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File names

GCC uses the following file name conventions:

Source code file	program_name.c
Object file	program_name.o
Executable file	program_name (no ending)
Header file	name.h
Library file	libname.a or libname.so

The file name endings, or file extensions, identify the contents of files to the compiler. For example, the .c suffix tells the compiler that the file contains C source code, and the other letters indicate other kinds of files in a similar way.