Visit Apps Ved →

c99

POSIX-standard C99 compiler interface

TLDR

Compile a C source file to an executable
$ c99 [file.c] -o [output]
Compile without linking (produce object file)
$ c99 -c [file.c]
Compile with a library
$ c99 [file.c] -l[library] -o [output]
Define a preprocessor macro
$ c99 -D [NAME=value] [file.c] -o [output]
Add include directory for headers
$ c99 -I [path/to/includes] [file.c] -o [output]
Compile with optimization
$ c99 -O [file.c] -o [output]

SYNOPSIS

c99 [-c] [-D name[=value]...] [-E] [-g] [-I directory...] [-L directory...] [-o outfile] [-O optlevel] [-s] [-U name...] operand...

DESCRIPTION

c99 is the POSIX-standard interface to the C compilation system for compiling C99-conformant source code. It compiles C source files and links them to produce an executable file, or can produce object files for later linking.The command accepts source files (.c), object files (.o), and library archives (.a) as operands. Without the -o option, the executable is written to a.out.

PARAMETERS

-c

Compile only; do not link. Produces object files (.o)
-D name[=value]
Define preprocessor macro
-E
Preprocess only; do not compile
-g
Include debugging information
-I directory
Add directory to header search path
-L directory
Add directory to library search path
-l library
Link with specified library
-o outfile
Write output to specified file
-O optlevel
Enable optimization (0, 1, 2, 3)
-s
Strip symbols from output
-U name
Undefine preprocessor macro

INSTALL

sudo dnf install gcc
sudo pacman -S gcc
sudo apk add gcc
sudo zypper install gcc
brew install gcc
nix profile install nixpkgs#gcc

CAVEATS

The c99 command may not be available on all systems; it is required only on systems providing the POSIX C-Language Development option. On Linux, it typically invokes gcc or clang with appropriate flags for C99 compliance.

HISTORY

The c99 utility was introduced in IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 (POSIX.1-2001), based on the earlier c89 utility from ISO POSIX-2:1993. It reflects updates to support the ISO/IEC 9899:1999 C standard (C99).

SEE ALSO

gcc(1), clang(1), make(1), ld(1)

RESOURCES

Documentation