GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) NAME gcc, g++ - GNU project C and C++ Compiler (v2 preliminary) SYNOPSIS gcc [_o_p_t_i_o_n | _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e ]... g++ [_o_p_t_i_o_n | _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e ]... WARNING The information in this man page is an extract from the full documentation of the GNU C compiler, and is limited to the meaning of the options. For complete, current documentation, refer to the Info file `gcc' or the manual _U_s_i_n_g _a_n_d _P_o_r_t_i_n_g _G_N_U _C_C (_f_o_r _v_e_r_s_i_o_n _2._0). Both are made from the Texinfo source file gcc.texinfo. DESCRIPTION The C and C++ compilers are integrated. Both process input files through one or more of four stages: preprocessing, compilation, assembly, and linking. Source filename suf- fixes identify the source language, but which name you use for the compiler governs default assumptions: gcc assumes preprocessed (.i) files are C and assumes C style linking. g++ assumes preprocessed (.i) files are C++ and assumes C++ style linking. Suffixes of source file names indicate the language and kind of processing to be done: .c C source; preprocess, compile, assemble .C C++ source; preprocess, compile, assemble .cc C++ source; preprocess, compile, assemble .cxx C++ source; preprocess, compile, assemble .m Objective-C source; preprocess, compile, assemble .i preprocessed C or C++; compile, assemble .s Assembler source; assemble .S Assembler source; preprocess, assemble .h Preprocessor file; not usually named on command line ?? Other (unrecognized) files passed to linker. Common cases: .o Object file .a Archive file Linking is always the last stage unless you use one of the -c, -S, or -E options to avoid it (or unless compilation errors stop the whole process). For the link stage, all .o files corresponding to source files, -l libraries, GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 1 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) unrecognized filenames (including named .o object files and .a archives) are passed to the linker in command-line order. OPTIONS Options must be separate: `-dr' is quite different from `-d -r '. Most `-f' and `-W' options have two contrary forms: -f_n_a_m_e and -fno-_n_a_m_e (or -W_n_a_m_e and -Wno-_n_a_m_e). Only the non- default forms are shown here. Here is a summary of all the options, grouped by type. Explanations are in the following sections. Overall Options -c -S -E -o _f_i_l_e -pipe -v -x _l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e Language Options -ansi -fall-virtual -fcond-mismatch -fdollars-in-identifiers -fenum-int-equiv -fno-asm -fno-builtin -fno-strict-prototype -fsigned-bitfields -fsigned-char -fthis-is-variable -funsigned-bitfields -funsigned-char -fwritable-strings -traditional -traditional-cpp -trigraphs Warning Options -fsyntax-only -pedantic -pedantic-errors -w -W -Wall -Waggregate-return -Wcast-align -Wcast-qual -Wcomment -Wconversion -Wenum-clash -Werror -Wformat -Wid-clash-_l_e_n -Wimplicit -Winline -Wmissing-prototypes -Wparentheses -Wpointer-arith -Wreturn-type -Wshadow -Wstrict-prototypes -Wswitch -Wtraditional -Wtrigraphs -Wuninitialized -Wunused -Wwrite-strings Debugging Options -a -d_l_e_t_t_e_r_s -fpretend-float -g -gstabs -gdwarf -ggdb -gsdb -p -pg -save-temps Optimization Options -fcaller-saves -fcse-follow-jumps -fdelayed-branch -felide-constructors -fexpensive-optimizations -ffloat-store -fforce-addr -fforce-mem -finline -finline-functions -fkeep-inline-functions -fmemoize-lookups -fno-default-inline -fno-defer-pop -fno-function-cse -fomit-frame-pointer -frerun-cse-after-loop -fschedule-insns GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 2 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) -fschedule-insns2 -fstrength-reduce -fthread-jumps -funroll-all-loops -funroll-loops -O -O2 Preprocessor Options -C -dD -dM -dN -D_m_a_c_r_o[=_d_e_f_n] -E -H -i _f_i_l_e -M -MD -MM -MMD -nostdinc -P -U_m_a_c_r_o -undef Linker Options -l_l_i_b_r_a_r_y -nostdlib -static Directory Options -B_p_r_e_f_i_x -I_d_i_r -I- -L_d_i_r Target Options -b _m_a_c_h_i_n_e -V _v_e_r_s_i_o_n Machine Dependent Options _M_6_8_0_x_0 _O_p_t_i_o_n_s -m68000 -m68020 -m68881 -mbitfield -mc68000 -mc68020 -mfpa -mnobitfield -mrtd -mshort -msoft-float _V_A_X _O_p_t_i_o_n_s -mg -mgnu -munix _S_P_A_R_C _O_p_t_i_o_n_s -mfpu -mno-epilogue _C_o_n_v_e_x _O_p_t_i_o_n_s -margcount -mc1 -mc2 -mnoargcount _A_M_D_2_9_K _O_p_t_i_o_n_s -m29000 -m29050 -mbw -mdw -mkernel-registers -mlarge -mnbw -mnodw -msmall -mstack-check -muser-registers _M_8_8_K _O_p_t_i_o_n_s -mbig-pic -mcheck-zero-division -mhandle-large-shift -midentify-revision -mno-check-zero-division -mno-ocs-debug-info -mno-ocs-frame-position -mno-optimize-arg-area -mno-underscores -mocs-debug-info -mocs-frame-position -moptimize-arg-area -mshort-data-_n_u_m -msvr3 -msvr4 -mtrap-large-shift -muse-div-instruction -mversion-03.00 -mwarn-passed-structs _R_S_6_0_0_0 _O_p_t_i_o_n_s -mfp-in-toc -mno-fop-in-toc GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 3 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) _R_T _O_p_t_i_o_n_s -mcall-lib-mul -mfp-arg-in-fpregs -mfp-arg-in-gregs -mfull-fp-blocks -mhc-struct-return -min-line-mul -mminimum-fp-blocks -mnohc-struct-return _M_I_P_S _O_p_t_i_o_n_s -mcpu=_c_p_u _t_y_p_e -mips2 -mips3 -mint64 -mlong64 -mlonglong128 -mmips-as -mgas -mrnames -mno-rnames -mgpopt -mno-gpopt -mstats -mno-stats -mmemcpy -mno-memcpy -mno-mips-tfile -mmips-tfile -msoft-float -mhard-float -mabicalls -mno-abicalls -mhalf-pic -mno-half-pic -G _n_u_m _i_3_8_6 _O_p_t_i_o_n_s -m486 -mno486 -msoft-float Code Generation Options +e_N -fcall-saved-_r_e_g -fcall-used-_r_e_g -ffixed-_r_e_g -fno-common -fno-gnu-binutils -fnonnull-objects -fpcc-struct-return -fpic -fPIC -fshared-data -fshort-enums -fshort-double -fvolatile OVERALL OPTIONS -x _l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e Specify explicitly the _l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e for the following input files (rather than choosing a default based on the file name suffix) . This option applies to all following input files until the next `-x' option. Possible values of _l_a_n_g_u_a_g_e are `c', `objective-c', `c-header', `c++', `cpp-output', `assembler', and `assembler-with-cpp'. -x none Turn off any specification of a language, so that sub- sequent files are handled according to their file name suffixes (as they are if `-x' has not been used at all). If you want only some of the four stages (preprocess, com- pile, assemble, link), you can use `-x' (or filename suf- fixes) to tell gcc where to start, and one of the options `-c', `-S', or `-E' to say where gcc is to stop. Note that some combinations (for example, `-x cpp-output -E') instruct gcc to do nothing at all. -c Compile or assemble the source files, but do not link. The compiler output is an object file corresponding to each source file. By default, GCC makes the object file name for a source GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 4 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) file by replacing the suffix `.c', `.i', `.s', etc., with `.o'. Use -o to select another name. GCC ignores any unrecognized input files (those that do not require compilation or assembly) with the -c op- tion. -S Stop after the stage of compilation proper; do not as- semble. The output is an assembler code file for each non-assembler input file specified. By default, GCC makes the assembler file name for a source file by replacing the suffix `.c', `.i', etc., with `.s'. Use -o to select another name. GCC ignores any input files that don't require compila- tion. -E Stop after the preprocessing stage; do not run the com- piler proper. The output is preprocessed source code, which is sent to the standard output. GCC ignores input files which don't require preprocess- ing. -o _f_i_l_e Place output in file _f_i_l_e. This applies