1 @c Copyright (c) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008,
2 @c 2010, Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 @c This is part of the CPP and GCC manuals.
4 @c For copying conditions, see the file gcc.texi.
6 @c ---------------------------------------------------------------------
7 @c Options affecting the preprocessor
8 @c ---------------------------------------------------------------------
10 @c If this file is included with the flag ``cppmanual'' set, it is
11 @c formatted for inclusion in the CPP manual; otherwise the main GCC manual.
16 Predefine @var{name} as a macro, with definition @code{1}.
18 @item -D @var{name}=@var{definition}
19 The contents of @var{definition} are tokenized and processed as if
20 they appeared during translation phase three in a @samp{#define}
21 directive. In particular, the definition will be truncated by
22 embedded newline characters.
24 If you are invoking the preprocessor from a shell or shell-like
25 program you may need to use the shell's quoting syntax to protect
26 characters such as spaces that have a meaning in the shell syntax.
28 If you wish to define a function-like macro on the command line, write
29 its argument list with surrounding parentheses before the equals sign
30 (if any). Parentheses are meaningful to most shells, so you will need
31 to quote the option. With @command{sh} and @command{csh},
32 @option{-D'@var{name}(@var{args@dots{}})=@var{definition}'} works.
34 @option{-D} and @option{-U} options are processed in the order they
35 are given on the command line. All @option{-imacros @var{file}} and
36 @option{-include @var{file}} options are processed after all
37 @option{-D} and @option{-U} options.
41 Cancel any previous definition of @var{name}, either built in or
42 provided with a @option{-D} option.
46 Do not predefine any system-specific or GCC-specific macros. The
47 standard predefined macros remain defined.
49 @xref{Standard Predefined Macros}.
54 Add the directory @var{dir} to the list of directories to be searched
59 Directories named by @option{-I} are searched before the standard
60 system include directories. If the directory @var{dir} is a standard
61 system include directory, the option is ignored to ensure that the
62 default search order for system directories and the special treatment
63 of system headers are not defeated
65 (@pxref{System Headers})
68 If @var{dir} begins with @code{=}, then the @code{=} will be replaced
69 by the sysroot prefix; see @option{--sysroot} and @option{-isysroot}.
73 Write output to @var{file}. This is the same as specifying @var{file}
74 as the second non-option argument to @command{cpp}. @command{gcc} has a
75 different interpretation of a second non-option argument, so you must
76 use @option{-o} to specify the output file.
80 Turns on all optional warnings which are desirable for normal code.
81 At present this is @option{-Wcomment}, @option{-Wtrigraphs},
82 @option{-Wmultichar} and a warning about integer promotion causing a
83 change of sign in @code{#if} expressions. Note that many of the
84 preprocessor's warnings are on by default and have no options to
91 Warn whenever a comment-start sequence @samp{/*} appears in a @samp{/*}
92 comment, or whenever a backslash-newline appears in a @samp{//} comment.
93 (Both forms have the same effect.)
98 Most trigraphs in comments cannot affect the meaning of the program.
99 However, a trigraph that would form an escaped newline (@samp{??/} at
100 the end of a line) can, by changing where the comment begins or ends.
101 Therefore, only trigraphs that would form escaped newlines produce
102 warnings inside a comment.
104 This option is implied by @option{-Wall}. If @option{-Wall} is not
105 given, this option is still enabled unless trigraphs are enabled. To
106 get trigraph conversion without warnings, but get the other
107 @option{-Wall} warnings, use @samp{-trigraphs -Wall -Wno-trigraphs}.
110 @opindex Wtraditional
111 Warn about certain constructs that behave differently in traditional and
112 ISO C@. Also warn about ISO C constructs that have no traditional C
113 equivalent, and problematic constructs which should be avoided.
115 @xref{Traditional Mode}.
120 Warn whenever an identifier which is not a macro is encountered in an
121 @samp{#if} directive, outside of @samp{defined}. Such identifiers are
124 @item -Wunused-macros
125 @opindex Wunused-macros
126 Warn about macros defined in the main file that are unused. A macro
127 is @dfn{used} if it is expanded or tested for existence at least once.
128 The preprocessor will also warn if the macro has not been used at the
129 time it is redefined or undefined.
