Experimental GNU Compiler System, a former development branch of the GNU Compiler Collection that focused on experimental features and improvements. Later merged back into the main GCC project.
Acronym from Experimental GNU Compiler System, created in the 1990s when developers wanted to pursue more aggressive development of the GNU compiler. The name reflected its experimental nature and relationship to the established GNU toolchain.
EGCS represented an interesting moment in open-source software development when competing visions for a project led to a temporary fork, but collaboration eventually prevailed. This pattern of fork-and-merge has become common in software development, allowing innovation while maintaining stability.
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