Annotation of gcc/gcc.info-9, revision 1.1.1.5

1.1.1.5 ! root        1: This is Info file gcc.info, produced by Makeinfo-1.54 from the input
1.1       root        2: file gcc.texi.
                      3: 
                      4:    This file documents the use and the internals of the GNU compiler.
                      5: 
1.1.1.5 ! root        6:    Published by the Free Software Foundation 675 Massachusetts Avenue
        !             7: Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
        !             8: 
        !             9:    Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
1.1       root       10: 
1.1.1.3   root       11:    Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
                     12: manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
                     13: preserved on all copies.
1.1       root       14: 
                     15:    Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
                     16: this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also
1.1.1.4   root       17: that the sections entitled "GNU General Public License" and "Protect
                     18: Your Freedom--Fight `Look And Feel'" are included exactly as in the
                     19: original, and provided that the entire resulting derived work is
                     20: distributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this
                     21: one.
1.1       root       22: 
                     23:    Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
                     24: manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
1.1.1.3   root       25: versions, except that the sections entitled "GNU General Public
1.1.1.4   root       26: License" and "Protect Your Freedom--Fight `Look And Feel'", and this
                     27: permission notice, may be included in translations approved by the Free
                     28: Software Foundation instead of in the original English.
1.1.1.3   root       29: 
                     30: 
1.1.1.5 ! root       31: File: gcc.info,  Node: Temporaries,  Prev: Static Definitions,  Up: C++ Misunderstandings
1.1.1.3   root       32: 
1.1.1.5 ! root       33: Temporaries May Vanish Before You Expect
        !            34: ----------------------------------------
        !            35: 
        !            36:    It is dangerous to use pointers or references to *portions* of a
        !            37: temporary object.  The compiler may very well delete the object before
        !            38: you expect it to, leaving a pointer to garbage.  The most common place
        !            39: where this problem crops up is in classes like the libg++ `String'
        !            40: class, that define a conversion function to type `char *' or `const
        !            41: char *'.  However, any class that returns a pointer to some internal
        !            42: structure is potentially subject to this problem.
        !            43: 
        !            44:    For example, a program may use a function `strfunc' that returns
        !            45: `String' objects, and another function `charfunc' that operates on
        !            46: pointers to `char':
        !            47: 
        !            48:      String strfunc ();
        !            49:      void charfunc (const char *);
        !            50: 
        !            51: In this situation, it may seem natural to write
        !            52: `charfunc (strfunc ());' based on the knowledge that class `String' has
        !            53: an explicit conversion to `char' pointers.  However, what really
        !            54: happens is akin to `charfunc (strfunc ().convert ());', where the
        !            55: `convert' method is a function to do the same data conversion normally
        !            56: performed by a cast.  Since the last use of the temporary `String'
        !            57: object is the call to the conversion function, the compiler may delete
        !            58: that object before actually calling `charfunc'.  The compiler has no
        !            59: way of knowing that deleting the `String' object will invalidate the
        !            60: pointer.  The pointer then points to garbage, so that by the time
        !            61: `charfunc' is called, it gets an invalid argument.
        !            62: 
        !            63:    Code like this may run successfully under some other compilers,
        !            64: especially those that delete temporaries relatively late.  However, the
        !            65: GNU C++ behavior is also standard-conformant, so if your program depends
        !            66: on late destruction of temporaries it is not portable.
        !            67: 
        !            68:    If you think this is surprising, you should be aware that the ANSI
        !            69: C++ committee continues to debate the lifetime-of-temporaries problem.
        !            70: 
        !            71:    For now, at least, the safe way to write such code is to give the
        !            72: temporary a name, which forces it to remain until the end of the scope
        !            73: of the name.  For example:
1.1.1.3   root       74: 
1.1.1.5 ! root       75:      String& tmp = strfunc ();
        !            76:      charfunc (tmp);
1.1.1.3   root       77: 
                     78: 
1.1.1.5 ! root       79: File: gcc.info,  Node: Protoize Caveats,  Next: Non-bugs,  Prev: C++ Misunderstandings,  Up: Trouble
1.1.1.3   root       80: 
1.1.1.5 ! root       81: Caveats of using `protoize'
        !            82: ===========================
        !            83: 
        !            84:    The conversion programs `protoize' and `unprotoize' can sometimes
        !            85: change a source file in a way that won't work unless you rearrange it.
        !            86: 
        !            87:    * `protoize' can insert references to a type name or type tag before
        !            88:      the definition, or in a file where they are not defined.
        !            89: 
        !            90:      If this happens, compiler error messages should show you where the
        !            91:      new references are, so fixing the file by hand is straightforward.
        !            92: 
        !            93:    * There are some C constructs which `protoize' cannot figure out.
        !            94:      For example, it can't determine argument types for declaring a
        !            95:      pointer-to-function variable; this you must do by hand.  `protoize'
        !            96:      inserts a comment containing `???' each time it finds such a
        !            97:      variable; so you can find all such variables by searching for this
        !            98:      string.  ANSI C does not require declaring the argument types of
        !            99:      pointer-to-function types.
        !           100: 
        !           101:    * Using `unprotoize' can easily introduce bugs.  If the program
        !           102:      relied on prototypes to bring about conversion of arguments, these
        !           103:      conversions will not take place in the program without prototypes.
        !           104:      One case in which you can be sure `unprotoize' is safe is when you
        !           105:      are removing prototypes that were made with `protoize'; if the
        !           106:      program worked before without any prototypes, it will work again
        !           107:      without them.
        !           108: 
        !           109:      You can find all the places where this problem might occur by
        !           110:      compiling the program with the `-Wconversion' option.  It prints a
        !           111:      warning whenever an argument is converted.
        !           112: 
        !           113:    * Both conversion programs can be confused if there are macro calls
        !           114:      in and around the text to be converted.  In other words, the
        !           115:      standard syntax for a declaration or definition must not result
        !           116:      from expanding a macro.  This problem is inherent in the design of
        !           117:      C and cannot be fixed.  If only a few functions have confusing
        !           118:      macro calls, you can easily convert them manually.
        !           119: 
        !           120:    * `protoize' cannot get the argument types for a function whose
        !           121:      definition was not actually compiled due to preprocessor
        !           122:      conditionals.  When this happens, `protoize' changes nothing in
        !           123:      regard to such a function.  `protoize' tries to detect such
        !           124:      instances and warn about them.
        !           125: 
        !           126:      You can generally work around this problem by using `protoize' step
        !           127:      by step, each time specifying a different set of `-D' options for
        !           128:      compilation, until all of the functions have been converted.
        !           129:      There is no automatic way to verify that you have got them all,
        !           130:      however.
        !           131: 
        !           132:    * Confusion may result if there is an occasion to convert a function
        !           133:      declaration or definition in a region of source code where there
        !           134:      is more than one formal parameter list present.  Thus, attempts to
        !           135:      convert code containing multiple (conditionally compiled) versions
        !           136:      of a single function header (in the same vicinity) may not produce
        !           137:      the desired (or expected) results.