131 Built-in macros, macros defined on the command line, and macros
132 defined in include files are not warned about.
134 @emph{Note:} If a macro is actually used, but only used in skipped
135 conditional blocks, then CPP will report it as unused. To avoid the
136 warning in such a case, you might improve the scope of the macro's
137 definition by, for example, moving it into the first skipped block.
138 Alternatively, you could provide a dummy use with something like:
141 #if defined the_macro_causing_the_warning
146 @opindex Wendif-labels
147 Warn whenever an @samp{#else} or an @samp{#endif} are followed by text.
148 This usually happens in code of the form
159 The second and third @code{FOO} should be in comments, but often are not
160 in older programs. This warning is on by default.
164 Make all warnings into hard errors. Source code which triggers warnings
167 @item -Wsystem-headers
168 @opindex Wsystem-headers
169 Issue warnings for code in system headers. These are normally unhelpful
170 in finding bugs in your own code, therefore suppressed. If you are
171 responsible for the system library, you may want to see them.
175 Suppress all warnings, including those which GNU CPP issues by default.
179 Issue all the mandatory diagnostics listed in the C standard. Some of
180 them are left out by default, since they trigger frequently on harmless
183 @item -pedantic-errors
184 @opindex pedantic-errors
185 Issue all the mandatory diagnostics, and make all mandatory diagnostics
186 into errors. This includes mandatory diagnostics that GCC issues
187 without @samp{-pedantic} but treats as warnings.
192 @cindex dependencies, make
193 Instead of outputting the result of preprocessing, output a rule
194 suitable for @command{make} describing the dependencies of the main
195 source file. The preprocessor outputs one @command{make} rule containing
196 the object file name for that source file, a colon, and the names of all
197 the included files, including those coming from @option{-include} or
198 @option{-imacros} command line options.
200 Unless specified explicitly (with @option{-MT} or @option{-MQ}), the
201 object file name consists of the name of the source file with any
202 suffix replaced with object file suffix and with any leading directory
203 parts removed. If there are many included files then the rule is
204 split into several lines using @samp{\}-newline. The rule has no
207 This option does not suppress the preprocessor's debug output, such as
208 @option{-dM}. To avoid mixing such debug output with the dependency
209 rules you should explicitly specify the dependency output file with
210 @option{-MF}, or use an environment variable like
211 @env{DEPENDENCIES_OUTPUT} (@pxref{Environment Variables}). Debug output
212 will still be sent to the regular output stream as normal.
214 Passing @option{-M} to the driver implies @option{-E}, and suppresses
215 warnings with an implicit @option{-w}.
219 Like @option{-M} but do not mention header files that are found in
220 system header directories, nor header files that are included,
221 directly or indirectly, from such a header.
223 This implies that the choice of angle brackets or double quotes in an
224 @samp{#include} directive does not in itself determine whether that
225 header will appear in @option{-MM} dependency output. This is a
226 slight change in semantics from GCC versions 3.0 and earlier.
231 When used with @option{-M} or @option{-MM}, specifies a
232 file to write the dependencies to. If no @option{-MF} switch is given
233 the preprocessor sends the rules to the same place it would have sent
236 When used with the driver options @option{-MD} or @option{-MMD},
237 @option{-MF} overrides the default dependency output file.
241 In conjunction with an option such as @option{-M} requesting
242 dependency generation, @option{-MG} assumes missing header files are
243 generated files and adds them to the dependency list without raising
244 an error. The dependency filename is taken directly from the
245 @code{#include} directive without prepending any path. @option{-MG}
246 also suppresses preprocessed output, as a missing header file renders
249 This feature is used in automatic updating of makefiles.
253 This option instructs CPP to add a phony target for each dependency
254 other than the main file, causing each to depend on nothing. These
255 dummy rules work around errors @command{make} gives if you remove header
256 files without updating the @file{Makefile} to match.
258 This is typical output:
261 test.o: test.c test.h
266 @item -MT @var{target}
269 Change the target of the rule emitted by dependency generation. By
270 default CPP takes the name of the main input file, deletes any
271 directory components and any file suffix such as @samp{.c}, and
272 appends the platform's usual object suffix. The result is the target.