regardless to whatever sort of output GCC is producing, whether it be an executable file, an object file, an assembler file or preprocessed C code. Since only one output file can be specified, it does not make sense to use `-o' when compiling more than one input file, unless you are producing an executable file as output. If you do not specify `-o', the default is to put an executable file in `a.out', the object file for `_s_o_u_r_c_e._s_u_f_f_i_x' in `_s_o_u_r_c_e.o', its assembler file in `_s_o_u_r_c_e.s', and all preprocessed C source on standard output. -v Print (on standard error output) the commands executed to run the stages of compilation. Also print the ver- sion number of the compiler driver program and of the preprocessor and the compiler proper. -pipe Use pipes rather than temporary files for communication between the various stages of compilation. This fails to work on some systems where the assembler cannot read GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 5 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) from a pipe; but the GNU assembler has no trouble. LANGUAGE OPTIONS The following options control the dialect of C that the com- piler accepts: -ansi _S_u_p_p_o_r_t _a_l_l _A_N_S_I _s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _C _p_r_o_g_r_a_m_s. _T_h_i_s _t_u_r_n_s _o_f_f _c_e_r_t_a_i_n _f_e_a_t_u_r_e_s _o_f _G_N_U _C _t_h_a_t _a_r_e _i_n_- _c_o_m_p_a_t_i_b_l_e _w_i_t_h ANSI C, such as the asm, inline and typeof keywords, and predefined macros such as unix and vax that identify the type of system you are using. It also enables the undesirable and rarely used ANSI tri- graph feature, and makes the preprocessor accept `$' as part of identifiers. The alternate keywords __asm__, __extension__, __in- line__ and __typeof__ continue to work despite `-ansi'. You would not want to use them in an ANSI C program, of course, but it is useful to put them in header files that might be included in compilations done with `-ansi'. Alternate predefined macros such as __unix__ and __vax__ are also available, with or without `-ansi'. The `-ansi' option does not cause non-ANSI programs to be rejected gratuitously. For that, `-pedantic' is re- quired in addition to `-ansi'. The preprocessor predefines a macro __STRICT_ANSI__ when you use the `-ansi' option. Some header files may notice this macro and refrain from declaring certain functions or defining certain macros that the ANSI standard doesn't call for; this is to avoid interfering with any programs that might use these names for other things. -fno-asm Do not recognize asm, inline or typeof as a keyword. These words may then be used as identifiers. You can use __asm__, __inline__ and __typeof__ instead. `-ansi' implies `-fno-asm'. -fno-builtin (_I_g_n_o_r_e_d _f_o_r _C++.) Don't recognize non-ANSI built-in functions. `-ansi' also has this effect. Currently, the only function affected is alloca. -fno-strict-prototype (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) Consider the declaration int foo ();. In C++, this means that the function foo takes no argu- GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 6 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) ments. In ANSI C, this is declared int foo(void);. With the flag `-fno-strict-prototype', declaring functions with no arguments is equivalent to declaring its argument list to be untyped, i.e., int foo (); is equivalent to saying int foo (...);. -trigraphs Support ANSI C trigraphs. The `-ansi' option implies `-trigraphs'. -traditional Attempt to support some aspects of traditional C com- pilers. For details, see the GNU C Manual; the dupli- cate list here has been deleted so that we won't get complaints when it is out of date. But one note about C++ programs only (not C). `-tradi- tional' has one additional effect for C++: assignment to this is permitted. This is the same as the effect of `-fthis-is-variable'. -traditional-cpp Attempt to support some aspects of traditional C preprocessors. This includes the items that specifi- cally mention the preprocessor above, but none of the other effects of `-traditional'. -fdollars-in-identifiers (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) Permit the use of `$' in identifiers. (For GNU C, this is the default, and you can forbid it with `-ansi'.) Traditional C allowed the character `$' to form part of identifiers; by default, GNU C also al- lows this. However, ANSI C forbids `$' in identifiers, and GNU C++ also forbids it by default on most plat- forms (though on some platforms it's enabled by default for GNU C++ as well). -fenum-int-equiv (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) Normally GNU C++ allows conversion of enum to int, but not the other way around. Use this option if you want GNU C++ to allow conversion of int to enum as well. -fall-virtual (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) When you use the `-fall-virtual', all member functions (except for constructor functions and new/delete member operators) declared in the same class with a ``method-call'' operator method are treated as virtual functions of the given class. In effect, all of these methods become ``implicitly virtual.'' GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 7 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) This does _n_o_t mean that all calls to these methods will be made through the internal table of virtual func- tions. There are some circumstances under which it is obvious that a call to a given virtual function can be made directly, and in these cases the calls still go direct. The effect of making all methods of a class with a de- clared `operator->()()' implicitly virtual using `-fall-virtual' extends also to all non-constructor methods of any class derived from such a class. -fcond-mismatch Allow conditional expressions with mismatched types in the second and third arguments. The value of such an expression is void. -fthis-is-variable (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) The incorporation of user-defined free store management into C++ has made assignment to this an anachronism. Therefore, by default GNU C++ treats the type of this in a member function of class X to be X *const. In other words, it is illegal to assign to this within a class member function. However, for backwards compatibility, you can invoke the old behavior by using `-fthis-is-variable'. -funsigned-char Let the type char be unsigned, like unsigned char. Each kind of machine has a default for what char should be. It is either like unsigned char by default or like signed char by default. Ideally, a portable program should always use signed char or unsigned char when it depends on the signedness of an object. But many programs have been written to use plain char and expect it to be signed, or expect it to be unsigned, depending on the machines they were written for. This option, and its inverse, let you make such a program work with the opposite default. The type char is always a distinct type from each of signed char and unsigned char, even though its behavior is always just like one of those two. -fsigned-char Let the type char be signed, like signed char. Note that this is equivalent to `-fno-unsigned-char', which is the negative form of `-funsigned-char'. Like- GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 8 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) wise, `-fno-signed-char' is equivalent to `-funsigned-char'. -fsigned-bitfields -funsigned-bitfields -fno-signed-bitfields -fno-unsigned-bitfields These options control whether a bitfield is signed or unsigned, when declared with no explicit `signed' or `unsigned' qualifier. By default, such a bitfield is signed, because this is consistent: the basic integer types such as int are signed types. However, when you specify `-traditional', bitfields are all unsigned no matter what. -fwritable-strings Store string constants in the writable data segment and don't uniquize them. This is for compatibility with old programs which assume they can write into string constants. `-traditional' also has this effect. Writing into string constants is a very bad idea; ``constants'' should be constant. PREPROCESSOR OPTIONS These options control the C preprocessor, which is run on each C source file before actual compilation. If you use the `-E' option, GCC does nothing except prepro- cessing. Some of these options make sense only together with `-E' because they cause the preprocessor output to be unsuitable for actual compilation. -i _f_i_l_e Process _f_i_l_e as input, discarding the resulting out- put, before processing the regular input file. Because the output generated from _f_i_l_e is discarded, the only effect of `-i _f_i_l_e' is to make the macros defined in _f_i_l_e available for use in the main input. The prepro- cessor evaluates any `-D' and `-U' options on the com- mand line before processing `-i' _f_i_l_e. -nostdinc Do not search the standard system directories for header files. Only the directories you have specified with `-I' options (and the current directory, if ap- propriate) are searched. