Use of the gcc Compiler for C - Unix

To compile a C program named "myfile.c" and get as many warnings as possible use the command:
% gcc -Wall - W myfile.c

The corresponding executable file is a.out. It is executed with the command

% a.out

You can give a name different than a.out to the generated executable file with the command:

% gcc -Wall -W -o myfile myfile.c

which creates the executable file myfile. myfile can be executed with the command:

% myfile

We can compile a source file myfile.c and create a corresponding object file myfile.o, and not an executable file, with the command

% cc -Wall -W -c myfile.c

The use of object files [and of libraries] is discussed in a separate page.