274 An @option{-MT} option will set the target to be exactly the string you
275 specify. If you want multiple targets, you can specify them as a single
276 argument to @option{-MT}, or use multiple @option{-MT} options.
278 For example, @option{@w{-MT '$(objpfx)foo.o'}} might give
281 $(objpfx)foo.o: foo.c
284 @item -MQ @var{target}
287 Same as @option{-MT}, but it quotes any characters which are special to
288 Make. @option{@w{-MQ '$(objpfx)foo.o'}} gives
291 $$(objpfx)foo.o: foo.c
294 The default target is automatically quoted, as if it were given with
299 @option{-MD} is equivalent to @option{-M -MF @var{file}}, except that
300 @option{-E} is not implied. The driver determines @var{file} based on
301 whether an @option{-o} option is given. If it is, the driver uses its
302 argument but with a suffix of @file{.d}, otherwise it takes the name
303 of the input file, removes any directory components and suffix, and
304 applies a @file{.d} suffix.
306 If @option{-MD} is used in conjunction with @option{-E}, any
307 @option{-o} switch is understood to specify the dependency output file
308 (@pxref{dashMF,,-MF}), but if used without @option{-E}, each @option{-o}
309 is understood to specify a target object file.
311 Since @option{-E} is not implied, @option{-MD} can be used to generate
312 a dependency output file as a side-effect of the compilation process.
316 Like @option{-MD} except mention only user header files, not system
322 When using precompiled headers (@pxref{Precompiled Headers}), this flag
323 will cause the dependency-output flags to also list the files from the
324 precompiled header's dependencies. If not specified only the
325 precompiled header would be listed and not the files that were used to
326 create it because those files are not consulted when a precompiled
329 @item -fpch-preprocess
330 @opindex fpch-preprocess
331 This option allows use of a precompiled header (@pxref{Precompiled
332 Headers}) together with @option{-E}. It inserts a special @code{#pragma},
333 @code{#pragma GCC pch_preprocess "<filename>"} in the output to mark
334 the place where the precompiled header was found, and its filename. When
335 @option{-fpreprocessed} is in use, GCC recognizes this @code{#pragma} and
338 This option is off by default, because the resulting preprocessed output
339 is only really suitable as input to GCC@. It is switched on by
340 @option{-save-temps}.
342 You should not write this @code{#pragma} in your own code, but it is
343 safe to edit the filename if the PCH file is available in a different
344 location. The filename may be absolute or it may be relative to GCC's
350 @itemx -x objective-c
351 @itemx -x assembler-with-cpp
353 Specify the source language: C, C++, Objective-C, or assembly. This has
354 nothing to do with standards conformance or extensions; it merely
355 selects which base syntax to expect. If you give none of these options,
356 cpp will deduce the language from the extension of the source file:
357 @samp{.c}, @samp{.cc}, @samp{.m}, or @samp{.S}. Some other common
358 extensions for C++ and assembly are also recognized. If cpp does not
359 recognize the extension, it will treat the file as C; this is the most
362 @emph{Note:} Previous versions of cpp accepted a @option{-lang} option
363 which selected both the language and the standards conformance level.
364 This option has been removed, because it conflicts with the @option{-l}
367 @item -std=@var{standard}
371 Specify the standard to which the code should conform. Currently CPP
372 knows about C and C++ standards; others may be added in the future.
380 The ISO C standard from 1990. @samp{c90} is the customary shorthand for
381 this version of the standard.
383 The @option{-ansi} option is equivalent to @option{-std=c90}.
386 The 1990 C standard, as amended in 1994.
392 The revised ISO C standard, published in December 1999. Before
393 publication, this was known as C9X@.
396 The next version of the ISO C standard, still under development.
400 The 1990 C standard plus GNU extensions. This is the default.
404 The 1999 C standard plus GNU extensions.
407 The next version of the ISO C standard, still under development, plus
411 The 1998 ISO C++ standard plus amendments.
414 The same as @option{-std=c++98} plus GNU extensions. This is the
415 default for C++ code.