        !           138: 
        !           139:      If you plan on converting source files which contain such code, it
        !           140:      is recommended that you first make sure that each conditionally
        !           141:      compiled region of source code which contains an alternative
        !           142:      function header also contains at least one additional follower
        !           143:      token (past the final right parenthesis of the function header).
        !           144:      This should circumvent the problem.
        !           145: 
        !           146:    * `unprotoize' can become confused when trying to convert a function
        !           147:      definition or declaration which contains a declaration for a
        !           148:      pointer-to-function formal argument which has the same name as the
        !           149:      function being defined or declared.  We recommand you avoid such
        !           150:      choices of formal parameter names.
        !           151: 
        !           152:    * You might also want to correct some of the indentation by hand and
        !           153:      break long lines.  (The conversion programs don't write lines
        !           154:      longer than eighty characters in any case.)
        !           155: 
        !           156: 
        !           157: File: gcc.info,  Node: Non-bugs,  Next: Warnings and Errors,  Prev: Protoize Caveats,  Up: Trouble
        !           158: 
        !           159: Certain Changes We Don't Want to Make
        !           160: =====================================
        !           161: 
        !           162:    This section lists changes that people frequently request, but which
        !           163: we do not make because we think GNU CC is better without them.
1.1.1.3   root      164: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      165:    * Checking the number and type of arguments to a function which has
        !           166:      an old-fashioned definition and no prototype.
        !           167: 
        !           168:      Such a feature would work only occasionally--only for calls that
        !           169:      appear in the same file as the called function, following the
        !           170:      definition.  The only way to check all calls reliably is to add a
        !           171:      prototype for the function.  But adding a prototype eliminates the
        !           172:      motivation for this feature.  So the feature is not worthwhile.
        !           173: 
        !           174:    * Warning about using an expression whose type is signed as a shift
        !           175:      count.
        !           176: 
        !           177:      Shift count operands are probably signed more often than unsigned.
        !           178:      Warning about this would cause far more annoyance than good.
        !           179: 
        !           180:    * Warning about assigning a signed value to an unsigned variable.
        !           181: 
        !           182:      Such assignments must be very common; warning about them would
        !           183:      cause more annoyance than good.
        !           184: 
        !           185:    * Warning about unreachable code.
        !           186: 
        !           187:      It's very common to have unreachable code in machine-generated
        !           188:      programs.  For example, this happens normally in some files of GNU
        !           189:      C itself.
        !           190: 
        !           191:    * Warning when a non-void function value is ignored.
        !           192: 
        !           193:      Coming as I do from a Lisp background, I balk at the idea that
        !           194:      there is something dangerous about discarding a value.  There are
        !           195:      functions that return values which some callers may find useful;
        !           196:      it makes no sense to clutter the program with a cast to `void'
        !           197:      whenever the value isn't useful.
        !           198: 
        !           199:    * Assuming (for optimization) that the address of an external symbol
        !           200:      is never zero.
        !           201: 
        !           202:      This assumption is false on certain systems when `#pragma weak' is
        !           203:      used.
        !           204: 
        !           205:    * Making `-fshort-enums' the default.
        !           206: 
        !           207:      This would cause storage layout to be incompatible with most other
        !           208:      C compilers.  And it doesn't seem very important, given that you
        !           209:      can get the same result in other ways.  The case where it matters
        !           210:      most is when the enumeration-valued object is inside a structure,
        !           211:      and in that case you can specify a field width explicitly.
        !           212: 
        !           213:    * Making bitfields unsigned by default on particular machines where
        !           214:      "the ABI standard" says to do so.
        !           215: 
        !           216:      The ANSI C standard leaves it up to the implementation whether a
        !           217:      bitfield declared plain `int' is signed or not.  This in effect
        !           218:      creates two alternative dialects of C.
        !           219: 
        !           220:      The GNU C compiler supports both dialects; you can specify the
        !           221:      signed dialect with `-fsigned-bitfields' and the unsigned dialect
        !           222:      with `-funsigned-bitfields'.  However, this leaves open the
        !           223:      question of which dialect to use by default.
        !           224: 
        !           225:      Currently, the preferred dialect makes plain bitfields signed,
        !           226:      because this is simplest.  Since `int' is the same as `signed int'
        !           227:      in every other context, it is cleanest for them to be the same in
        !           228:      bitfields as well.
        !           229: 
        !           230:      Some computer manufacturers have published Application Binary
        !           231:      Interface standards which specify that plain bitfields should be
        !           232:      unsigned.  It is a mistake, however, to say anything about this
        !           233:      issue in an ABI.  This is because the handling of plain bitfields
        !           234:      distinguishes two dialects of C.  Both dialects are meaningful on
        !           235:      every type of machine.  Whether a particular object file was
        !           236:      compiled using signed bitfields or unsigned is of no concern to
        !           237:      other object files, even if they access the same bitfields in the
        !           238:      same data structures.
        !           239: 
        !           240:      A given program is written in one or the other of these two
        !           241:      dialects.  The program stands a chance to work on most any machine
        !           242:      if it is compiled with the proper dialect.  It is unlikely to work
        !           243:      at all if compiled with the wrong dialect.
        !           244: 
        !           245:      Many users appreciate the GNU C compiler because it provides an
        !           246:      environment that is uniform across machines.  These users would be
        !           247:      inconvenienced if the compiler treated plain bitfields differently
        !           248:      on certain machines.
        !           249: 
        !           250:      Occasionally users write programs intended only for a particular
        !           251:      machine type.  On these occasions, the users would benefit if the
        !           252:      GNU C compiler were to support by default the same dialect as the
        !           253:      other compilers on that machine.  But such applications are rare.
        !           254:      And users writing a program to run on more than one type of
        !           255:      machine cannot possibly benefit from this kind of compatibility.
        !           256: 
        !           257:      This is why GNU CC does and will treat plain bitfields in the same
        !           258:      fashion on all types of machines (by default).
        !           259: 
        !           260:      There are some arguments for making bitfields unsigned by default
        !           261:      on all machines.  If, for example, this becomes a universal de
        !           262:      facto standard, it would make sense for GNU CC to go along with
        !           263:      it.  This is something to be considered in the future.
        !           264: 
        !           265:      (Of course, users strongly concerned about portability should
        !           266:      indicate explicitly in each bitfield whether it is signed or not.
        !           267:      In this way, they write programs which have the same meaning in
        !           268:      both C dialects.)
        !           269: 
        !           270:    * Undefining `__STDC__' when `-ansi' is not used.
        !           271: 
        !           272:      Currently, GNU CC defines `__STDC__' as long as you don't use
        !           273:      `-traditional'.  This provides good results in practice.
        !           274: 
        !           275:      Programmers normally use conditionals on `__STDC__' to ask whether
        !           276:      it is safe to use certain features of ANSI C, such as function
        !           277:      prototypes or ANSI token concatenation.  Since plain `gcc' supports
        !           278:      all the features of ANSI C, the correct answer to these questions
        !           279:      is "yes".
