos

No Portable C Compiler videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GNU Compiler Collection and Portable C Compiler)
IDE
69 69%
31% 31
Email Marketing
78 78%
22% 22
Project Management
62 62%
38% 38
Text Editors
63 63%
37% 37

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GNU Compiler Collection seems to be a lot more popular than Portable C Compiler. While we know about 41 links to GNU Compiler Collection, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Portable C Compiler. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GNU Compiler Collection mentions (41)

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Portable C Compiler mentions (2)

  • Hand-optimizing the TCC code generator
    Check PCC [1]. Official release was 2014, but development still active [2]. [1] http://pcc.ludd.ltu.se/. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Research Unix v7 for Raspberry Pi
    Works for me in qemu, but remember to provide an SD card image as mentioned in the README before you run "make tools/sd.img" - e.g. The one in the releases https://github.com/r1mikey/research-unix-v7/releases/download/v7-unix-pi1-20200212/v7-unix-pi1-20200212.img.xz Otherwise, qemu will start up complaining about a large number of invalid memory accesses. Unfortunately, there is no port of pcc (the portable C... - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GNU Compiler Collection and Portable C Compiler, you can also consider the following products

clang - C, C++, Objective C and Objective C++ front-end for the LLVM compiler.

Tiny C Compiler - The Tiny C Compiler is an x86, x86-64 and ARM processor C compiler created by Fabrice Bellard.

LLVM - LLVM is a compiler infrastructure designed for compile-time, link-time, run-time, and...

Emscripten - Emscripten is an LLVM to JavaScript compiler.

Oatpp - Zero-dependency, performance oriented Web Framework for Rapid development in C++

Cheerp - Enterprise-grade C/C++ compiler for Web applications. Compiles to WASM/JavaScript