420 Split the include path. Any directories specified with @option{-I}
421 options before @option{-I-} are searched only for headers requested with
422 @code{@w{#include "@var{file}"}}; they are not searched for
423 @code{@w{#include <@var{file}>}}. If additional directories are
424 specified with @option{-I} options after the @option{-I-}, those
425 directories are searched for all @samp{#include} directives.
427 In addition, @option{-I-} inhibits the use of the directory of the current
428 file directory as the first search directory for @code{@w{#include
433 This option has been deprecated.
437 Do not search the standard system directories for header files.
438 Only the directories you have specified with @option{-I} options
439 (and the directory of the current file, if appropriate) are searched.
443 Do not search for header files in the C++-specific standard directories,
444 but do still search the other standard directories. (This option is
445 used when building the C++ library.)
447 @item -include @var{file}
449 Process @var{file} as if @code{#include "file"} appeared as the first
450 line of the primary source file. However, the first directory searched
451 for @var{file} is the preprocessor's working directory @emph{instead of}
452 the directory containing the main source file. If not found there, it
453 is searched for in the remainder of the @code{#include "@dots{}"} search
456 If multiple @option{-include} options are given, the files are included
457 in the order they appear on the command line.
459 @item -imacros @var{file}
461 Exactly like @option{-include}, except that any output produced by
462 scanning @var{file} is thrown away. Macros it defines remain defined.
463 This allows you to acquire all the macros from a header without also
464 processing its declarations.
466 All files specified by @option{-imacros} are processed before all files
467 specified by @option{-include}.
469 @item -idirafter @var{dir}
471 Search @var{dir} for header files, but do it @emph{after} all
472 directories specified with @option{-I} and the standard system directories
473 have been exhausted. @var{dir} is treated as a system include directory.
474 If @var{dir} begins with @code{=}, then the @code{=} will be replaced
475 by the sysroot prefix; see @option{--sysroot} and @option{-isysroot}.
477 @item -iprefix @var{prefix}
479 Specify @var{prefix} as the prefix for subsequent @option{-iwithprefix}
480 options. If the prefix represents a directory, you should include the
483 @item -iwithprefix @var{dir}
484 @itemx -iwithprefixbefore @var{dir}
486 @opindex iwithprefixbefore
487 Append @var{dir} to the prefix specified previously with
488 @option{-iprefix}, and add the resulting directory to the include search
489 path. @option{-iwithprefixbefore} puts it in the same place @option{-I}
490 would; @option{-iwithprefix} puts it where @option{-idirafter} would.
492 @item -isysroot @var{dir}
494 This option is like the @option{--sysroot} option, but applies only to
495 header files. See the @option{--sysroot} option for more information.
497 @item -imultilib @var{dir}
499 Use @var{dir} as a subdirectory of the directory containing
500 target-specific C++ headers.
502 @item -isystem @var{dir}
504 Search @var{dir} for header files, after all directories specified by
505 @option{-I} but before the standard system directories. Mark it
506 as a system directory, so that it gets the same special treatment as
507 is applied to the standard system directories.
509 @xref{System Headers}.
511 If @var{dir} begins with @code{=}, then the @code{=} will be replaced
512 by the sysroot prefix; see @option{--sysroot} and @option{-isysroot}.
514 @item -iquote @var{dir}
516 Search @var{dir} only for header files requested with
517 @code{@w{#include "@var{file}"}}; they are not searched for
518 @code{@w{#include <@var{file}>}}, before all directories specified by
519 @option{-I} and before the standard system directories.
523 If @var{dir} begins with @code{=}, then the @code{=} will be replaced
524 by the sysroot prefix; see @option{--sysroot} and @option{-isysroot}.
526 @item -fdirectives-only
527 @opindex fdirectives-only
528 When preprocessing, handle directives, but do not expand macros.
530 The option's behavior depends on the @option{-E} and @option{-fpreprocessed}
533 With @option{-E}, preprocessing is limited to the handling of directives
534 such as @code{#define}, @code{#ifdef}, and @code{#error}. Other
535 preprocessor operations, such as macro expansion and trigraph
536 conversion are not performed. In addition, the @option{-dD} option is
539 With @option{-fpreprocessed}, predefinition of command line and most
540 builtin macros is disabled. Macros such as @code{__LINE__}, which are
541 contextually dependent, are handled normally. This enables compilation of
542 files previously preprocessed with @code{-E -fdirectives-only}.