        !           280: 
        !           281:      Some users try to use `__STDC__' to check for the availability of
        !           282:      certain library facilities.  This is actually incorrect usage in
        !           283:      an ANSI C program, because the ANSI C standard says that a
        !           284:      conforming freestanding implementation should define `__STDC__'
        !           285:      even though it does not have the library facilities.  `gcc -ansi
        !           286:      -pedantic' is a conforming freestanding implementation, and it is
        !           287:      therefore required to define `__STDC__', even though it does not
        !           288:      come with an ANSI C library.
        !           289: 
        !           290:      Sometimes people say that defining `__STDC__' in a compiler that
        !           291:      does not completely conform to the ANSI C standard somehow
        !           292:      violates the standard.  This is illogical.  The standard is a
        !           293:      standard for compilers that claim to support ANSI C, such as `gcc
        !           294:      -ansi'--not for other compilers such as plain `gcc'.  Whatever the
        !           295:      ANSI C standard says is relevant to the design of plain `gcc'
        !           296:      without `-ansi' only for pragmatic reasons, not as a requirement.
        !           297: 
        !           298:    * Undefining `__STDC__' in C++.
        !           299: 
        !           300:      Programs written to compile with C++-to-C translators get the
        !           301:      value of `__STDC__' that goes with the C compiler that is
        !           302:      subsequently used.  These programs must test `__STDC__' to
        !           303:      determine what kind of C preprocessor that compiler uses: whether
        !           304:      they should concatenate tokens in the ANSI C fashion or in the
        !           305:      traditional fashion.
        !           306: 
        !           307:      These programs work properly with GNU C++ if `__STDC__' is defined.
        !           308:      They would not work otherwise.
        !           309: 
        !           310:      In addition, many header files are written to provide prototypes
        !           311:      in ANSI C but not in traditional C.  Many of these header files
        !           312:      can work without change in C++ provided `__STDC__' is defined.  If
        !           313:      `__STDC__' is not defined, they will all fail, and will all need
        !           314:      to be changed to test explicitly for C++ as well.
        !           315: 
        !           316:    * Deleting "empty" loops.
        !           317: 
        !           318:      GNU CC does not delete "empty" loops because the most likely reason
        !           319:      you would put one in a program is to have a delay.  Deleting them
        !           320:      will not make real programs run any faster, so it would be
        !           321:      pointless.
        !           322: 
        !           323:      It would be different if optimization of a nonempty loop could
        !           324:      produce an empty one.  But this generally can't happen.
        !           325: 
        !           326:    * Making side effects happen in the same order as in some other
        !           327:      compiler.
        !           328: 
        !           329:      It is never safe to depend on the order of evaluation of side
        !           330:      effects.  For example, a function call like this may very well
        !           331:      behave differently from one compiler to another:
        !           332: 
        !           333:           void func (int, int);
        !           334:           
        !           335:           int i = 2;
        !           336:           func (i++, i++);
        !           337: 
        !           338:      There is no guarantee (in either the C or the C++ standard language
        !           339:      definitions) that the increments will be evaluated in any
        !           340:      particular order.  Either increment might happen first.  `func'
        !           341:      might get the arguments `3, 4', or it might get `4, 3', or even
        !           342:      `3, 3'.
        !           343: 
        !           344:    * Using the "canonical" form of the target configuration name as the
        !           345:      directory for installation.
        !           346: 
        !           347:      This would be an improvement in some respects, but it would also
        !           348:      cause problems.  For one thing, users might expect to use in the
        !           349:      `-b' option the same name specified at installation; if
        !           350:      installation used the canonical form, that would not work.  What's
        !           351:      more, the canonical name might be too long for certain file
        !           352:      systems.
        !           353: 
        !           354:      We suggest you make a link to the installation directory under the
        !           355:      canonical name, if you want to use that name in the `-b' option.
        !           356: 
        !           357: 
        !           358: File: gcc.info,  Node: Warnings and Errors,  Prev: Non-bugs,  Up: Trouble
        !           359: 
        !           360: Warning Messages and Error Messages
        !           361: ===================================
        !           362: 
        !           363:    The GNU compiler can produce two kinds of diagnostics: errors and
        !           364: warnings.  Each kind has a different purpose:
        !           365: 
        !           366:      *Errors* report problems that make it impossible to compile your
        !           367:      program.  GNU CC reports errors with the source file name and line
        !           368:      number where the problem is apparent.
        !           369: 
        !           370:      *Warnings* report other unusual conditions in your code that *may*
        !           371:      indicate a problem, although compilation can (and does) proceed.
        !           372:      Warning messages also report the source file name and line number,
        !           373:      but include the text `warning:' to distinguish them from error
        !           374:      messages.
        !           375: 
        !           376:    Warnings may indicate danger points where you should check to make
        !           377: sure that your program really does what you intend; or the use of
        !           378: obsolete features; or the use of nonstandard features of GNU C or C++.
        !           379: Many warnings are issued only if you ask for them, with one of the `-W'
        !           380: options (for instance, `-Wall' requests a variety of useful warnings).
        !           381: 
        !           382:    GNU CC always tries to compile your program if possible; it never
        !           383: gratuituously rejects a program whose meaning is clear merely because
        !           384: (for instance) it fails to conform to a standard.  In some cases,
        !           385: however, the C and C++ standards specify that certain extensions are
        !           386: forbidden, and a diagnostic *must* be issued by a conforming compiler.
        !           387: The `-pedantic' option tells GNU CC to issue warnings in such cases;
        !           388: `-pedantic-errors' says to make them errors instead.  This does not
        !           389: mean that *all* non-ANSI constructs get warnings or errors.
        !           390: 
        !           391:    *Note Options to Request or Suppress Warnings: Warning Options, for
        !           392: more detail on these and related command-line options.
1.1.1.3   root      393: 
                    394: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      395: File: gcc.info,  Node: Bugs,  Next: Service,  Prev: Trouble,  Up: Top
        !           396: 
        !           397: Reporting Bugs
        !           398: **************
1.1.1.3   root      399: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      400:    Your bug reports play an essential role in making GNU CC reliable.
1.1.1.3   root      401: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      402:    When you encounter a problem, the first thing to do is to see if it
        !           403: is already known.  *Note Trouble::.  If it isn't known, then you should
        !           404: report the problem.
        !           405: 
        !           406:    Reporting a bug may help you by bringing a solution to your problem,
        !           407: or it may not.  (If it does not, look in the service directory; see
        !           408: *Note Service::.)  In any case, the principal function of a bug report
        !           409: is to help the entire community by making the next version of GNU CC
        !           410: work better.  Bug reports are your contribution to the maintenance of
        !           411: GNU CC.
        !           412: 
        !           413:    In order for a bug report to serve its purpose, you must include the
        !           414: information that makes for fixing the bug.
        !           415: 
        !           416: * Menu:
        !           417: 
        !           418: * Criteria:  Bug Criteria.   Have you really found a bug?
        !           419: * Where: Bug Lists.         Where to send your bug report.
        !           420: * Reporting: Bug Reporting.  How to report a bug effectively.
