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GNU Info File | 1993-10-21 | 51KB | 942 lines

This is Info file gcc.info, produced by Makeinfo-1.54 from the input
file gcc.texi.
   This file documents the use and the internals of the GNU compiler.
   Published by the Free Software Foundation 675 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
   Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.
   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also
that the sections entitled "GNU General Public License" and "Protect
Your Freedom--Fight `Look And Feel'" are included exactly as in the
original, and provided that the entire resulting derived work is
distributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this
   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that the sections entitled "GNU General Public
License" and "Protect Your Freedom--Fight `Look And Feel'", and this
permission notice, may be included in translations approved by the Free
Software Foundation instead of in the original English.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Variable Length,  Next: Macro Varargs,  Prev: Zero Length,  Up: C Extensions
Arrays of Variable Length
=========================
   Variable-length automatic arrays are allowed in GNU C.  These arrays
are declared like any other automatic arrays, but with a length that is
not a constant expression.  The storage is allocated at the point of
declaration and deallocated when the brace-level is exited.  For
example:
     FILE *
     concat_fopen (char *s1, char *s2, char *mode)
     {
       char str[strlen (s1) + strlen (s2) + 1];
       strcpy (str, s1);
       strcat (str, s2);
       return fopen (str, mode);
     }
   Jumping or breaking out of the scope of the array name deallocates
the storage.  Jumping into the scope is not allowed; you get an error
message for it.
   You can use the function `alloca' to get an effect much like
variable-length arrays.  The function `alloca' is available in many
other C implementations (but not in all).  On the other hand,
variable-length arrays are more elegant.
   There are other differences between these two methods.  Space
allocated with `alloca' exists until the containing *function* returns.
The space for a variable-length array is deallocated as soon as the
array name's scope ends.  (If you use both variable-length arrays and
`alloca' in the same function, deallocation of a variable-length array
will also deallocate anything more recently allocated with `alloca'.)
   You can also use variable-length arrays as arguments to functions:
     struct entry
     tester (int len, char data[len][len])
     {
       ...
     }
   The length of an array is computed once when the storage is allocated
and is remembered for the scope of the array in case you access it with
`sizeof'.
   If you want to pass the array first and the length afterward, you can
use a forward declaration in the parameter list--another GNU extension.
     struct entry
     tester (int len; char data[len][len], int len)
     {
       ...
     }
   The `int len' before the semicolon is a "parameter forward
declaration", and it serves the purpose of making the name `len' known
when the declaration of `data' is parsed.
   You can write any number of such parameter forward declarations in
the parameter list.  They can be separated by commas or semicolons, but
the last one must end with a semicolon, which is followed by the "real"
parameter declarations.  Each forward declaration must match a "real"
declaration in parameter name and data type.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Macro Varargs,  Next: Subscripting,  Prev: Variable Length,  Up: C Extensions
Macros with Variable Numbers of Arguments
=========================================
   In GNU C, a macro can accept a variable number of arguments, much as
a function can.  The syntax for defining the macro looks much like that
used for a function.  Here is an example:
     #define eprintf(format, args...)  \
      fprintf (stderr, format , ## args)
   Here `args' is a "rest argument": it takes in zero or more
arguments, as many as the call contains.  All of them plus the commas
between them form the value of `args', which is substituted into the
macro body where `args' is used.  Thus, we have this expansion:
     eprintf ("%s:%d: ", input_file_name, line_number)
     ==>
     fprintf (stderr, "%s:%d: " , input_file_name, line_number)
Note that the comma after the string constant comes from the definition
of `eprintf', whereas the last comma comes from the value of `args'.
   The reason for using `##' is to handle the case when `args' matches
no arguments at all.  In this case, `args' has an empty value.  In this
case, the second comma in the definition becomes an embarrassment: if
it got through to the expansion of the macro, we would get something
like this:
     fprintf (stderr, "success!\n" , )
which is invalid C syntax.  `##' gets rid of the comma, so we get the
following instead:
     fprintf (stderr, "success!\n")
   This is a special feature of the GNU C preprocessor: `##' before a
rest argument that is empty discards the preceding sequence of
non-whitespace characters from the macro definition.  (If another macro
argument precedes, none of it is discarded.)
   It might be better to discard the last preprocessor token instead of
the last preceding sequence of non-whitespace characters; in fact, we
may someday change this feature to do so.  We advise you to write the
macro definition so that the preceding sequence of non-whitespace
characters is just a single token, so that the meaning will not change
if we change the definition of this feature.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Subscripting,  Next: Pointer Arith,  Prev: Macro Varargs,  Up: C Extensions
Non-Lvalue Arrays May Have Subscripts
=====================================
   Subscripting is allowed on arrays that are not lvalues, even though
the unary `&' operator is not.  For example, this is valid in GNU C
though not valid in other C dialects:
     struct foo {int a[4];};

     struct foo f();

     bar (int index)
     {
       return f().a[index];
     }
File: gcc.info,  Node: Pointer Arith,  Next: Initializers,  Prev: Subscripting,  Up: C Extensions
Arithmetic on `void'- and Function-Pointers
===========================================
   In GNU C, addition and subtraction operations are supported on
pointers to `void' and on pointers to functions.  This is done by
treating the size of a `void' or of a function as 1.
