diff --git a/Lib/distutils/ccompiler.py b/Lib/distutils/ccompiler.py
index b71d1d3..00645db 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/ccompiler.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/ccompiler.py
@@ -800,6 +800,23 @@ main (int argc, char **argv) {
             return False
         return True
 
+    def has_flag(self, flagname):
+        """Return a boolean indicating whether a flag name is supported on
+        the specified compiler.
+        """
+        import tempfile
+        fd, fname = tempfile.mkstemp('.cpp', 'main', text=True)
+        f = os.fdopen(fd, 'w')
+        try:
+            f.write('int main (int argc, char **argv) { return 0; }')
+        finally:
+            f.close()
+        try:
+            self.compile([fname], extra_postargs=[flagname])
+        except setuptools.distutils.errors.CompileError:
+            return False
+        return True
+
     def find_library_file (self, dirs, lib, debug=0):
         """Search the specified list of directories for a static or shared
         library file 'lib' and return the full path to that file.  If