        !           421: * Patches: Sending Patches.  How to send a patch for GNU CC.
        !           422: * Known: Trouble.            Known problems.
        !           423: * Help: Service.             Where to ask for help.
1.1       root      424: 
                    425: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      426: File: gcc.info,  Node: Bug Criteria,  Next: Bug Lists,  Up: Bugs
1.1.1.2   root      427: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      428: Have You Found a Bug?
        !           429: =====================
1.1.1.2   root      430: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      431:    If you are not sure whether you have found a bug, here are some
        !           432: guidelines:
1.1.1.2   root      433: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      434:    * If the compiler gets a fatal signal, for any input whatever, that
        !           435:      is a compiler bug.  Reliable compilers never crash.
1.1.1.2   root      436: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      437:    * If the compiler produces invalid assembly code, for any input
        !           438:      whatever (except an `asm' statement), that is a compiler bug,
        !           439:      unless the compiler reports errors (not just warnings) which would
        !           440:      ordinarily prevent the assembler from being run.
        !           441: 
        !           442:    * If the compiler produces valid assembly code that does not
        !           443:      correctly execute the input source code, that is a compiler bug.
        !           444: 
        !           445:      However, you must double-check to make sure, because you may have
        !           446:      run into an incompatibility between GNU C and traditional C (*note
        !           447:      Incompatibilities::.).  These incompatibilities might be considered
        !           448:      bugs, but they are inescapable consequences of valuable features.
        !           449: 
        !           450:      Or you may have a program whose behavior is undefined, which
        !           451:      happened by chance to give the desired results with another C or
        !           452:      C++ compiler.
        !           453: 
        !           454:      For example, in many nonoptimizing compilers, you can write `x;'
        !           455:      at the end of a function instead of `return x;', with the same
        !           456:      results.  But the value of the function is undefined if `return'
        !           457:      is omitted; it is not a bug when GNU CC produces different results.
        !           458: 
        !           459:      Problems often result from expressions with two increment
        !           460:      operators, as in `f (*p++, *p++)'.  Your previous compiler might
        !           461:      have interpreted that expression the way you intended; GNU CC might
        !           462:      interpret it another way.  Neither compiler is wrong.  The bug is
        !           463:      in your code.
        !           464: 
        !           465:      After you have localized the error to a single source line, it
        !           466:      should be easy to check for these things.  If your program is
        !           467:      correct and well defined, you have found a compiler bug.
        !           468: 
        !           469:    * If the compiler produces an error message for valid input, that is
        !           470:      a compiler bug.
        !           471: 
        !           472:    * If the compiler does not produce an error message for invalid
        !           473:      input, that is a compiler bug.  However, you should note that your
        !           474:      idea of "invalid input" might be my idea of "an extension" or
        !           475:      "support for traditional practice".
        !           476: 
        !           477:    * If you are an experienced user of C or C++ compilers, your
        !           478:      suggestions for improvement of GNU CC or GNU C++ are welcome in
        !           479:      any case.
1.1.1.2   root      480: 
                    481: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      482: File: gcc.info,  Node: Bug Lists,  Next: Bug Reporting,  Prev: Bug Criteria,  Up: Bugs
1.1.1.2   root      483: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      484: Where to Report Bugs
1.1.1.4   root      485: ====================
1.1.1.2   root      486: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      487:    Send bug reports for GNU C to one of these addresses:
        !           488: 
        !           489:      [email protected]
        !           490:      {ucbvax|mit-eddie|uunet}!prep.ai.mit.edu!bug-gcc
1.1.1.2   root      491: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      492:    Send bug reports for GNU C++ to one of these addresses:
        !           493: 
        !           494:      [email protected]
        !           495:      {ucbvax|mit-eddie|uunet}!prep.ai.mit.edu!bug-g++
        !           496: 
        !           497:    If your bug involves the C++ class library libg++, send mail to
        !           498: `[email protected]'.  If you're not sure, you can send the
        !           499: bug report to both lists.
        !           500: 
        !           501:    *Do not send bug reports to the mailing list `help-gcc', or to the
        !           502: newsgroup `gnu.gcc.help'.* Most users of GNU CC do not want to receive
        !           503: bug reports.  Those that do, have asked to be on `bug-gcc' and/or
        !           504: `bug-g++'.
        !           505: 
        !           506:    The mailing lists `bug-gcc' and `bug-g++' both have newsgroups which
        !           507: serve as repeaters: `gnu.gcc.bug' and `gnu.g++.bug'.  Each mailing list
        !           508: and its newsgroup carry exactly the same messages.
        !           509: 
        !           510:    Often people think of posting bug reports to the newsgroup instead of
        !           511: mailing them.  This appears to work, but it has one problem which can be
        !           512: crucial: a newsgroup posting does not contain a mail path back to the
        !           513: sender.  Thus, if maintainers need more information, they may be unable
        !           514: to reach you.  For this reason, you should always send bug reports by
        !           515: mail to the proper mailing list.
        !           516: 
        !           517:    As a last resort, send bug reports on paper to:
        !           518: 
        !           519:      GNU Compiler Bugs
        !           520:      Free Software Foundation
        !           521:      675 Mass Ave
        !           522:      Cambridge, MA 02139
1.1.1.2   root      523: 
1.1.1.4   root      524: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      525: File: gcc.info,  Node: Bug Reporting,  Next: Sending Patches,  Prev: Bug Lists,  Up: Bugs
1.1.1.2   root      526: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      527: How to Report Bugs
        !           528: ==================
1.1.1.2   root      529: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      530:    The fundamental principle of reporting bugs usefully is this:
        !           531: *report all the facts*.  If you are not sure whether to state a fact or
        !           532: leave it out, state it!
        !           533: 
        !           534:    Often people omit facts because they think they know what causes the
        !           535: problem and they conclude that some details don't matter.  Thus, you
        !           536: might assume that the name of the variable you use in an example does
        !           537: not matter.  Well, probably it doesn't, but one cannot be sure.
        !           538: Perhaps the bug is a stray memory reference which happens to fetch from
        !           539: the location where that name is stored in memory; perhaps, if the name
        !           540: were different, the contents of that location would fool the compiler
        !           541: into doing the right thing despite the bug.  Play it safe and give a
        !           542: specific, complete example.  That is the easiest thing for you to do,
        !           543: and the most helpful.
        !           544: 
        !           545:    Keep in mind that the purpose of a bug report is to enable someone to
        !           546: fix the bug if it is not known.  It isn't very important what happens if
        !           547: the bug is already known.  Therefore, always write your bug reports on
        !           548: the assumption that the bug is not known.
        !           549: 
        !           550:    Sometimes people give a few sketchy facts and ask, "Does this ring a
        !           551: bell?"  This cannot help us fix a bug, so it is basically useless.  We
        !           552: respond by asking for enough details to enable us to investigate.  You
        !           553: might as well expedite matters by sending them to begin with.