   A consequence of this is that `sizeof' is also allowed on `void' and
on function types, and returns 1.
   The option `-Wpointer-arith' requests a warning if these extensions
are used.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Initializers,  Next: Constructors,  Prev: Pointer Arith,  Up: C Extensions
Non-Constant Initializers
=========================
   The elements of an aggregate initializer for an automatic variable
are not required to be constant expressions in GNU C.  Here is an
example of an initializer with run-time varying elements:
     foo (float f, float g)
     {
       float beat_freqs[2] = { f-g, f+g };
       ...
     }
File: gcc.info,  Node: Constructors,  Next: Labeled Elements,  Prev: Initializers,  Up: C Extensions
Constructor Expressions
=======================
   GNU C supports constructor expressions.  A constructor looks like a
cast containing an initializer.  Its value is an object of the type
specified in the cast, containing the elements specified in the
initializer.
   Usually, the specified type is a structure.  Assume that `struct
foo' and `structure' are declared as shown:
     struct foo {int a; char b[2];} structure;
Here is an example of constructing a `struct foo' with a constructor:
     structure = ((struct foo) {x + y, 'a', 0});
This is equivalent to writing the following:
     {
       struct foo temp = {x + y, 'a', 0};
       structure = temp;
     }
   You can also construct an array.  If all the elements of the
constructor are (made up of) simple constant expressions, suitable for
use in initializers, then the constructor is an lvalue and can be
coerced to a pointer to its first element, as shown here:
     char **foo = (char *[]) { "x", "y", "z" };
   Array constructors whose elements are not simple constants are not
very useful, because the constructor is not an lvalue.  There are only
two valid ways to use it: to subscript it, or initialize an array
variable with it.  The former is probably slower than a `switch'
statement, while the latter does the same thing an ordinary C
initializer would do.  Here is an example of subscripting an array
constructor:
     output = ((int[]) { 2, x, 28 }) [input];
   Constructor expressions for scalar types and union types are is also
allowed, but then the constructor expression is equivalent to a cast.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Labeled Elements,  Next: Cast to Union,  Prev: Constructors,  Up: C Extensions
Labeled Elements in Initializers
================================
   Standard C requires the elements of an initializer to appear in a
fixed order, the same as the order of the elements in the array or
structure being initialized.
   In GNU C you can give the elements in any order, specifying the array
indices or structure field names they apply to.
   To specify an array index, write `[INDEX]' before the element value.
For example,
     int a[6] = { [4] 29, [2] 15 };
is equivalent to
     int a[6] = { 0, 0, 15, 0, 29, 0 };
The index values must be constant expressions, even if the array being
initialized is automatic.
   In a structure initializer, specify the name of a field to initialize
with `FIELDNAME:' before the element value.  For example, given the
following structure,
     struct point { int x, y; };
the following initialization
     struct point p = { y: yvalue, x: xvalue };
is equivalent to
     struct point p = { xvalue, yvalue };
   You can also use an element label when initializing a union, to
specify which element of the union should be used.  For example,
     union foo { int i; double d; };

     union foo f = { d: 4 };
will convert 4 to a `double' to store it in the union using the second
element.  By contrast, casting 4 to type `union foo' would store it
into the union as the integer `i', since it is an integer.  (*Note Cast
to Union::.)
   You can combine this technique of naming elements with ordinary C
initialization of successive elements.  Each initializer element that
does not have a label applies to the next consecutive element of the
array or structure.  For example,
     int a[6] = { [1] v1, v2, [4] v4 };
is equivalent to
     int a[6] = { 0, v1, v2, 0, v4, 0 };
   Labeling the elements of an array initializer is especially useful
when the indices are characters or belong to an `enum' type.  For
example:
     int whitespace[256]
       = { [' '] 1, ['\t'] 1, ['\h'] 1,
           ['\f'] 1, ['\n'] 1, ['\r'] 1 };
File: gcc.info,  Node: Case Ranges,  Next: Function Attributes,  Prev: Cast to Union,  Up: C Extensions
Case Ranges
===========
   You can specify a range of consecutive values in a single `case'
label, like this:
     case LOW ... HIGH:
This has the same effect as the proper number of individual `case'
labels, one for each integer value from LOW to HIGH, inclusive.
   This feature is especially useful for ranges of ASCII character
codes:
     case 'A' ... 'Z':
   *Be careful:* Write spaces around the `...', for otherwise it may be
parsed wrong when you use it with integer values.  For example, write
this:
     case 1 ... 5:
rather than this:
     case 1...5:
     *Warning to C++ users:* When compiling C++, you must write two dots
     `..' rather than three to specify a range in case statements, thus:
          case 'A' .. 'Z':
     This is an anachronism in the GNU C++ front end, and will be
     rectified in a future release.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Cast to Union,  Next: Case Ranges,  Prev: Labeled Elements,  Up: C Extensions
Cast to a Union Type
====================
   A cast to union type is similar to other casts, except that the type
specified is a union type.  You can specify the type either with `union
TAG' or with a typedef name.  A cast to union is actually a constructor
though, not a cast, and hence does not yield an lvalue like normal
casts.  (*Note Constructors::.)
