The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is a collection of compilers by the GNU Project. These compilers support many programming languages, architectures, and operating systems.
The Free Software Foundataion (FSF) distributes GCC as free software under the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL).
GCC is one of the largest free programs in existence, containing over 15 million lines of code.
GCC was originally released in 1987 by Richard Stallman as the GNU C Compiler as it only supported the C programming langauge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Compiler_Collection