        !           554: 
        !           555:    Try to make your bug report self-contained.  If we have to ask you
        !           556: for more information, it is best if you include all the previous
        !           557: information in your response, as well as the information that was
        !           558: missing.
        !           559: 
        !           560:    To enable someone to investigate the bug, you should include all
        !           561: these things:
        !           562: 
        !           563:    * The version of GNU CC.  You can get this by running it with the
        !           564:      `-v' option.
        !           565: 
        !           566:      Without this, we won't know whether there is any point in looking
        !           567:      for the bug in the current version of GNU CC.
        !           568: 
        !           569:    * A complete input file that will reproduce the bug.  If the bug is
        !           570:      in the C preprocessor, send a source file and any header files
        !           571:      that it requires.  If the bug is in the compiler proper (`cc1'),
        !           572:      run your source file through the C preprocessor by doing `gcc -E
        !           573:      SOURCEFILE > OUTFILE', then include the contents of OUTFILE in the
        !           574:      bug report.  (When you do this, use the same `-I', `-D' or `-U'
        !           575:      options that you used in actual compilation.)
        !           576: 
        !           577:      A single statement is not enough of an example.  In order to
        !           578:      compile it, it must be embedded in a complete file of compiler
        !           579:      input; and the bug might depend on the details of how this is done.
        !           580: 
        !           581:      Without a real example one can compile, all anyone can do about
        !           582:      your bug report is wish you luck.  It would be futile to try to
        !           583:      guess how to provoke the bug.  For example, bugs in register
        !           584:      allocation and reloading frequently depend on every little detail
        !           585:      of the function they happen in.
        !           586: 
        !           587:      Even if the input file that fails comes from a GNU program, you
        !           588:      should still send the complete test case.  Don't ask the GNU CC
        !           589:      maintainers to do the extra work of obtaining the program in
        !           590:      question--they are all overworked as it is.  Also, the problem may
        !           591:      depend on what is in the header files on your system; it is
        !           592:      unreliable for the GNU CC maintainers to try the problem with the
        !           593:      header files available to them.  By sending CPP output, you can
        !           594:      eliminate this source of uncertainty and save us a certain
        !           595:      percentage of wild goose chases.
        !           596: 
        !           597:    * The command arguments you gave GNU CC or GNU C++ to compile that
        !           598:      example and observe the bug.  For example, did you use `-O'?  To
        !           599:      guarantee you won't omit something important, list all the options.
        !           600: 
        !           601:      If we were to try to guess the arguments, we would probably guess
        !           602:      wrong and then we would not encounter the bug.
        !           603: 
        !           604:    * The type of machine you are using, and the operating system name
        !           605:      and version number.
        !           606: 
        !           607:    * The operands you gave to the `configure' command when you installed
        !           608:      the compiler.
        !           609: 
        !           610:    * A complete list of any modifications you have made to the compiler
        !           611:      source.  (We don't promise to investigate the bug unless it
        !           612:      happens in an unmodified compiler.  But if you've made
        !           613:      modifications and don't tell us, then you are sending us on a wild
        !           614:      goose chase.)
        !           615: 
        !           616:      Be precise about these changes.  A description in English is not
        !           617:      enough--send a context diff for them.
        !           618: 
        !           619:      Adding files of your own (such as a machine description for a
        !           620:      machine we don't support) is a modification of the compiler source.
        !           621: 
        !           622:    * Details of any other deviations from the standard procedure for
        !           623:      installing GNU CC.
        !           624: 
        !           625:    * A description of what behavior you observe that you believe is
        !           626:      incorrect.  For example, "The compiler gets a fatal signal," or,
        !           627:      "The assembler instruction at line 208 in the output is incorrect."
        !           628: 
        !           629:      Of course, if the bug is that the compiler gets a fatal signal,
        !           630:      then one can't miss it.  But if the bug is incorrect output, the
        !           631:      maintainer might not notice unless it is glaringly wrong.  None of
        !           632:      us has time to study all the assembler code from a 50-line C
        !           633:      program just on the chance that one instruction might be wrong.
        !           634:      We need *you* to do this part!
        !           635: 
        !           636:      Even if the problem you experience is a fatal signal, you should
        !           637:      still say so explicitly.  Suppose something strange is going on,
        !           638:      such as, your copy of the compiler is out of synch, or you have
        !           639:      encountered a bug in the C library on your system.  (This has
        !           640:      happened!)  Your copy might crash and the copy here would not.  If
        !           641:      you said to expect a crash, then when the compiler here fails to
        !           642:      crash, we would know that the bug was not happening.  If you don't
        !           643:      say to expect a crash, then we would not know whether the bug was
        !           644:      happening.  We would not be able to draw any conclusion from our
        !           645:      observations.
        !           646: 
        !           647:      If the problem is a diagnostic when compiling GNU CC with some
        !           648:      other compiler, say whether it is a warning or an error.
        !           649: 
        !           650:      Often the observed symptom is incorrect output when your program
        !           651:      is run.  Sad to say, this is not enough information unless the
        !           652:      program is short and simple.  None of us has time to study a large
        !           653:      program to figure out how it would work if compiled correctly,
        !           654:      much less which line of it was compiled wrong.  So you will have
        !           655:      to do that.  Tell us which source line it is, and what incorrect
        !           656:      result happens when that line is executed.  A person who
        !           657:      understands the program can find this as easily as finding a bug
        !           658:      in the program itself.
        !           659: 
        !           660:    * If you send examples of assembler code output from GNU CC or GNU
        !           661:      C++, please use `-g' when you make them.  The debugging information
        !           662:      includes source line numbers which are essential for correlating
        !           663:      the output with the input.
        !           664: 
        !           665:    * If you wish to mention something in the GNU CC source, refer to it
        !           666:      by context, not by line number.
        !           667: 
        !           668:      The line numbers in the development sources don't match those in
        !           669:      your sources.  Your line numbers would convey no useful
        !           670:      information to the maintainers.
        !           671: 
        !           672:    * Additional information from a debugger might enable someone to
        !           673:      find a problem on a machine which he does not have available.
        !           674:      However, you need to think when you collect this information if
        !           675:      you want it to have any chance of being useful.
        !           676: 
        !           677:      For example, many people send just a backtrace, but that is never
        !           678:      useful by itself.  A simple backtrace with arguments conveys little
        !           679:      about GNU CC because the compiler is largely data-driven; the same
        !           680:      functions are called over and over for different RTL insns, doing
        !           681:      different things depending on the details of the insn.
        !           682: 
        !           683:      Most of the arguments listed in the backtrace are useless because
        !           684:      they are pointers to RTL list structure.  The numeric values of the
        !           685:      pointers, which the debugger prints in the backtrace, have no
        !           686:      significance whatever; all that matters is the contents of the
        !           687:      objects they point to (and most of the contents are other such
        !           688:      pointers).
        !           689: 
        !           690:      In addition, most compiler passes consist of one or more loops that
        !           691:      scan the RTL insn sequence.  The most vital piece of information
        !           692:      about such a loop--which insn it has reached--is usually in a
        !           693:      local variable, not in an argument.
