pipeline echo to gcc?

Question

To call printf("Hello!"); in C from terminal I use

echo '#include<stdio.h>
void main()
{
printf("Hello!");
}' > foo.c

and then call gcc foo.c to make the output. Unfortunately, the pipelining

echo '#include<stdio.h>
void main()
{
printf("Hello!");
}' | gcc 

fails complaining for no input file. Ultimately, I want to have a script where I can compile a C command from terminal with ./script [command]. Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Yes, but you have to specify the language using the -x option. Specify input file as stdin, language as C using -xc (if you want it to be C++, use -xc++). So in your case the command would be

echo '#include<stdio.h>
void main()
{
printf("Hello!");
}' | gcc -o output.o -xc -

You can read more about Command Line Compiler Arguments: see Invoking GCC chapter.

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However, as @Basile says, it is not worth the effort to avoid dealing with C files. Check his answer for more information.