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 9 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) By using both `-nostdinc' and `-I-', you can limit the include-file search file to only those directories you specify explicitly. -undef Do not predefine any nonstandard macros. (Including architecture flags). -E Run only the C preprocessor. Preprocess all the C source files specified and output the results to stan- dard output or to the specified output file. -C Tell the preprocessor not to discard comments. Used with the `-E' option. -P Tell the preprocessor not to generate `#line' commands. Used with the `-E' option. -M Tell the preprocessor to output a rule suitable for make describing the dependencies of each object file. For each source file, the preprocessor outputs one make-rule whose target is the object file name for that source file and whose dependencies are all the files `#include'd in it. This rule may be a single line or may be continued with `\'-newline if it is long. The list of rules is printed on standard output instead of the preprocessed C program. `-M' implies `-E'. -MM Like `-M' but the output mentions only the user header files included with `#include _f_i_l_e"'. System header files included with `#include <_f_i_l_e>' are omitted. -MD Like `-M' but the dependency information is written to files with names made by replacing `.c' with `.d' at the end of the input file names. This is in addition to compiling the file as specified-`-MD' does not inhi- bit ordinary compilation the way `-M' does. The Mach utility `md' can be used to merge the `.d' files into a single dependency file suitable for using with the `make' command. -MMD Like `-MD' except mention only user header files, not system header files. -H Print the name of each header file used, in addition to other normal activities. -D_m_a_c_r_o Define macro _m_a_c_r_o with the string `1' as its defini- GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 10 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) tion. -D_m_a_c_r_o=_d_e_f_n Define macro _m_a_c_r_o as _d_e_f_n. All instances of `-D' on the command line are processed before any `-U' or `-i' options. -U_m_a_c_r_o Undefine macro _m_a_c_r_o. `-U' options are evaluated after all `-D' options, but before any `-i' options. -dM Tell the preprocessor to output only a list of the mac- ro definitions that are in effect at the end of prepro- cessing. Used with the `-E' option. -dD Tell the preprocessing to pass all macro definitions into the output, in their proper sequence in the rest of the output. -dN Like `-dD' except that the macro arguments and contents are omitted. Only `#define _n_a_m_e' is included in the output. LINKER OPTIONS These options come into play when the compiler links object files into an executable output file. They are meaningless if the compiler is not doing a link step. _o_b_j_e_c_t-_f_i_l_e-_n_a_m_e A file name that does not end in a special recognized suffix is considered to name an object file or library. (Object files are distinguished from libraries by the linker according to the file contents.) If GCC does a link step, these object files are used as input to the linker. -l_l_i_b_r_a_r_y Use the library named _l_i_b_r_a_r_y when linking. The linker searches a standard list of directories for the library, which is actually a file named `lib_l_i_b_r_a_r_y.a'. The linker then uses this file as if it had been specified precisely by name. The directories searched include several standard sys- tem directories plus any that you specify with `-L'. Normally the files found this way are library files- archive files whose members are object files. The linker handles an archive file by scanning through it for members which define symbols that have so far been referenced but not defined. However, if the linker GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 11 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) finds an ordinary object file rather than a library, the object file is linked in the usual fashion. The only difference between using an `-l' option and speci- fying a file name is that `-l' surrounds _l_i_b_r_a_r_y with `lib' and `.a' and searches several directories. -nostdlib Don't use the standard system libraries and startup files when linking. Only the files you specify will be passed to the linker. -static On systems that support dynamic linking, this prevents linking with the shared libraries. (`-g' also has this effect.) On other systems, this option has no effect. DIRECTORY OPTIONS These options specify directories to search for header files, for libraries and for parts of the compiler: -I_d_i_r Append directory _d_i_r to the list of directories searched for include files. -I- Any directories you specify with `-I' options before the `-I-' option are searched only for the case of `#include "_f_i_l_e"'; they are not searched for `#include <_f_i_l_e>'. If additional directories are specified with `-I' op- tions after the `-I-', these directories are searched for all `#include' directives. (Ordinarily _a_l_l `-I' directories are used this way.) In addition, the `-I-' option inhibits the use of the current directory (where the current input file came from) as the first search directory for `#include "_f_i_l_e"'. There is no way to override this effect of `-I-'. With `-I.' you can specify searching the direc- tory which was current when the compiler was invoked. That is not exactly the same as what the preprocessor does by default, but it is often satisfactory. `-I-' does not inhibit the use of the standard system directories for header files. Thus, `-I-' and `-nost- dinc' are independent. -L_d_i_r Add directory _d_i_r to the list of directories to be searched for `-l'. -B_p_r_e_f_i_x GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 12 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) This option specifies where to find the executables, libraries and data files of the compiler itself. The compiler driver program runs one or more of the subprograms `cpp', `cc1' (or, for C++, `cc1plus'), `as' and `ld'. It tries _p_r_e_f_i_x as a prefix for each program it tries to run, both with and without `_m_a_c_h_i_n_e/_v_e_r_s_i_o_n/'. For each subprogram to be run, the compiler driver first tries the `-B' prefix, if any. If that name is not found, or if `-B' was not specified, the driver tries two standard prefixes, which are `/usr/lib/gcc/' and `/usr/local/lib/gcc-lib/'. If neither of those results in a file name that is found, the compiler driver searches for the unmodified program name, using the directories specified in your `PATH' environment variable. The run-time support file `libgcc.a' is also searched for using the `-B' prefix, if needed. If it is not found there, the two standard prefixes above are tried, and