        !           694: 
        !           695:      What you need to provide in addition to a backtrace are the values
        !           696:      of the local variables for several stack frames up.  When a local
        !           697:      variable or an argument is an RTX, first print its value and then
        !           698:      use the GDB command `pr' to print the RTL expression that it points
        !           699:      to.  (If GDB doesn't run on your machine, use your debugger to call
        !           700:      the function `debug_rtx' with the RTX as an argument.)  In
        !           701:      general, whenever a variable is a pointer, its value is no use
        !           702:      without the data it points to.
        !           703: 
        !           704:    Here are some things that are not necessary:
        !           705: 
        !           706:    * A description of the envelope of the bug.
        !           707: 
        !           708:      Often people who encounter a bug spend a lot of time investigating
        !           709:      which changes to the input file will make the bug go away and which
        !           710:      changes will not affect it.
        !           711: 
        !           712:      This is often time consuming and not very useful, because the way
        !           713:      we will find the bug is by running a single example under the
        !           714:      debugger with breakpoints, not by pure deduction from a series of
        !           715:      examples.  You might as well save your time for something else.
        !           716: 
        !           717:      Of course, if you can find a simpler example to report *instead* of
        !           718:      the original one, that is a convenience.  Errors in the output
        !           719:      will be easier to spot, running under the debugger will take less
        !           720:      time, etc.  Most GNU CC bugs involve just one function, so the
        !           721:      most straightforward way to simplify an example is to delete all
        !           722:      the function definitions except the one where the bug occurs.
        !           723:      Those earlier in the file may be replaced by external declarations
        !           724:      if the crucial function depends on them.  (Exception: inline
        !           725:      functions may affect compilation of functions defined later in the
        !           726:      file.)
        !           727: 
        !           728:      However, simplification is not vital; if you don't want to do this,
        !           729:      report the bug anyway and send the entire test case you used.
        !           730: 
        !           731:    * In particular, some people insert conditionals `#ifdef BUG' around
        !           732:      a statement which, if removed, makes the bug not happen.  These
        !           733:      are just clutter; we won't pay any attention to them anyway.
        !           734:      Besides, you should send us cpp output, and that can't have
        !           735:      conditionals.
        !           736: 
        !           737:    * A patch for the bug.
        !           738: 
        !           739:      A patch for the bug is useful if it is a good one.  But don't omit
        !           740:      the necessary information, such as the test case, on the
        !           741:      assumption that a patch is all we need.  We might see problems
        !           742:      with your patch and decide to fix the problem another way, or we
        !           743:      might not understand it at all.
        !           744: 
        !           745:      Sometimes with a program as complicated as GNU CC it is very hard
        !           746:      to construct an example that will make the program follow a
        !           747:      certain path through the code.  If you don't send the example, we
        !           748:      won't be able to construct one, so we won't be able to verify that
        !           749:      the bug is fixed.
        !           750: 
        !           751:      And if we can't understand what bug you are trying to fix, or why
        !           752:      your patch should be an improvement, we won't install it.  A test
        !           753:      case will help us to understand.
        !           754: 
        !           755:      *Note Sending Patches::, for guidelines on how to make it easy for
        !           756:      us to understand and install your patches.
        !           757: 
        !           758:    * A guess about what the bug is or what it depends on.
        !           759: 
        !           760:      Such guesses are usually wrong.  Even I can't guess right about
        !           761:      such things without first using the debugger to find the facts.
        !           762: 
        !           763:    * A core dump file.
        !           764: 
        !           765:      We have no way of examining a core dump for your type of machine
        !           766:      unless we have an identical system--and if we do have one, we
        !           767:      should be able to reproduce the crash ourselves.
1.1.1.2   root      768: 
                    769: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      770: File: gcc.info,  Node: Sending Patches,  Prev: Bug Reporting,  Up: Bugs
1.1       root      771: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      772: Sending Patches for GNU CC
        !           773: ==========================
        !           774: 
        !           775:    If you would like to write bug fixes or improvements for the GNU C
        !           776: compiler, that is very helpful.  When you send your changes, please
        !           777: follow these guidelines to avoid causing extra work for us in studying
        !           778: the patches.
        !           779: 
        !           780:    If you don't follow these guidelines, your information might still be
        !           781: useful, but using it will take extra work.  Maintaining GNU C is a lot
        !           782: of work in the best of circumstances, and we can't keep up unless you do
        !           783: your best to help.
        !           784: 
        !           785:    * Send an explanation with your changes of what problem they fix or
        !           786:      what improvement they bring about.  For a bug fix, just include a
        !           787:      copy of the bug report, and explain why the change fixes the bug.
        !           788: 
        !           789:      (Referring to a bug report is not as good as including it, because
        !           790:      then we will have to look it up, and we have probably already
        !           791:      deleted it if we've already fixed the bug.)
        !           792: 
        !           793:    * Always include a proper bug report for the problem you think you
        !           794:      have fixed.  We need to convince ourselves that the change is
        !           795:      right before installing it.  Even if it is right, we might have
        !           796:      trouble judging it if we don't have a way to reproduce the problem.
        !           797: 
        !           798:    * Include all the comments that are appropriate to help people
        !           799:      reading the source in the future understand why this change was
        !           800:      needed.
        !           801: 
        !           802:    * Don't mix together changes made for different reasons.  Send them
        !           803:      *individually*.
        !           804: 
        !           805:      If you make two changes for separate reasons, then we might not
        !           806:      want to install them both.  We might want to install just one.  If
        !           807:      you send them all jumbled together in a single set of diffs, we
        !           808:      have to do extra work to disentangle them--to figure out which
        !           809:      parts of the change serve which purpose.  If we don't have time
        !           810:      for this, we might have to ignore your changes entirely.
        !           811: 
        !           812:      If you send each change as soon as you have written it, with its
        !           813:      own explanation, then the two changes never get tangled up, and we
        !           814:      can consider each one properly without any extra work to
        !           815:      disentangle them.
        !           816: 
        !           817:      Ideally, each change you send should be impossible to subdivide
        !           818:      into parts that we might want to consider separately, because each
        !           819:      of its parts gets its motivation from the other parts.
        !           820: 
        !           821:    * Send each change as soon as that change is finished.  Sometimes
        !           822:      people think they are helping us by accumulating many changes to
        !           823:      send them all together.  As explained above, this is absolutely
        !           824:      the worst thing you could do.
        !           825: 
        !           826:      Since you should send each change separately, you might as well
        !           827:      send it right away.  That gives us the option of installing it
        !           828:      immediately if it is important.
        !           829: 
        !           830:    * Use `diff -c' to make your diffs.  Diffs without context are hard
        !           831:      for us to install reliably.  More than that, they make it hard for
        !           832:      us to study the diffs to decide whether we want to install them.
        !           833:      Unidiff format is better than contextless diffs, but not as easy
        !           834:      to read as `-c' format.
        !           835: 
        !           836:      If you have GNU diff, use `diff -cp', which shows the name of the
        !           837:      function that each change occurs in.