544 With both @option{-E} and @option{-fpreprocessed}, the rules for
545 @option{-fpreprocessed} take precedence. This enables full preprocessing of
546 files previously preprocessed with @code{-E -fdirectives-only}.
548 @item -fdollars-in-identifiers
549 @opindex fdollars-in-identifiers
550 @anchor{fdollars-in-identifiers}
551 Accept @samp{$} in identifiers.
553 @xref{Identifier characters}.
556 @item -fextended-identifiers
557 @opindex fextended-identifiers
558 Accept universal character names in identifiers. This option is
559 experimental; in a future version of GCC, it will be enabled by
560 default for C99 and C++.
563 @opindex fpreprocessed
564 Indicate to the preprocessor that the input file has already been
565 preprocessed. This suppresses things like macro expansion, trigraph
566 conversion, escaped newline splicing, and processing of most directives.
567 The preprocessor still recognizes and removes comments, so that you can
568 pass a file preprocessed with @option{-C} to the compiler without
569 problems. In this mode the integrated preprocessor is little more than
570 a tokenizer for the front ends.
572 @option{-fpreprocessed} is implicit if the input file has one of the
573 extensions @samp{.i}, @samp{.ii} or @samp{.mi}. These are the
574 extensions that GCC uses for preprocessed files created by
575 @option{-save-temps}.
577 @item -ftabstop=@var{width}
579 Set the distance between tab stops. This helps the preprocessor report
580 correct column numbers in warnings or errors, even if tabs appear on the
581 line. If the value is less than 1 or greater than 100, the option is
582 ignored. The default is 8.
584 @item -fexec-charset=@var{charset}
585 @opindex fexec-charset
586 @cindex character set, execution
587 Set the execution character set, used for string and character
588 constants. The default is UTF-8. @var{charset} can be any encoding
589 supported by the system's @code{iconv} library routine.
591 @item -fwide-exec-charset=@var{charset}
592 @opindex fwide-exec-charset
593 @cindex character set, wide execution
594 Set the wide execution character set, used for wide string and
595 character constants. The default is UTF-32 or UTF-16, whichever
596 corresponds to the width of @code{wchar_t}. As with
597 @option{-fexec-charset}, @var{charset} can be any encoding supported
598 by the system's @code{iconv} library routine; however, you will have
599 problems with encodings that do not fit exactly in @code{wchar_t}.
601 @item -finput-charset=@var{charset}
602 @opindex finput-charset
603 @cindex character set, input
604 Set the input character set, used for translation from the character
605 set of the input file to the source character set used by GCC@. If the
606 locale does not specify, or GCC cannot get this information from the
607 locale, the default is UTF-8. This can be overridden by either the locale
608 or this command line option. Currently the command line option takes
609 precedence if there's a conflict. @var{charset} can be any encoding
610 supported by the system's @code{iconv} library routine.
612 @item -fworking-directory
613 @opindex fworking-directory
614 @opindex fno-working-directory
615 Enable generation of linemarkers in the preprocessor output that will
616 let the compiler know the current working directory at the time of
617 preprocessing. When this option is enabled, the preprocessor will
618 emit, after the initial linemarker, a second linemarker with the
619 current working directory followed by two slashes. GCC will use this
620 directory, when it's present in the preprocessed input, as the
621 directory emitted as the current working directory in some debugging
622 information formats. This option is implicitly enabled if debugging
623 information is enabled, but this can be inhibited with the negated
624 form @option{-fno-working-directory}. If the @option{-P} flag is
625 present in the command line, this option has no effect, since no
626 @code{#line} directives are emitted whatsoever.
628 @item -fno-show-column
629 @opindex fno-show-column
630 Do not print column numbers in diagnostics. This may be necessary if
631 diagnostics are being scanned by a program that does not understand the
632 column numbers, such as @command{dejagnu}.
634 @item -A @var{predicate}=@var{answer}
636 Make an assertion with the predicate @var{predicate} and answer
637 @var{answer}. This form is preferred to the older form @option{-A
638 @var{predicate}(@var{answer})}, which is still supported, because
639 it does not use shell special characters.
641 @xref{Obsolete Features}.