that is all. The file is left out of the link if it is not found by those means. Most of the time, on most machines, `libgcc.a' is not actually necessary. You can get a similar result from the environment vari- able GCC_EXEC_PREFIX; if it is defined, its value is used as a prefix in the same way. If both the `-B' op- tion and the GCC_EXEC_PREFIX variable are present, the `-B' option is used first and the environment variable value second. WARNING OPTIONS Warnings are diagnostic messages that report constructions which are not inherently erroneous but which are risky or suggest there may have been an error. These options control the amount and kinds of warnings pro- duced by GNU CC: -fsyntax-only Check the code for syntax errors, but don't emit any output. -w Inhibit all warning messages. -pedantic Issue all the warnings demanded by strict ANSI standard C; reject all programs that use forbidden extensions. Valid ANSI standard C programs should compile properly GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 13 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) with or without this option (though a rare few will re- quire `-ansi'). However, without this option, certain GNU extensions and traditional C features are supported as well. With this option, they are rejected. There is no reason to _u_s_e this option; it exists only to satisfy pedants. `-pedantic' does not cause warning messages for use of the alternate keywords whose names begin and end with `__'. Pedantic warnings are also disabled in the ex- pression that follows __extension__. However, only system header files should use these escape routes; ap- plication programs should avoid them. -pedantic-errors Like `-pedantic', except that errors are produced rath- er than warnings. -W Print extra warning messages for these events: o+ A nonvolatile automatic variable might be changed by a call to longjmp. These warnings are possible only in optimizing compilation. The compiler sees only the calls to setjmp. It cannot know where longjmp will be called; in fact, a signal handler could call it at any point in the code. As a result, you may get a warning even when there is in fact no problem because longjmp cannot in fact be called at the place which would cause a problem. o+ A function can return either with or without a value. (Falling off the end of the function body is considered returning without a value.) For example, this function would evoke such a warning: foo (a) { if (a > 0) return a; } Spurious warnings can occur because GNU CC does not realize that certain functions (including abort and longjmp) will never return. o+ An expression-statement contains no side effects. o+ An unsigned value is compared against zero with `>' or `<='. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 14 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) -Wimplicit Warn whenever a function or parameter is implicitly de- clared. -Wreturn-type Warn whenever a function is defined with a return-type that defaults to int. Also warn about any return statement with no return-value in a function whose return-type is not void. -Wunused Warn whenever a local variable is unused aside from its declaration, whenever a function is declared static but never defined, and whenever a statement computes a result that is explicitly not used. -Wswitch Warn whenever a switch statement has an index of enumeral type and lacks a case for one or more of the named codes of that enumeration. (The presence of a default label prevents this warning.) case labels out- side the enumeration range also provoke warnings when this option is used. -Wcomment Warn whenever a comment-start sequence `/*' appears in a comment. -Wtrigraphs Warn if any trigraphs are encountered (assuming they are enabled). -Wformat Check calls to printf and scanf, etc., to make sure that the arguments supplied have types appropriate to the format string specified. -Wuninitialized An automatic variable is used without first being ini- tialized. These warnings are possible only in optimizing compila- tion, because they require data flow information that is computed only when optimizing. If you don't specify `-O', you simply won't get these warnings. These warnings occur only for variables that are candi- dates for register allocation. Therefore, they do not occur for a variable that is declared volatile, or whose address is taken, or whose size is other than 1, 2, 4 or 8 bytes. Also, they do not occur for struc- tures, unions or arrays, even when they are in regis- GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 15 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) ters. Note that there may be no warning about a variable that is used only to compute a value that itself is never used, because such computations may be deleted by data flow analysis before the warnings are printed. These warnings are made optional because GNU CC is not smart enough to see all the reasons why the code might be correct despite appearing to have an error. Here is one example of how this can happen: { int x; switch (y) { case 1: x = 1; break; case 2: x = 4; break; case 3: x = 5; } foo (x); } If the value of y is always 1, 2 or 3, then x is always initialized, but GNU CC doesn't know this. Here is another common case: { int save_y; if (change_y) save_y = y, y = new_y; ... if (change_y) y = save_y; } This has no bug because save_y is used only if it is set. Some spurious warnings can be avoided if you declare as volatile all the functions you use that never return. -Wparentheses Warn if parentheses are omitted in certain contexts. -Wall GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 16 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) All of the above `-W' options combined. These are all the options which pertain to usage that we recommend avoiding and that we believe is easy to avoid, even in conjunction with macros. The remaining `-W...' options are not implied by `-Wall' be- cause they warn about constructions that we consider reason- able to use, on occasion, in clean programs. -Wtraditional Warn about certain constructs that behave differently in traditional and ANSI C. o+ Macro arguments occurring within string constants in the macro body. These would substitute the argument in traditional C, but are part of the constant in ANSI C. o+ A function declared external in one block and then used after the end of the block. o+ A switch statement has an operand of type long. -Wshadow Warn whenever a local variable shadows another local variable. -Wid-clash-_l_e_n Warn whenever two distinct identifiers match in the first _l_e_n characters. This may help you prepare a pro- gram that will compile with certain obsolete, brain- damaged compilers. -Wpointer-arith Warn about anything that depends on the ``size of'' a function type or of void. GNU C assigns these types a size of 1, for convenience in calculations with void * pointers and pointers to functions. -Wcast-qual Warn whenever a pointer is cast so as to remove a type qualifier from the target type. For example, warn if a const char * is cast to an ordinary char *. -Wcast-align Warn whenever a pointer is cast such that the required alignment of the target is increased. For example, warn if a char * is cast to an int * on machines where integers can only be accessed at two- or four-byte boundaries. -Wwrite-strings Give string constants the type const char[_l_e_n_g_t_h] so GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 17 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) that copying the address of one into a non-const char * pointer will get a warning. These warnings will help you find at compile time code that can try to write into a string constant, but only if you have been very careful about using const in declarations and proto- types. Otherwise, it will just be a nuisance; this is why we did not make `-Wall' request these warnings. -Wconversion Warn if a prototype causes