        !           838: 
        !           839:    * Write the change log entries for your changes.  We get lots of
        !           840:      changes, and we don't have time to do all the change log writing
        !           841:      ourselves.
        !           842: 
        !           843:      Read the `ChangeLog' file to see what sorts of information to put
        !           844:      in, and to learn the style that we use.  The purpose of the change
        !           845:      log is to show people where to find what was changed.  So you need
        !           846:      to be specific about what functions you changed; in large
        !           847:      functions, it's often helpful to indicate where within the
        !           848:      function the change was.
        !           849: 
        !           850:      On the other hand, once you have shown people where to find the
        !           851:      change, you need not explain its purpose.  Thus, if you add a new
        !           852:      function, all you need to say about it is that it is new.  If you
        !           853:      feel that the purpose needs explaining, it probably does--but the
        !           854:      explanation will be much more useful if you put it in comments in
        !           855:      the code.
        !           856: 
        !           857:      If you would like your name to appear in the header line for who
        !           858:      made the change, send us the header line.
        !           859: 
        !           860:    * When you write the fix, keep in mind that we can't install a
        !           861:      change that would break other systems.
        !           862: 
        !           863:      People often suggest fixing a problem by changing
        !           864:      machine-independent files such as `toplev.c' to do something
        !           865:      special that a particular system needs.  Sometimes it is totally
        !           866:      obvious that such changes would break GNU CC for almost all users.
        !           867:      We can't possibly make a change like that.  At best it might tell
        !           868:      us how to write another patch that would solve the problem
        !           869:      acceptably.
        !           870: 
        !           871:      Sometimes people send fixes that *might* be an improvement in
        !           872:      general--but it is hard to be sure of this.  It's hard to install
        !           873:      such changes because we have to study them very carefully.  Of
        !           874:      course, a good explanation of the reasoning by which you concluded
        !           875:      the change was correct can help convince us.
        !           876: 
        !           877:      The safest changes are changes to the configuration files for a
        !           878:      particular machine.  These are safe because they can't create new
        !           879:      bugs on other machines.
        !           880: 
        !           881:      Please help us keep up with the workload by designing the patch in
        !           882:      a form that is good to install.
        !           883: 
        !           884: 
        !           885: File: gcc.info,  Node: Service,  Next: VMS,  Prev: Bugs,  Up: Top
        !           886: 
        !           887: How To Get Help with GNU CC
        !           888: ***************************
        !           889: 
        !           890:    If you need help installing, using or changing GNU CC, there are two
        !           891: ways to find it:
1.1       root      892: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      893:    * Send a message to a suitable network mailing list.  First try
        !           894:      `[email protected]', and if that brings no response, try
        !           895:      `[email protected]'.
        !           896: 
        !           897:    * Look in the service directory for someone who might help you for a
        !           898:      fee.  The service directory is found in the file named `SERVICE'
        !           899:      in the GNU CC distribution.
        !           900: 
        !           901: 
        !           902: File: gcc.info,  Node: VMS,  Next: Portability,  Prev: Service,  Up: Top
        !           903: 
        !           904: Using GNU CC on VMS
        !           905: *******************
        !           906: 
        !           907: * Menu:
        !           908: 
        !           909: * Include Files and VMS::  Where the preprocessor looks for the include files.
        !           910: * Global Declarations::    How to do globaldef, globalref and globalvalue with
        !           911:                            GNU CC.
        !           912: * VMS Misc::              Misc information.
        !           913: 
        !           914: 
        !           915: File: gcc.info,  Node: Include Files and VMS,  Next: Global Declarations,  Up: VMS
        !           916: 
        !           917: Include Files and VMS
        !           918: =====================
1.1       root      919: 
1.1.1.5 ! root      920:    Due to the differences between the filesystems of Unix and VMS, GNU
        !           921: CC attempts to translate file names in `#include' into names that VMS
        !           922: will understand.  The basic strategy is to prepend a prefix to the
        !           923: specification of the include file, convert the whole filename to a VMS
        !           924: filename, and then try to open the file.  GNU CC tries various prefixes
        !           925: one by one until one of them succeeds:
        !           926: 
        !           927:   1. The first prefix is the `GNU_CC_INCLUDE:' logical name: this is
        !           928:      where GNU C header files are traditionally stored.  If you wish to
        !           929:      store header files in non-standard locations, then you can assign
        !           930:      the logical `GNU_CC_INCLUDE' to be a search list, where each
        !           931:      element of the list is suitable for use with a rooted logical.
        !           932: 
        !           933:   2. The next prefix tried is `SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSLIB.]'.  This is where
        !           934:      VAX-C header files are traditionally stored.
        !           935: 
        !           936:   3. If the include file specification by itself is a valid VMS
        !           937:      filename, the preprocessor then uses this name with no prefix in
        !           938:      an attempt to open the include file.
        !           939: 
        !           940:   4. If the file specification is not a valid VMS filename (i.e. does
        !           941:      not contain a device or a directory specifier, and contains a `/'
        !           942:      character), the preprocessor tries to convert it from Unix syntax
        !           943:      to VMS syntax.
        !           944: 
        !           945:      Conversion works like this: the first directory name becomes a
        !           946:      device, and the rest of the directories are converted into
        !           947:      VMS-format directory names.  For example, the name `X11/foobar.h'
        !           948:      is translated to `X11:[000000]foobar.h' or `X11:foobar.h',
        !           949:      whichever one can be opened.  This strategy allows you to assign a
        !           950:      logical name to point to the actual location of the header files.
        !           951: 
        !           952:   5. If none of these strategies succeeds, the `#include' fails.
        !           953: 
        !           954:    Include directives of the form:
        !           955: 
        !           956:      #include foobar
        !           957: 
        !           958: are a common source of incompatibility between VAX-C and GNU CC.  VAX-C
        !           959: treats this much like a standard `#include <foobar.h>' directive.  That
        !           960: is incompatible with the ANSI C behavior implemented by GNU CC: to
        !           961: expand the name `foobar' as a macro.  Macro expansion should eventually
        !           962: yield one of the two standard formats for `#include':
        !           963: 
        !           964:      #include "FILE"
        !           965:      #include <FILE>
        !           966: 
        !           967:    If you have this problem, the best solution is to modify the source
        !           968: to convert the `#include' directives to one of the two standard forms.
        !           969: That will work with either compiler.  If you want a quick and dirty fix,
        !           970: define the file names as macros with the proper expansion, like this:
        !           971: 
        !           972:      #define stdio <stdio.h>
        !           973: 
        !           974: This will work, as long as the name doesn't conflict with anything else
        !           975: in the program.
        !           976: 
        !           977:    Another source of incompatibility is that VAX-C assumes that:
        !           978: 
        !           979:      #include "foobar"
        !           980: 
        !           981: is actually asking for the file `foobar.h'.  GNU CC does not make this
        !           982: assumption, and instead takes what you ask for literally; it tries to
        !           983: read the file `foobar'.  The best way to avoid this problem is to
        !           984: always specify the desired file extension in your include directives.