   The types that may be cast to the union type are those of the members
of the union.  Thus, given the following union and variables:
     union foo { int i; double d; };
     int x;
     double y;
both `x' and `y' can be cast to type `union' foo.
   Using the cast as the right-hand side of an assignment to a variable
of union type is equivalent to storing in a member of the union:
     union foo u;
     ...
     u = (union foo) x  ==  u.i = x
     u = (union foo) y  ==  u.d = y
   You can also use the union cast as a function argument:
     void hack (union foo);
     ...
     hack ((union foo) x);
File: gcc.info,  Node: Function Attributes,  Next: Function Prototypes,  Prev: Case Ranges,  Up: C Extensions
Declaring Attributes of Functions
=================================
   In GNU C, you declare certain things about functions called in your
program which help the compiler optimize function calls.
   A few standard library functions, such as `abort' and `exit', cannot
return.  GNU CC knows this automatically.  Some programs define their
own functions that never return.  You can declare them `volatile' to
tell the compiler this fact.  For example,
     typedef void voidfn ();

     volatile voidfn fatal;

     void
     fatal (...)
     {
       ... /* Print error message. */ ...
       exit (1);
     }
   The `volatile' keyword tells the compiler to assume that `fatal'
cannot return.  It can then optimize without regard to what would
happen if `fatal' ever did return.  This makes slightly better code.
More importantly, it helps avoid spurious warnings of uninitialized
variables.
   Do not assume that registers saved by the calling function are
restored before calling the `volatile' function.
   It does not make sense for a `volatile' function to have a return
type other than `void'.
   Many functions do not examine any values except their arguments, and
have no effects except the return value.  Such a function can be subject
to common subexpression elimination and loop optimization just as an
arithmetic operator would be.  These functions should be declared
`const'.  For example,
     typedef int intfn ();

     extern const intfn square;
says that the hypothetical function `square' is safe to call fewer
times than the program says.
   Note that a function that has pointer arguments and examines the data
pointed to must *not* be declared `const'.  Likewise, a function that
calls a non-`const' function usually must not be `const'.  It does not
make sense for a `const' function to return `void'.
   The examples above use `typedef' because that is the only way to
declare a function `const' or `volatile'.  A declaration like this:
     extern const int square ();
does not have this effect; it says that the return type of `square' is
`const', not `square' itself.
   Some people object to this feature, suggesting that ANSI C's
`#pragma' should be used instead.  There are two reasons for not doing
this.
  1. It is impossible to generate `#pragma' commands from a macro.
  2. There is no telling what the same `#pragma' might mean in another
     compiler.
   These two reasons apply to almost any application that might be
proposed for `#pragma'.  It is basically a mistake to use `#pragma' for
*anything*.
   The keyword `__attribute__' allows you to specify special attributes
when making a declaration.  This keyword is followed by an attribute
specification inside double parentheses.  One attribute, `format', is
currently defined for functions.  Others are implemented for variables
and structure fields (*note Variable Attributes::.).
`format (ARCHETYPE, STRING-INDEX, FIRST-TO-CHECK)'
     The `format' attribute specifies that a function takes `printf' or
     `scanf' style arguments which should be type-checked against a
     format string.  For example, the declaration:
          extern int
          my_printf (void *my_object, const char *my_format, ...)
                __attribute__ ((format (printf, 2, 3)));
     causes the compiler to check the arguments in calls to `my_printf'
     for consistency with the `printf' style format string argument
     `my_format'.
     The parameter ARCHETYPE determines how the format string is
     interpreted, and should be either `printf' or `scanf'.  The
     parameter STRING-INDEX specifies which argument is the format
     string argument (starting from 1), while FIRST-TO-CHECK is the
     number of the first argument to check against the format string.
     For functions where the arguments are not available to be checked
     (such as `vprintf'), specify the third parameter as zero.  In this
     case the compiler only checks the format string for consistency.
     In the example above, the format string (`my_format') is the second
     argument of the function `my_print', and the arguments to check
     start with the third argument, so the correct parameters for the
     format attribute are 2 and 3.
     The `format' attribute allows you to identify your own functions
     which take format strings as arguments, so that GNU CC can check
     the calls to these functions for errors.  The compiler always
     checks formats for the ANSI library functions `printf', `fprintf',
     `sprintf', `scanf', `fscanf', `sscanf', `vprintf', `vfprintf' and
     `vsprintf' whenever such warnings are requested (using
     `-Wformat'), so there is no need to modify the header file
     `stdio.h'.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Function Prototypes,  Next: Dollar Signs,  Prev: Function Attributes,  Up: C Extensions
Prototypes and Old-Style Function Definitions
=============================================
   GNU C extends ANSI C to allow a function prototype to override a
later old-style non-prototype definition.  Consider the following
example:
     /* Use prototypes unless the compiler is old-fashioned.  */
     #if __STDC__
     #define P(x) x
     #else
     #define P(x) ()
     #endif

     /* Prototype function declaration.  */
     int isroot P((uid_t));

     /* Old-style function definition.  */
     int
     isroot (x)   /* ??? lossage here ??? */
          uid_t x;
     {
       return x == 0;
     }
   Suppose the type `uid_t' happens to be `short'.  ANSI C does not
allow this example, because subword arguments in old-style
non-prototype definitions are promoted.  Therefore in this example the
function definition's argument is really an `int', which does not match
the prototype argument type of `short'.