a type conversion that is different from what would happen to the same argument in the absence of a prototype. This includes conver- sions of fixed point to floating and vice versa, and conversions changing the width or signedness of a fixed point argument except when the same as the default pro- motion. -Waggregate-return Warn if any functions that return structures or unions are defined or called. (In languages where you can re- turn an array, this also elicits a warning.) -Wstrict-prototypes Warn if a function is declared or defined without specifying the argument types. (An old-style function definition is permitted without a warning if preceded by a declaration which specifies the argument types.) -Wmissing-prototypes Warn if a global function is defined without a previous prototype declaration. This warning is issued even if the definition itself provides a prototype. The aim is to detect global functions that fail to be declared in header files. -Wenum-clash (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) Warn when converting between different enumeration types. -Woverloaded-virtual (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) In a derived class, the definitions of vir- tual functions must match the type signature of a vir- tual function declared in the base class. Use this op- tion to request warnings when a derived class declares a function that may be an erroneous attempt to define a virtual function: that is, warn when a function with the same name as a virtual function in the base class, but with a type signature that doesn't match any virtu- al functions from the base class. -Winline Warn if a function can not be inlined, and either it GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 18 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) was declared as inline, or else the -finline-functions option was given. -Werror Treat warnings as errors; abort compilation after any warning. DEBUGGING OPTIONS GNU CC has various special options that are used for debug- ging either your program or GCC: -g Produce debugging information in the operating system's native format (for DBX or SDB or DWARF). GDB also can work with this debugging information. On most systems that use DBX format, `-g' enables use of extra debug- ging information that only GDB can use; if you want to control for certain whether to generate this informa- tion, use `-ggdb' or `-gdbx'. Unlike most other C compilers, GNU CC allows you to use `-g' with `-O'. The shortcuts taken by optimized code may occasionally produce surprising results: some vari- ables you declared may not exist at all; flow of con- trol may briefly move where you did not expect it; some statements may not be executed because they compute constant results or their values were already at hand; some statements may execute in different places because they were moved out of loops. Nevertheless it proves possible to debug optimized out- put. This makes it reasonable to use the optimizer for programs that might have bugs. The following options are useful when GNU CC is config- ured and compiled with the capability for more than one debugging format. -ggdb Produce debugging information in DBX format (if that is supported), including GDB extensions. -gdbx Produce debugging information in DBX format (if that is supported), without GDB extensions. -gsdb Produce debugging information in SDB format (if that is supported). -gdwarf Produce debugging information in DWARF format (if that is supported). GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 19 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) -g_l_e_v_e_l -ggdb_l_e_v_e_l -gdbx_l_e_v_e_l -gsdb_l_e_v_e_l -gdwarf_l_e_v_e_l Request debugging information and also use _l_e_v_e_l to specify how much information. The default level is 2. Level 1 produces minimal information, enough for making backtraces in parts of the program that you don't plan to debug. This includes descriptions of functions and external variables, but no information about local variables and no line numbers. -p Generate extra code to write profile information suit- able for the analysis program prof. -pg Generate extra code to write profile information suit- able for the analysis program gprof. -a Generate extra code to write profile information for basic blocks, which will record the number of times each basic block is executed. This data could be analyzed by a program like tcov. Note, however, that the format of the data is not what tcov expects. Even- tually GNU gprof should be extended to process this data. -d_l_e_t_t_e_r_s Says to make debugging dumps during compilation at times specified by _l_e_t_t_e_r_s. This is used for debugging the compiler. The file names for most of the dumps are made by appending a word to the source file name (e.g. `foo.c.rtl' or `foo.c.jump'). -dM Dump all macro definitions, at the end of preprocess- ing, and write no output. -dN Dump all macro names, at the end of preprocessing. -dD Dump all macro definitions, at the end of preprocess- ing, in addition to normal output. -dy Dump debugging information during parsing, to standard error. -dr Dump after RTL generation, to `_f_i_l_e.rtl'. -dx Just generate RTL for a function instead of compiling it. Usually used with `r'. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 20 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) -dj Dump after first jump optimization, to `_f_i_l_e.jump'. -ds Dump after CSE (including the jump optimization that sometimes follows CSE), to `_f_i_l_e.cse'. -dL Dump after loop optimization, to `_f_i_l_e.loop'. -dt Dump after the second CSE pass (including the jump op- timization that sometimes follows CSE), to `_f_i_l_e.cse2'. -df Dump after flow analysis, to `_f_i_l_e.flow'. -dc Dump after instruction combination, to `_f_i_l_e.combine'. -dS Dump after the first instruction scheduling pass, to `_f_i_l_e.sched'. -dl Dump after local register allocation, to `_f_i_l_e.lreg'. -dg Dump after global register allocation, to `_f_i_l_e.greg'. -dR Dump after the second instruction scheduling pass, to `_f_i_l_e.sched2'. -dJ Dump after last jump optimization, to `_f_i_l_e.jump2'. -dd Dump after delayed branch scheduling, to `_f_i_l_e.dbr'. -dk Dump after conversion from registers to stack, to `_f_i_l_e.stack'. -dm Print statistics on memory usage, at the end of the run, to standard error. -dp Annotate the assembler output with a comment indicating which pattern and alternative was used. -fpretend-float When running a cross-compiler, pretend that the target machine uses the same floating point format as the host machine. This causes incorrect output of the actual floating constants, but the actual instruction sequence will probably be the same as GNU CC would make when running on the target machine. -save-temps Store the usual ``temporary'' intermediate files per- manently; place them in the current directory and name them based on the source file. Thus, compiling `foo.c' with `-c -save-temps' would produce files `foo.cpp' and `foo.s', as well as `foo.o'. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 21 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) OPTIMIZATION OPTIONS These options control various sorts of optimizations: -O Optimize. Optimizing compilation takes somewhat more time, and a lot more memory for a large function. Without `-O', the compiler's goal is to reduce the cost of compilation and to make debugging produce the ex- pected results. Statements are independent: if you stop the program with a breakpoint between statements, you can then assign a new value to any variable or change the program counter to any other statement in the function and get exactly the results you would ex- pect from the source code. Without `-O', only variables declared register are al- located in registers. The resulting compiled code is a little worse than produced by PCC without `-O'. With `-O', the compiler tries to reduce code size and execution time. When you specify `-O', `-fthread-jumps' and `-fdelayed-branch' are turned on. On some machines other flags may also be turned on. -O2 Highly optimize. As compared to `-O', this option will increase both compilation time and the performance of the generated code. All `-f_f_l_a_g' options that control optimization are turned on when you specify `-O2', except `-funroll-loops' and `-funroll-all-loops'. Options of the form `-f_f_l_a_g' specify machine-independent flags. Most flags have both positive and negative forms; the negative form of `-ffoo' would be `-fno-foo'. The fol- lowing list shows only one form-the one which is not the de- fault. You can figure out the other form by either removing `no-' or adding it. -ffloat-store Do not store floating point variables in registers. This prevents undesirable excess precision on machines such as the 68000 where the floating registers (of the 68881) keep more precision than a double is supposed to have. For most programs, the excess precision does only good, but a few programs rely on the precise definition of IEEE floating point. Use `-ffloat-store' for such pro- grams. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 22 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) -fmemoize-lookups -fsave-memoized (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) These flags are used to get the compiler to compile programs faster using heuristics. They are not on by default since they are only effective about half the time. The other half of the time programs compile more slowly (and take more memory). The first time the compiler must build a call to a member function (or reference to a data member), it must (1) determine whether the class implements member functions of that name; (2) resolve which member func- tion to call (which involves figuring out what sorts of type conversions need to be made); and (3) check the visibility of the member function to the caller. All of this adds up to slower compilation. Normally, the second time a call is made to that member function (or reference to that data member), it must go through the same lengthy process again. This means that code like this cout << "This " << p << " has " << n << " legs.\n"; makes six passes through all three steps. By using a software cache, a ``hit'' significantly reduces this cost. Unfortunately, using the cache introduces anoth- er layer of mechanisms which must be implemented, and so incurs its own overhead. `-fmemoize-lookups' en- ables the software cache. Because access privileges (visibility) to members and member functions may differ from one function context to the next, g++ may need to flush the cache. With the `-fmemoize-lookups' flag, the cache is flushed after every function that is compiled. The `-fsave-memoized' flag enables the same software cache, but when the com- piler determines that the context of the last function compiled would yield the same access privileges of the next function to compile, it preserves the cache. This is most helpful when defining many member functions for the same class: with the exception of member functions which are friends of other classes, each member func- tion has exactly the same access privileges as every other, and the cache need not be flushed. -fno-default-inline (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) If `-fdefault-inline' is enabled then member functions defined inside class scope are com- piled inline by default; i.e., you don't need to add `inline' in front of the member function name. By po- pular demand, this option is now the default. To keep GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 23 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) GNU C++ from inlining these member functions, specify `-fno-default-inline'. -fno-defer-pop Always pop the arguments to each function call as soon as that function returns. For machines which must pop arguments after a function call, the compiler normally lets arguments accumulate on the stack for several function calls and pops them all at once. -fforce-mem Force memory operands to be copied into registers be- fore doing arithmetic on them. This may produce better code by making all memory references potential common subexpressions. When they are not common subexpres- sions, instruction combination should eliminate the separate register-load. I am interested in hearing about the difference this makes. -fforce-addr Force memory address constants to be copied into regis- ters before doing arithmetic on them. This may produce better code just as `-fforce-mem' may. I am interested in hearing about the difference this makes. -fomit-frame-pointer Don't keep the frame pointer in a register for func- tions that don't need one. This avoids the instruc- tions to save, set up and restore frame pointers; it also makes an extra register available in many func- tions. _I_t _a_l_s_o _m_a_k_e_s _d_e_b_u_g_g_i_n_g _i_m_p_o_s_s_i_b_l_e _o_n most machines. On some machines, such as the Vax, this flag has no ef- fect, because the standard calling sequence automati- cally handles the frame pointer and nothing is saved by pretending it doesn't exist. The machine-description macro FRAME_POINTER_REQUIRED controls whether a target machine supports this flag. -finline Pay attention the inline keyword. Normally the nega- tion of this option `-fno-inline' is used to keep the compiler from expanding any functions inline. However, the opposite effect may be desirable when compiling with `-g', since `-g' normally turns off all inline function expansion. -finline-functions Integrate all simple functions into their callers. The compiler heuristically decides which functions are sim- ple enough to be worth integrating in this way. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 24 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) If all calls to a given function are integrated, and the function is declared static, then GCC normally does not output the function as assembler code in its own right. -fcaller-saves Enable values to be allocated in registers that will be clobbered by function calls, by emitting extra instruc- tions to save and restore the registers around such calls. Such allocation is done only when it seems to result in better code than would otherwise be produced. This option is enabled by default on certain machines, usually those which have no call-preserved registers to use instead. -fkeep-inline-functions Even if all calls to a given function are integrated, and the function is declared static, nevertheless out- put a separate run-time callable version of the func- tion. -fno-function-cse Do not put function addresses in registers; make each instruction that calls a constant function contain the function's address explicitly. This option results in less efficient code, but some strange hacks that alter the assembler output may be confused by the optimizations performed when this op- tion is not used. The following options control specific optimizations. The `-O2' option turns on all of these optimizations except `-funroll-loops' and `-funroll-all-loops'. The `-O' option usually turns on the `-fthread-jumps' and `-fdelayed-branch' options, but specific machines may change the default optimizations. You can use the following flags in the rare cases when ``fine-tuning'' of optimizations to be performed is desired. -fstrength-reduce Perform the optimizations of loop strength reduction and elimination of iteration variables. -fthread-jumps Perform optimizations where we check to see if a jump branches to a location where another comparison sub- sumed by the first is found. If so, the first branch is redirected to either the destination of the second GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 25 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) branch or a point immediately following it, depending on whether the condition is known to be true or false. -funroll-loops