        !           985: 
        !           986:    GNU CC for VMS is distributed with a set of include files that is
        !           987: sufficient to compile most general purpose programs.  Even though the
        !           988: GNU CC distribution does not contain header files to define constants
        !           989: and structures for some VMS system-specific functions, there is no
        !           990: reason why you cannot use GNU CC with any of these functions.  You first
        !           991: may have to generate or create header files, either by using the public
        !           992: domain utility `UNSDL' (which can be found on a DECUS tape), or by
        !           993: extracting the relevant modules from one of the system macro libraries,
        !           994: and using an editor to construct a C header file.
        !           995: 
        !           996:    A `#include' file name cannot contain a DECNET node name.  The
        !           997: preprocessor reports an I/O error if you attempt to use a node name,
        !           998: whether explicitly, or implicitly via a logical name.
1.1       root      999: 
                   1000: 
1.1.1.5 ! root     1001: File: gcc.info,  Node: Global Declarations,  Next: VMS Misc,  Prev: Include Files and VMS,  Up: VMS
1.1       root     1002: 
1.1.1.5 ! root     1003: Global Declarations and VMS
        !          1004: ===========================
1.1       root     1005: 
1.1.1.5 ! root     1006:    GNU CC does not provide the `globalref', `globaldef' and
        !          1007: `globalvalue' keywords of VAX-C.  You can get the same effect with an
        !          1008: obscure feature of GAS, the GNU assembler.  (This requires GAS version
        !          1009: 1.39 or later.)  The following macros allow you to use this feature in
        !          1010: a fairly natural way:
        !          1011: 
        !          1012:      #ifdef __GNUC__
        !          1013:      #define GLOBALREF(TYPE,NAME)                      \
        !          1014:        TYPE NAME                                       \
        !          1015:        asm ("_$$PsectAttributes_GLOBALSYMBOL$$" #NAME)
        !          1016:      #define GLOBALDEF(TYPE,NAME,VALUE)                \
        !          1017:        TYPE NAME                                       \
        !          1018:        asm ("_$$PsectAttributes_GLOBALSYMBOL$$" #NAME) \
        !          1019:          = VALUE
        !          1020:      #define GLOBALVALUEREF(TYPE,NAME)                 \
        !          1021:        const TYPE NAME[1]                              \
        !          1022:        asm ("_$$PsectAttributes_GLOBALVALUE$$" #NAME)
        !          1023:      #define GLOBALVALUEDEF(TYPE,NAME,VALUE)           \
        !          1024:        const TYPE NAME[1]                              \
        !          1025:        asm ("_$$PsectAttributes_GLOBALVALUE$$" #NAME)  \
        !          1026:          = {VALUE}
        !          1027:      #else
        !          1028:      #define GLOBALREF(TYPE,NAME) \
        !          1029:        globalref TYPE NAME
        !          1030:      #define GLOBALDEF(TYPE,NAME,VALUE) \
        !          1031:        globaldef TYPE NAME = VALUE
        !          1032:      #define GLOBALVALUEDEF(TYPE,NAME,VALUE) \
        !          1033:        globalvalue TYPE NAME = VALUE
        !          1034:      #define GLOBALVALUEREF(TYPE,NAME) \
        !          1035:        globalvalue TYPE NAME
        !          1036:      #endif
        !          1037: 
        !          1038: (The `_$$PsectAttributes_GLOBALSYMBOL' prefix at the start of the name
        !          1039: is removed by the assembler, after it has modified the attributes of
        !          1040: the symbol).  These macros are provided in the VMS binaries
        !          1041: distribution in a header file `GNU_HACKS.H'.  An example of the usage
        !          1042: is:
        !          1043: 
        !          1044:      GLOBALREF (int, ijk);
        !          1045:      GLOBALDEF (int, jkl, 0);
        !          1046: 
        !          1047:    The macros `GLOBALREF' and `GLOBALDEF' cannot be used
        !          1048: straightforwardly for arrays, since there is no way to insert the array
        !          1049: dimension into the declaration at the right place.  However, you can
        !          1050: declare an array with these macros if you first define a typedef for the
        !          1051: array type, like this:
        !          1052: 
        !          1053:      typedef int intvector[10];
        !          1054:      GLOBALREF (intvector, foo);
        !          1055: 
        !          1056:    Array and structure initializers will also break the macros; you can
        !          1057: define the initializer to be a macro of its own, or you can expand the
        !          1058: `GLOBALDEF' macro by hand.  You may find a case where you wish to use
        !          1059: the `GLOBALDEF' macro with a large array, but you are not interested in
        !          1060: explicitly initializing each element of the array.  In such cases you
        !          1061: can use an initializer like: `{0,}', which will initialize the entire
        !          1062: array to `0'.
        !          1063: 
        !          1064:    A shortcoming of this implementation is that a variable declared with
        !          1065: `GLOBALVALUEREF' or `GLOBALVALUEDEF' is always an array.  For example,
        !          1066: the declaration:
        !          1067: 
        !          1068:      GLOBALVALUEREF(int, ijk);
        !          1069: 
        !          1070: declares the variable `ijk' as an array of type `int [1]'.  This is
        !          1071: done because a globalvalue is actually a constant; its "value" is what
        !          1072: the linker would normally consider an address.  That is not how an
        !          1073: integer value works in C, but it is how an array works.  So treating
        !          1074: the symbol as an array name gives consistent results--with the
        !          1075: exception that the value seems to have the wrong type.  *Don't try to
        !          1076: access an element of the array.*  It doesn't have any elements.  The
        !          1077: array "address" may not be the address of actual storage.
        !          1078: 
        !          1079:    The fact that the symbol is an array may lead to warnings where the
        !          1080: variable is used.  Insert type casts to avoid the warnings.  Here is an
        !          1081: example; it takes advantage of the ANSI C feature allowing macros that
        !          1082: expand to use the same name as the macro itself.
        !          1083: 
        !          1084:      GLOBALVALUEREF (int, ss$_normal);
        !          1085:      GLOBALVALUEDEF (int, xyzzy,123);
        !          1086:      #ifdef __GNUC__
        !          1087:      #define ss$_normal ((int) ss$_normal)
        !          1088:      #define xyzzy ((int) xyzzy)
        !          1089:      #endif
        !          1090: 
        !          1091:    Don't use `globaldef' or `globalref' with a variable whose type is
        !          1092: an enumeration type; this is not implemented.  Instead, make the
        !          1093: variable an integer, and use a `globalvaluedef' for each of the
        !          1094: enumeration values.  An example of this would be:
        !          1095: 
        !          1096:      #ifdef __GNUC__
        !          1097:      GLOBALDEF (int, color, 0);
        !          1098:      GLOBALVALUEDEF (int, RED, 0);
        !          1099:      GLOBALVALUEDEF (int, BLUE, 1);
        !          1100:      GLOBALVALUEDEF (int, GREEN, 3);
        !          1101:      #else
        !          1102:      enum globaldef color {RED, BLUE, GREEN = 3};
        !          1103:      #endif
1.1       root     1104: 

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