# CMAKE_<LANG>_COMPILER_FRONTEND_VARIANT

Added in version 3.14.

Identification string of the compiler frontend variant.

Some compilers have multiple, different frontends for accepting command line options. (For example `Clang` originally only had a frontend compatible with the `GNU` compiler but since its port to Windows (`Clang-Cl`) it now also supports a frontend compatible with `MSVC`.) When CMake detects such a compiler it sets this variable to what would have been the `CMAKE_<LANG>_COMPILER_ID` for the compiler whose frontend it resembles.

Note

In other words, this variable describes what command line options and language extensions the compiler frontend expects.

Changed in version 3.26: This variable is set for `GNU`, `MSVC`, and `AppleClang` compilers that have only one frontend variant.