   This restriction of ANSI C makes it hard to write code that is
portable to traditional C compilers, because the programmer does not
know whether the `uid_t' type is `short', `int', or `long'.  Therefore,
in cases like these GNU C allows a prototype to override a later
old-style definition.  More precisely, in GNU C, a function prototype
argument type overrides the argument type specified by a later
old-style definition if the former type is the same as the latter type
before promotion.  Thus in GNU C the above example is equivalent to the
following:
     int isroot (uid_t);

     int
     isroot (uid_t x)
     {
       return x == 0;
     }
File: gcc.info,  Node: Dollar Signs,  Next: Character Escapes,  Prev: Function Prototypes,  Up: C Extensions
Dollar Signs in Identifier Names
================================
   In GNU C, you may use dollar signs in identifier names.  This is
because many traditional C implementations allow such identifiers.
   On some machines, dollar signs are allowed in identifiers if you
specify `-traditional'.  On a few systems they are allowed by default,
even if you do not use `-traditional'.  But they are never allowed if
you specify `-ansi'.
   There are certain ANSI C programs (obscure, to be sure) that would
compile incorrectly if dollar signs were permitted in identifiers.  For
example:
     #define foo(a) #a
     #define lose(b) foo (b)
     #define test$
     lose (test)
File: gcc.info,  Node: Character Escapes,  Next: Variable Attributes,  Prev: Dollar Signs,  Up: C Extensions
The Character ESC in Constants
==============================
   You can use the sequence `\e' in a string or character constant to
stand for the ASCII character ESC.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Alignment,  Next: Inline,  Prev: Variable Attributes,  Up: C Extensions
Inquiring on Alignment of Types or Variables
============================================
   The keyword `__alignof__' allows you to inquire about how an object
is aligned, or the minimum alignment usually required by a type.  Its
syntax is just like `sizeof'.
   For example, if the target machine requires a `double' value to be
aligned on an 8-byte boundary, then `__alignof__ (double)' is 8.  This
is true on many RISC machines.  On more traditional machine designs,
`__alignof__ (double)' is 4 or even 2.
   Some machines never actually require alignment; they allow reference
to any data type even at an odd addresses.  For these machines,
`__alignof__' reports the *recommended* alignment of a type.
   When the operand of `__alignof__' is an lvalue rather than a type,
the value is the largest alignment that the lvalue is known to have.
It may have this alignment as a result of its data type, or because it
is part of a structure and inherits alignment from that structure.  For
example, after this declaration:
     struct foo { int x; char y; } foo1;
the value of `__alignof__ (foo1.y)' is probably 2 or 4, the same as
`__alignof__ (int)', even though the data type of `foo1.y' does not
itself demand any alignment.
   A related feature which lets you specify the alignment of an object
is `__attribute__ ((aligned (ALIGNMENT)))'; see the following section.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Variable Attributes,  Next: Alignment,  Prev: Character Escapes,  Up: C Extensions
Specifying Attributes of Variables
==================================
   The keyword `__attribute__' allows you to specify special attributes
of variables or structure fields.  This keyword is followed by an
attribute specification inside double parentheses.  Four attributes are
currently defined: `aligned', `format', `mode' and `packed'.  `format'
is used for functions, and thus not documented here; see *Note Function
Attributes::.
`aligned (ALIGNMENT)'
     This attribute specifies a minimum alignment for the variable or
     structure field, measured in bytes.  For example, the declaration:
          int x __attribute__ ((aligned (16))) = 0;
     causes the compiler to allocate the global variable `x' on a
     16-byte boundary.  On a 68040, this could be used in conjunction
     with an `asm' expression to access the `move16' instruction which
     requires 16-byte aligned operands.
     You can also specify the alignment of structure fields.  For
     example, to create a double-word aligned `int' pair, you could
     write:
          struct foo { int x[2] __attribute__ ((aligned (8))); };
     This is an alternative to creating a union with a `double' member
     that forces the union to be double-word aligned.
     It is not possible to specify the alignment of functions; the
     alignment of functions is determined by the machine's requirements
     and cannot be changed.  You cannot specify alignment for a typedef
     name because such a name is just an alias, not a distinct type.
     The `aligned' attribute can only increase the alignment; but you
     can decrease it by specifying `packed' as well.  See below.
     The linker of your operating system imposes a maximum alignment.
     If the linker aligns each object file on a four byte boundary,
     then it is beyond the compiler's power to cause anything to be
     aligned to a larger boundary than that.  For example, if  the
     linker happens to put this object file at address 136 (eight more
     than a multiple of 64), then the compiler cannot guarantee an
     alignment of more than 8 just by aligning variables in the object
     file.
`mode (MODE)'
     This attribute specifies the data type for the
     declaration--whichever type corresponds to the mode MODE.  This in
     effect lets you request an integer or floating point type
     according to its width.
