How many passes over the code does gcc use?

Question

• Specifically for C and C++, how many passes are used by default?
• Does this number change depending on the level of optimization used? (it should)
• Can it be changed directly?

I was searching for this information in http://gcc.gnu.org/, but googling using site:http://gcc.gnu.org/ did not yield anything.

Any pointers to any documentation about this will also be helpful.

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By pass I meant a pass over the original representation of the source code only and not the multiple pass definition suggested by Wikipedia.

Answer 1

Passes and Files of the Compiler might be the closest thing to what you're looking for.