cc stands for "C compiler". On modern systems, cc is usually an alias to a program which can compile the C programming language, such as gcc or clang.
On a standard GNU/Linux system, running cc will execute gcc, the GNU compiler collection. This documentation therefore refers to syntaxes, options and behaviors which are in some cases gcc-specific. If your system is configured to alias the cc command to another compiler, you should consult your compiler's documentation for details about how its behavior may differ.
Command Syntax
cc [ options ]
gcc:
The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting various programming languages. GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) distributes GCC under the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL).
gcc and g++
gcc and g++ are compiler-drivers of the 'Gnu Compiler Collection' (which was once upon a time just the 'Gnu C Compiler').
Even though they automatically determine which backends (cc1 cc1plus ...) to call depending on the file-type, unless overridden with -x language, they have some differences.
The probably most important difference in their defaults is which libraries they link against automatically.