`packed'
     The `packed' attribute specifies that a variable or structure field
     should have the smallest possible alignment--one byte for a
     variable, and one bit for a field, unless you specify a larger
     value with the `aligned' attribute.
   To specify multiple attributes, separate them by commas within the
double parentheses: for example, `__attribute__ ((aligned (16),
packed))'.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Inline,  Next: Extended Asm,  Prev: Alignment,  Up: C Extensions
An Inline Function is As Fast As a Macro
========================================
   By declaring a function `inline', you can direct GNU CC to integrate
that function's code into the code for its callers.  This makes
execution faster by eliminating the function-call overhead; in
addition, if any of the actual argument values are constant, their known
values may permit simplifications at compile time so that not all of the
inline function's code needs to be included.  The effect on code size is
less predictable; object code may be larger or smaller with function
inlining, depending on the particular case.  Inlining of functions is an
optimization and it really "works" only in optimizing compilation.  If
you don't use `-O', no function is really inline.
   To declare a function inline, use the `inline' keyword in its
declaration, like this:
     inline int
     inc (int *a)
     {
       (*a)++;
     }
   (If you are writing a header file to be included in ANSI C programs,
write `__inline__' instead of `inline'.  *Note Alternate Keywords::.)
   You can also make all "simple enough" functions inline with the
option `-finline-functions'.  Note that certain usages in a function
definition can make it unsuitable for inline substitution.
   For C++ programs, GNU CC automatically inlines member functions even
if they are not explicitly declared `inline'.  (You can override this
with `-fno-default-inline'; *note Options Controlling C++ Dialect: C++
Dialect Options..)
   When a function is both inline and `static', if all calls to the
function are integrated into the caller, and the function's address is
never used, then the function's own assembler code is never referenced.
In this case, GNU CC does not actually output assembler code for the
function, unless you specify the option `-fkeep-inline-functions'.
Some calls cannot be integrated for various reasons (in particular,
calls that precede the function's definition cannot be integrated, and
neither can recursive calls within the definition).  If there is a
nonintegrated call, then the function is compiled to assembler code as
usual.  The function must also be compiled as usual if the program
refers to its address, because that can't be inlined.
   When an inline function is not `static', then the compiler must
assume that there may be calls from other source files; since a global
symbol can be defined only once in any program, the function must not
be defined in the other source files, so the calls therein cannot be
integrated.  Therefore, a non-`static' inline function is always
compiled on its own in the usual fashion.
   If you specify both `inline' and `extern' in the function
definition, then the definition is used only for inlining.  In no case
is the function compiled on its own, not even if you refer to its
address explicitly.  Such an address becomes an external reference, as
if you had only declared the function, and had not defined it.
   This combination of `inline' and `extern' has almost the effect of a
macro.  The way to use it is to put a function definition in a header
file with these keywords, and put another copy of the definition
(lacking `inline' and `extern') in a library file.  The definition in
the header file will cause most calls to the function to be inlined.
If any uses of the function remain, they will refer to the single copy
in the library.
   GNU C does not inline any functions when not optimizing.  It is not
clear whether it is better to inline or not, in this case, but we found
that a correct implementation when not optimizing was difficult.  So we
did the easy thing, and turned it off.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Extended Asm,  Next: Asm Labels,  Prev: Inline,  Up: C Extensions
Assembler Instructions with C Expression Operands
=================================================
   In an assembler instruction using `asm', you can now specify the
operands of the instruction using C expressions.  This means no more
guessing which registers or memory locations will contain the data you
want to use.
   You must specify an assembler instruction template much like what
appears in a machine description, plus an operand constraint string for
each operand.
   For example, here is how to use the 68881's `fsinx' instruction:
     asm ("fsinx %1,%0" : "=f" (result) : "f" (angle));
Here `angle' is the C expression for the input operand while `result'
is that of the output operand.  Each has `"f"' as its operand
constraint, saying that a floating point register is required.  The `='
in `=f' indicates that the operand is an output; all output operands'
constraints must use `='.  The constraints use the same language used
in the machine description (*note Constraints::.).
   Each operand is described by an operand-constraint string followed
by the C expression in parentheses.  A colon separates the assembler
template from the first output operand, and another separates the last
output operand from the first input, if any.  Commas separate output
operands and separate inputs.  The total number of operands is limited
to ten or to the maximum number of operands in any instruction pattern
in the machine description, whichever is greater.
   If there are no output operands, and there are input operands, then
there must be two consecutive colons surrounding the place where the
output operands would go.
   Output operand expressions must be lvalues; the compiler can check
this.  The input operands need not be lvalues.  The compiler cannot
check whether the operands have data types that are reasonable for the
instruction being executed.  It does not parse the assembler
instruction template and does not know what it means, or whether it is
valid assembler input.  The extended `asm' feature is most often used
for machine instructions that the compiler itself does not know exist.
   The output operands must be write-only; GNU CC will assume that the
values in these operands before the instruction are dead and need not be
generated.  Extended asm does not support input-output or read-write
operands.  For this reason, the constraint character `+', which
indicates such an operand, may not be used.