644 @item -A -@var{predicate}=@var{answer}
645 Cancel an assertion with the predicate @var{predicate} and answer
649 @var{CHARS} is a sequence of one or more of the following characters,
650 and must not be preceded by a space. Other characters are interpreted
651 by the compiler proper, or reserved for future versions of GCC, and so
652 are silently ignored. If you specify characters whose behavior
653 conflicts, the result is undefined.
658 Instead of the normal output, generate a list of @samp{#define}
659 directives for all the macros defined during the execution of the
660 preprocessor, including predefined macros. This gives you a way of
661 finding out what is predefined in your version of the preprocessor.
662 Assuming you have no file @file{foo.h}, the command
665 touch foo.h; cpp -dM foo.h
669 will show all the predefined macros.
671 If you use @option{-dM} without the @option{-E} option, @option{-dM} is
672 interpreted as a synonym for @option{-fdump-rtl-mach}.
673 @xref{Debugging Options, , ,gcc}.
677 Like @samp{M} except in two respects: it does @emph{not} include the
678 predefined macros, and it outputs @emph{both} the @samp{#define}
679 directives and the result of preprocessing. Both kinds of output go to
680 the standard output file.
684 Like @samp{D}, but emit only the macro names, not their expansions.
688 Output @samp{#include} directives in addition to the result of
693 Like @samp{D} except that only macros that are expanded, or whose
694 definedness is tested in preprocessor directives, are output; the
695 output is delayed until the use or test of the macro; and
696 @samp{#undef} directives are also output for macros tested but
697 undefined at the time.
702 Inhibit generation of linemarkers in the output from the preprocessor.
703 This might be useful when running the preprocessor on something that is
704 not C code, and will be sent to a program which might be confused by the
707 @xref{Preprocessor Output}.
712 Do not discard comments. All comments are passed through to the output
713 file, except for comments in processed directives, which are deleted
714 along with the directive.
716 You should be prepared for side effects when using @option{-C}; it
717 causes the preprocessor to treat comments as tokens in their own right.
718 For example, comments appearing at the start of what would be a
719 directive line have the effect of turning that line into an ordinary
720 source line, since the first token on the line is no longer a @samp{#}.
723 Do not discard comments, including during macro expansion. This is
724 like @option{-C}, except that comments contained within macros are
725 also passed through to the output file where the macro is expanded.
727 In addition to the side-effects of the @option{-C} option, the
728 @option{-CC} option causes all C++-style comments inside a macro
729 to be converted to C-style comments. This is to prevent later use
730 of that macro from inadvertently commenting out the remainder of
733 The @option{-CC} option is generally used to support lint comments.
735 @item -traditional-cpp
736 @opindex traditional-cpp
737 Try to imitate the behavior of old-fashioned C preprocessors, as
738 opposed to ISO C preprocessors.
740 @xref{Traditional Mode}.
745 Process trigraph sequences.
747 @xref{Initial processing}.
750 These are three-character sequences, all starting with @samp{??}, that
751 are defined by ISO C to stand for single characters. For example,
752 @samp{??/} stands for @samp{\}, so @samp{'??/n'} is a character
753 constant for a newline. By default, GCC ignores trigraphs, but in
754 standard-conforming modes it converts them. See the @option{-std} and
755 @option{-ansi} options.
757 The nine trigraphs and their replacements are
760 Trigraph: ??( ??) ??< ??> ??= ??/ ??' ??! ??-
761 Replacement: [ ] @{ @} # \ ^ | ~
767 Enable special code to work around file systems which only permit very
768 short file names, such as MS-DOS@.
774 Print text describing all the command line options instead of
775 preprocessing anything.
779 Verbose mode. Print out GNU CPP's version number at the beginning of
780 execution, and report the final form of the include path.
784 Print the name of each header file used, in addition to other normal
785 activities. Each name is indented to show how deep in the
786 @samp{#include} stack it is. Precompiled header files are also
787 printed, even if they are found to be invalid; an invalid precompiled
788 header file is printed with @samp{...x} and a valid one with @samp{...!} .
793 Print out GNU CPP's version number. With one dash, proceed to
794 preprocess as normal. With two dashes, exit immediately.