LinuxQuestions.org - What is the difference between gcc and g++

gcc is a C compiler and g++ a C++ compiler

From the man page
Code:
      C++ source files conventionally use one of the suffixes .C, .cc, .cpp,

      .CPP, .c++, .cp, or .cxx; C++ header files often use .hh or .H; and

      preprocessed C++ files use the suffix .ii.  GCC recognizes files with

      these names and compiles them as C++ programs even if you call the com‐

      piler the same way as for compiling C programs (usually with the name

      gcc).



      However, the use of gcc does not add the C++ library.  g++ is a program

      that calls GCC and treats .c, .h and .i files as C++ source files

      instead of C source files unless -x is used, and automatically speci‐

      fies linking against the C++ library.  This program is also useful when

      precompiling a C header file with a .h extension for use in C++ compi‐

      lations.  On many systems, g++ is also installed with the name c++.



      When you compile C++ programs, you may specify many of the same com‐

      mand-line options that you use for compiling programs in any language;

      or command-line options meaningful for C and related languages; or

      options that are meaningful only for C++ programs.