   When the assembler instruction has a read-write operand, or an
operand in which only some of the bits are to be changed, you must
logically split its function into two separate operands, one input
operand and one write-only output operand.  The connection between them
is expressed by constraints which say they need to be in the same
location when the instruction executes.  You can use the same C
expression for both operands, or different expressions.  For example,
here we write the (fictitious) `combine' instruction with `bar' as its
read-only source operand and `foo' as its read-write destination:
     asm ("combine %2,%0" : "=r" (foo) : "0" (foo), "g" (bar));
The constraint `"0"' for operand 1 says that it must occupy the same
location as operand 0.  A digit in constraint is allowed only in an
input operand, and it must refer to an output operand.
   Only a digit in the constraint can guarantee that one operand will
be in the same place as another.  The mere fact that `foo' is the value
of both operands is not enough to guarantee that they will be in the
same place in the generated assembler code.  The following would not
work:
     asm ("combine %2,%0" : "=r" (foo) : "r" (foo), "g" (bar));
   Various optimizations or reloading could cause operands 0 and 1 to
be in different registers; GNU CC knows no reason not to do so.  For
example, the compiler might find a copy of the value of `foo' in one
register and use it for operand 1, but generate the output operand 0 in
a different register (copying it afterward to `foo''s own address).  Of
course, since the register for operand 1 is not even mentioned in the
assembler code, the result will not work, but GNU CC can't tell that.
   Some instructions clobber specific hard registers.  To describe
this, write a third colon after the input operands, followed by the
names of the clobbered hard registers (given as strings).  Here is a
realistic example for the Vax:
     asm volatile ("movc3 %0,%1,%2"
                   : /* no outputs */
                   : "g" (from), "g" (to), "g" (count)
                   : "r0", "r1", "r2", "r3", "r4", "r5");
   If you refer to a particular hardware register from the assembler
code, then you will probably have to list the register after the third
colon to tell the compiler that the register's value is modified.  In
many assemblers, the register names begin with `%'; to produce one `%'
in the assembler code, you must write `%%' in the input.
   If your assembler instruction can alter the condition code register,
add `cc' to the list of clobbered registers.  GNU CC on some machines
represents the condition codes as a specific hardware register; `cc'
serves to name this register.  On other machines, the condition code is
handled differently, and specifying `cc' has no effect.  But it is
valid no matter what the machine.
   If your assembler instruction modifies memory in an unpredictable
fashion, add `memory' to the list of clobbered registers.  This will
cause GNU CC to not keep memory values cached in registers across the
assembler instruction.
   You can put multiple assembler instructions together in a single
`asm' template, separated either with newlines (written as `\n') or with
semicolons if the assembler allows such semicolons.  The GNU assembler
allows semicolons and all Unix assemblers seem to do so.  The input
operands are guaranteed not to use any of the clobbered registers, and
neither will the output operands' addresses, so you can read and write
the clobbered registers as many times as you like.  Here is an example
of multiple instructions in a template; it assumes that the subroutine
`_foo' accepts arguments in registers 9 and 10:
     asm ("movl %0,r9;movl %1,r10;call _foo"
          : /* no outputs */
          : "g" (from), "g" (to)
          : "r9", "r10");
   Unless an output operand has the `&' constraint modifier, GNU CC may
allocate it in the same register as an unrelated input operand, on the
assumption that the inputs are consumed before the outputs are produced.
This assumption may be false if the assembler code actually consists of
more than one instruction.  In such a case, use `&' for each output
operand that may not overlap an input.  *Note Modifiers::.
   If you want to test the condition code produced by an assembler
instruction, you must include a branch and a label in the `asm'
construct, as follows:
     asm ("clr %0;frob %1;beq 0f;mov #1,%0;0:"
          : "g" (result)
          : "g" (input));
This assumes your assembler supports local labels, as the GNU assembler
and most Unix assemblers do.
   Speaking of labels, jumps from one `asm' to another are not
supported.  The compiler's optimizers do not know about these jumps,
and therefore they cannot take account of them when deciding how to
optimize.
   Usually the most convenient way to use these `asm' instructions is to
encapsulate them in macros that look like functions.  For example,
     #define sin(x)       \
     ({ double __value, __arg = (x);   \
        asm ("fsinx %1,%0": "=f" (__value): "f" (__arg));  \
        __value; })
Here the variable `__arg' is used to make sure that the instruction
operates on a proper `double' value, and to accept only those arguments
`x' which can convert automatically to a `double'.
   Another way to make sure the instruction operates on the correct
data type is to use a cast in the `asm'.  This is different from using a
variable `__arg' in that it converts more different types.  For
example, if the desired type were `int', casting the argument to `int'
would accept a pointer with no complaint, while assigning the argument
to an `int' variable named `__arg' would warn about using a pointer
unless the caller explicitly casts it.
   If an `asm' has output operands, GNU CC assumes for optimization
purposes that the instruction has no side effects except to change the
output operands.  This does not mean that instructions with a side
effect cannot be used, but you must be careful, because the compiler
may eliminate them if the output operands aren't used, or move them out
of loops, or replace two with one if they constitute a common
subexpression.  Also, if your instruction does have a side effect on a
variable that otherwise appears not to change, the old value of the
variable may be reused later if it happens to be found in a register.
   You can prevent an `asm' instruction from being deleted, moved
significantly, or combined, by writing the keyword `volatile' after the
`asm'.  For example:
     #define set_priority(x)  \
     asm volatile ("set_priority %0": /* no outputs */ : "g" (x))
An instruction without output operands will not be deleted or moved
significantly, regardless, unless it is unreachable.
   Note that even a volatile `asm' instruction can be moved in ways
that appear insignificant to the compiler, such as across jump
instructions.  You can't expect a sequence of volatile `asm'
instructions to remain perfectly consecutive.  If you want consecutive
output, use a single `asm'.
   It is a natural idea to look for a way to give access to the
condition code left by the assembler instruction.  However, when we
attempted to implement this, we found no way to make it work reliably.
The problem is that output operands might need reloading, which would
result in additional following "store" instructions.  On most machines,
these instructions would alter the condition code before there was time
to test it.  This problem doesn't arise for ordinary "test" and
"compare" instructions because they don't have any output operands.
   If you are writing a header file that should be includable in ANSI C
programs, write `__asm__' instead of `asm'.  *Note Alternate Keywords::.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Asm Labels,  Next: Explicit Reg Vars,  Prev: Extended Asm,  Up: C Extensions
Controlling Names Used in Assembler Code
========================================
   You can specify the name to be used in the assembler code for a C
function or variable by writing the `asm' (or `__asm__') keyword after
the declarator as follows:
     int foo asm ("myfoo") = 2;
This specifies that the name to be used for the variable `foo' in the
assembler code should be `myfoo' rather than the usual `_foo'.
   On systems where an underscore is normally prepended to the name of
a C function or variable, this feature allows you to define names for
the linker that do not start with an underscore.
   You cannot use `asm' in this way in a function *definition*; but you
can get the same effect by writing a declaration for the function
before its definition and putting `asm' there, like this:
     extern func () asm ("FUNC");

     func (x, y)
          int x, y;
     ...
   It is up to you to make sure that the assembler names you choose do
not conflict with any other assembler symbols.  Also, you must not use a
register name; that would produce completely invalid assembler code.
GNU CC does not as yet have the ability to store static variables in
registers.  Perhaps that will be added.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Explicit Reg Vars,  Next: Alternate Keywords,  Prev: Asm Labels,  Up: C Extensions
Variables in Specified Registers
================================
   GNU C allows you to put a few global variables into specified
hardware registers.  You can also specify the register in which an
ordinary register variable should be allocated.
   * Global register variables reserve registers throughout the program.
     This may be useful in programs such as programming language
     interpreters which have a couple of global variables that are
     accessed very often.
   * Local register variables in specific registers do not reserve the
     registers.  The compiler's data flow analysis is capable of
     determining where the specified registers contain live values, and
     where they are available for other uses.
     These local variables are sometimes convenient for use with the
     extended `asm' feature (*note Extended Asm::.), if you want to
     write one output of the assembler instruction directly into a
     particular register.  (This will work provided the register you
     specify fits the constraints specified for that operand in the
     `asm'.)
* Menu:
* Global Reg Vars::
* Local Reg Vars::
File: gcc.info,  Node: Global Reg Vars,  Next: Local Reg Vars,  Up: Explicit Reg Vars
Defining Global Register Variables
----------------------------------
   You can define a global register variable in GNU C like this:
     register int *foo asm ("a5");
Here `a5' is the name of the register which should be used.  Choose a
register which is normally saved and restored by function calls on your
machine, so that library routines will not clobber it.
   Naturally the register name is cpu-dependent, so you would need to
conditionalize your program according to cpu type.  The register `a5'
would be a good choice on a 68000 for a variable of pointer type.  On
machines with register windows, be sure to choose a "global" register
that is not affected magically by the function call mechanism.
   In addition, operating systems on one type of cpu may differ in how
they name the registers; then you would need additional conditionals.
For example, some 68000 operating systems call this register `%a5'.
   Eventually there may be a way of asking the compiler to choose a
register automatically, but first we need to figure out how it should
choose and how to enable you to guide the choice.  No solution is
evident.
   Defining a global register variable in a certain register reserves
that register entirely for this use, at least within the current
compilation.  The register will not be allocated for any other purpose
in the functions in the current compilation.  The register will not be
saved and restored by these functions.  Stores into this register are
never deleted even if they would appear to be dead, but references may
be deleted or moved or simplified.
   It is not safe to access the global register variables from signal
handlers, or from more than one thread of control, because the system
library routines may temporarily use the register for other things
(unless you recompile them specially for the task at hand).
   It is not safe for one function that uses a global register variable
to call another such function `foo' by way of a third function `lose'
that was compiled without knowledge of this variable (i.e. in a
different source file in which the variable wasn't declared).  This is
because `lose' might save the register and put some other value there.
For example, you can't expect a global register variable to be
available in the comparison-function that you pass to `qsort', since
`qsort' might have put something else in that register.  (If you are
prepared to recompile `qsort' with the same global register variable,
you can solve this problem.)
   If you want to recompile `qsort' or other source files which do not
actually use your global register variable, so that they will not use
that register for any other purpose, then it suffices to specify the
compiler option `-ffixed-REG'.  You need not actually add a global
register declaration to their source code.
   A function which can alter the value of a global register variable
cannot safely be called from a function compiled without this variable,
because it could clobber the value the caller expects to find there on
return.  Therefore, the function which is the entry point into the part
of the program that uses the global register variable must explicitly
save and restore the value which belongs to its caller.
   On most machines, `longjmp' will restore to each global register
variable the value it had at the time of the `setjmp'.  On some
machines, however, `longjmp' will not change the value of global
register variables.  To be portable, the function that called `setjmp'
should make other arrangements to save the values of the global register
variables, and to restore them in a `longjmp'.  This way, the same
thing will happen regardless of what `longjmp' does.
   All global register variable declarations must precede all function
definitions.  If such a declaration could appear after function
definitions, the declaration would be too late to prevent the register
from being used for other purposes in the preceding functions.
   Global register variables may not have initial values, because an
executable file has no means to supply initial contents for a register.
   On the Sparc, there are reports that g3 ... g7 are suitable
registers, but certain library functions, such as `getwd', as well as
the subroutines for division and remainder, modify g3 and g4.  g1 and
g2 are local temporaries.
   On the 68000, a2 ... a5 should be suitable, as should d2 ... d7.  Of
course, it will not do to use more than a few of those.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Local Reg Vars,  Prev: Global Reg Vars,  Up: Explicit Reg Vars
Specifying Registers for Local Variables
----------------------------------------
   You can define a local register variable with a specified register
like this:
     register int *foo asm ("a5");
Here `a5' is the name of the register which should be used.  Note that
this is the same syntax used for defining global register variables,
but for a local variable it would appear within a function.
   Naturally the register name is cpu-dependent, but this is not a
problem, since specific registers are most often useful with explicit
assembler instructions (*note Extended Asm::.).  Both of these things
generally require that you conditionalize your program according to cpu
type.
   In addition, operating systems on one type of cpu may differ in how
they name the registers; then you would need additional conditionals.
For example, some 68000 operating systems call this register `%a5'.
   Eventually there may be a way of asking the compiler to choose a
register automatically, but first we need to figure out how it should
choose and how to enable you to guide the choice.  No solution is
evident.
   Defining such a register variable does not reserve the register; it
remains available for other uses in places where flow control determines
the variable's value is not live.  However, these registers are made
unavailable for use in the reload pass.  I would not be surprised if
excessive use of this feature leaves the compiler too few available
registers to compile certain functions.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Alternate Keywords,  Next: Incomplete Enums,  Prev: Explicit Reg Vars,  Up: C Extensions
Alternate Keywords
==================
   The option `-traditional' disables certain keywords; `-ansi'
disables certain others.  This causes trouble when you want to use GNU C
extensions, or ANSI C features, in a general-purpose header file that
should be usable by all programs, including ANSI C programs and
traditional ones.  The keywords `asm', `typeof' and `inline' cannot be
used since they won't work in a program compiled with `-ansi', while
the keywords `const', `volatile', `signed', `typeof' and `inline' won't
work in a program compiled with `-traditional'.
   The way to solve these problems is to put `__' at the beginning and
end of each problematical keyword.  For example, use `__asm__' instead
of `asm', `__const__' instead of `const', and `__inline__' instead of
`inline'.
   Other C compilers won't accept these alternative keywords; if you
want to compile with another compiler, you can define the alternate
keywords as macros to replace them with the customary keywords.  It
looks like this:
     #ifndef __GNUC__
     #define __asm__ asm
     #endif
   `-pedantic' causes warnings for many GNU C extensions.  You can
prevent such warnings within one expression by writing `__extension__'
before the expression.  `__extension__' has no effect aside from this.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Incomplete Enums,  Next: Function Names,  Prev: Alternate Keywords,  Up: C Extensions
Incomplete `enum' Types
=======================
   You can define an `enum' tag without specifying its possible values.
This results in an incomplete type, much like what you get if you write
`struct foo' without describing the elements.  A later declaration
which does specify the possible values completes the type.
   You can't allocate variables or storage using the type while it is
incomplete.  However, you can work with pointers to that type.
   This extension may not be very useful, but it makes the handling of
`enum' more consistent with the way `struct' and `union' are handled.
File: gcc.info,  Node: Function Names,  Prev: Incomplete Enums,  Up: C Extensions
Function Names as Strings
=========================
   GNU CC predefines two string variables to be the name of the current
function.  The variable `__FUNCTION__' is the name of the function as
it appears in the source.  The variable `__PRETTY_FUNCTION__' is the
name of the function pretty printed in a language specific fashion.
   These names are always the same in a C function, but in a C++
function they may be different.  For example, this program:
     extern "C" {
     extern int printf (char *, ...);
     }

     class a {
      public:
       sub (int i)
         {
           printf ("__FUNCTION__ = %s\n", __FUNCTION__);
           printf ("__PRETTY_FUNCTION__ = %s\n", __PRETTY_FUNCTION__);
         }
     };

     int
     main (void)
     {
       a ax;
       ax.sub (0);
       return 0;
     }
gives this output:
     __FUNCTION__ = sub
     __PRETTY_FUNCTION__ = int  a::sub (int)