Perform the optimization of loop unrolling. This is only done for loops whose number of iterations can be determined at compile time or run time. -funroll-all-loops Perform the optimization of loop unrolling. This is done for all loops. This usually makes programs run more slowly. -fcse-follow-jumps In common subexpression elimination, scan through jump instructions in certain cases. This is not as powerful as completely global CSE, but not as slow either. -frerun-cse-after-loop Re-run common subexpression elimination after loop op- timizations has been performed. -felide-constructors (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) Use this option to instruct the compiler to be smarter about when it can elide constructors. Without this flag, GNU C++ and cfront both generate ef- fectively the same code for: A foo (); A x (foo ()); // x initialized by `foo ()', no ctor called A y = foo (); // call to `foo ()' heads to temporary, // y is initialized from the temporary. Note the difference! With this flag, GNU C++ initial- izes `y' directly from the call to foo () without going through a temporary. -fexpensive-optimizations Perform a number of minor optimizations that are rela- tively expensive. -fdelayed-branch If supported for the target machine, attempt to reorder instructions to exploit instruction slots available after delayed branch instructions. -fschedule-insns If supported for the target machine, attempt to reorder instructions to eliminate execution stalls due to re- quired data being unavailable. This helps machines that have slow floating point or memory load instruc- tions by allowing other instructions to be issued until GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 26 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) the result of the load or floating point instruction is required. -fschedule-insns2 Similar to `-fschedule-insns', but requests an addi- tional pass of instruction scheduling after register allocation has been done. This is especially useful on machines with a relatively small number of registers and where memory load instructions take more than one cycle. TARGET OPTIONS By default, GNU CC compiles code for the same type of machine that you are using. However, it can also be in- stalled as a cross-compiler, to compile for some other type of machine. In fact, several different configurations of GNU CC, for different target machines, can be installed side by side. Then you specify which one to use with the `-b' option. In addition, older and newer versions of GNU CC can be in- stalled side by side. One of them (probably the newest) will be the default, but you may sometimes wish to use another. -b _m_a_c_h_i_n_e The argument _m_a_c_h_i_n_e specifies the target machine for compilation. This is useful when you have installed GNU CC as a cross-compiler. The value to use for _m_a_c_h_i_n_e is the same as was speci- fied as the machine type when configuring GNU CC as a cross-compiler. For example, if a cross-compiler was configured with `configure i386v', meaning to compile for an 80386 running System V, then you would specify `-b i386v' to run that cross compiler. When you do not specify `-b', it normally means to com- pile for the same type of machine that you are using. -V _v_e_r_s_i_o_n The argument _v_e_r_s_i_o_n specifies which version of GNU CC to run. This is useful when multiple versions are in- stalled. For example, _v_e_r_s_i_o_n might be `2.0', meaning to run GNU CC version 2.0. The default version, when you do not specify `-V', is controlled by the way GNU CC is installed. Normally, it will be a version that is recommended for general use. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 27 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) MACHINE DEPENDENT OPTIONS Each of the target machine types can have its own special options, starting with `-m', to choose among various hardware models or configurations-for example, 68010 vs 68020, floating coprocessor or none. A single installed version of the compiler can compile for any model or confi- guration, according to the options specified. These are the `-m' options defined for the 68000 series: -m68020 -mc68020 Generate output for a 68020 (rather than a 68000). This is the default if you use the unmodified sources. -m68000 -mc68000 Generate output for a 68000 (rather than a 68020). -m68881 Generate output containing 68881 instructions for floating point. This is the default if you use the un- modified sources. -mfpa Generate output containing Sun FPA instructions for floating point. -msoft-float Generate output containing library calls for floating point. _W_A_R_N_I_N_G: the requisite libraries are not part of GNU CC. Normally the facilities of the machine's usual C compiler are used, but this can't be done directly in cross-compilation. You must make your own arrangements to provide suitable library functions for cross-compilation. -mshort Consider type int to be 16 bits wide, like short int. -mnobitfield Do not use the bit-field instructions. `-m68000' im- plies `-mnobitfield'. -mbitfield Do use the bit-field instructions. `-m68020' implies `-mbitfield'. This is the default if you use the unmo- dified sources. -mrtd GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 28 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) Use a different function-calling convention, in which functions that take a fixed number of arguments return with the rtd instruction, which pops their arguments while returning. This saves one instruction in the caller since there is no need to pop the arguments there. This calling convention is incompatible with the one normally used on Unix, so you cannot use it if you need to call libraries compiled with the Unix compiler. Also, you must provide function prototypes for all functions that take variable numbers of arguments (in- cluding printf); otherwise incorrect code will be gen- erated for calls to those functions. In addition, seriously incorrect code will result if you call a function with too many arguments. (Normal- ly, extra arguments are harmlessly ignored.) The rtd instruction is supported by the 68010 and 68020 processors, but not by the 68000. These `-m' options are defined for the Vax: -munix Do not output certain jump instructions (aobleq and so on) that the Unix assembler for the Vax cannot handle across long ranges. -mgnu Do output those jump instructions, on the assumption that you will assemble with the GNU assembler. -mg Output code for g-format floating point numbers instead of d-format. These `-m' switches are supported on the Sparc: -mfpu Generate output containing floating point instructions. This is the default if you use the unmodified sources. -mno-epilogue Generate separate return instructions for return state- ments. This has both advantages and disadvantages; I don't recall what they are. These `-m' options are defined for the Convex: -mc1 Generate output for a C1. This is the default when the compiler is configured for a C1. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 29 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) -mc2 Generate output for a C2. This is the default when the compiler is configured for a C2. -margcount Generate code which puts an argument count in the word preceding each argument list. Some nonportable Convex and Vax programs need this word. (Debuggers don't, ex- cept for functions with variable-length argument lists; this info is in the symbol table.) -mnoargcount Omit the argument count word. This is the default if you use the unmodified sources. These `-m' options are defined for the AMD Am29000: -mdw Generate code that assumes the DW bit is set, i.e., that byte and halfword operations are directly support- ed by the hardware. This is the default. -mnodw Generate code that assumes the DW bit is not set. -mbw Generate code that assumes the system supports byte and halfword write operations. This is the default. -mnbw Generate code that assumes the systems does not support byte and halfword write operations. This implies `-mnodw'. -msmall Use a small memory model that assumes that all function addresses are either within a single 256 KB segment or at an absolute address of less than 256K. This allows the call instruction to be used instead of a const, consth, calli sequence. -mlarge Do not assume that the call instruction can be used; this is the default. -m29050 Generate code for the Am29050. -m29000 Generate code for the Am29000. This is the default. -mkernel-registers Generate references to registers gr64-gr95 instead of gr96-gr127. This option can be used when compiling kernel code that wants a set of global registers dis- GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 30 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) joint from that used by user-mode code. Note that when this option is used, register names in `-f' flags must use the normal, user-mode, names. -muser-registers Use the normal set of global registers, gr96-gr127. This is the default. -mstack-check Insert a call to __msp_check after each stack adjust- ment. This is often used for kernel code. These `-m' options are defined for Motorola 88K architec- tures: -mbig-pic Emit position-independent code, suitable for dynamic linking, even if branches need large displacements. Equivalent to the general-use option `-fPIC'. The general-use option `-fpic', by contrast, only emits valid 88k code if all branches involve small displace- ments. GCC does not emit position-independent code by default. -midentify-revision Include an ident directive in the assembler output recording the source file name, compiler name and ver- sion, timestamp, and compilation flags used. -mno-underscores In assembler output, emit symbol names without adding an underscore character at the beginning of each name. The default is to use an underscore as prefix on each name. -mno-check-zero-division -mcheck-zero-division Early models of the 88K architecture had problems with division by zero; in particular, many of them didn't trap. Use these options to avoid including (or to in- clude explicitly) additional code to detect division by zero and signal an exception. All GCC configurations for the 88K use `-mcheck-zero-division' by default. -mocs-debug-info -mno-ocs-debug-info Include (or omit) additional debugging information (about registers used in each stack frame) as specified in the 88Open Object Compatibility Standard, ``OCS''. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 31 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) This extra information is not needed by GDB. The de- fault for DG/UX, SVr4, and Delta 88 SVr3.2 is to in- clude this information; other 88k configurations omit this information by default. -mocs-frame-position -mno-ocs-frame-position Force (or do not require) register values to be stored in a particular place in stack frames, as specified in OCS. The DG/UX, Delta88 SVr3.2, and BCS configurations use `-mocs-frame-position'; other 88k configurations have the default `-mno-ocs-frame-position'. -moptimize-arg-area -mno-optimize-arg-area Control how to store function arguments in stack frames. `-moptimize-arg-area' saves space, but may break some debuggers (not GDB). `-mno-optimize-arg-area' conforms better to standards. By default GCC does not optimize the argument area. -mshort-data-_n_u_m _n_u_m Generate smaller data references by making them relative to r0, which allows loading a value using a single instruction (rather than the usual two). You control which data references are affected by specify- ing _n_u_m with this option. For example, if you specify `-mshort-data-512', then the data references affected are those involving displacements of less than 512 bytes. `-mshort-data-_n_u_m' is not effective for _n_u_m greater than 64K. -msvr4 -msvr3 Turn on (`-msvr4') or off (`-msvr3') compiler exten- sions related to System V release 4 (SVr4). This con- trols the following: o+ Which variant of the assembler syntax to emit (which you can select independently using `-mversion03.00'). o+ `-msvr4' makes the C preprocessor recognize `#pragma weak' o+ `-msvr4' makes GCC issue additional declaration direc- tives used in SVr4. `-msvr3' is the default for all m88K configurations except the SVr4 configuration. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 32 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) -mtrap-large-shift -mhandle-large-shift Include code to detect bit-shifts of more than 31 bits; respectively, trap such shifts or emit code to handle them properly. By default GCC makes no special provi- sion for large bit shifts. -muse-div-instruction Very early models of the 88K architecture didn't have a divide instruction, so GCC avoids that instruction by default. Use this option to specify that it's safe to use the divide instruction. -mversion-03.00 Use alternative assembler syntax for the assembler ver- sion corresponding to SVr4, but without enabling the other features triggered by `-svr4'. This is implied by `-svr4', is the default for the SVr4 configuration of GCC, and is permitted by the DG/UX configuration only if `-svr4' is also specified. The Delta 88 SVr3.2 configuration ignores this option. -mwarn-passed-structs Warn when a function passes a struct as an argument or result. Structure-passing conventions have changed during the evolution of the C language, and are often the source of portability problems. By default, GCC issues no such warning. These options are defined for the IBM RS6000: -mfp-in-toc -mno-fp-in-toc Control whether or not floating-point constants go in the Table of Contents (TOC), a table of all global variable and function addresses. By default GCC puts floating-point constants there; if the TOC overflows, `-mno-fp-in-toc' will reduce the size of the TOC, which may avoid the overflow. These `-m' options are defined for the IBM RT PC: -min-line-mul Use an in-line code sequence for integer multiplies. This is the default. -mcall-lib-mul Call lmul$$ for integer multiples. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 33 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) -mfull-fp-blocks Generate full-size floating point data blocks, includ- ing the minimum amount of scratch space recommended by IBM. This is the default. -mminimum-fp-blocks Do not include extra scratch space in floating point data blocks. This results in smaller code, but slower execution, since scratch space must be allocated dynam- ically. -mfp-arg-in-fpregs Use a calling sequence incompatible with the IBM cal- ling convention in which floating point arguments are passed in floating point registers. Note that varargs.h and stdargs.h will not work with floating point operands if this option is specified. -mfp-arg-in-gregs Use the normal calling convention for floating point arguments. This is the default. -mhc-struct-return Return structures of more than one word in memory, rather than in a register. This provides compatibility with the MetaWare HighC (hc) compiler. Use `-fpcc-struct-return' for compatibility with the Port- able C Compiler (pcc). -mnohc-struct-return Return some structures of more than one word in regis- ters, when convenient. This is the default. For com- patibility with the IBM-supplied compilers, use either `-fpcc-struct-return' or `-mhc-struct-return'. These `-m' options are defined for the MIPS family of com- puters: -mcpu=_c_p_u-_t_y_p_e Assume the defaults for the machine type _c_p_u-_t_y_p_e when scheduling instructions. The default _c_p_u-_t_y_p_e is de- fault, which picks the longest cycles times for any of the machines, in order that the code run at reasonable rates on all MIPS cpu's. Other choices for _c_p_u-_t_y_p_e are r2000, r3000, r4000, and r6000. While picking a specific _c_p_u-_t_y_p_e will schedule things appropriately for that particular chip, the compiler will not gen- erate any code that does not meet level 1 of the MIPS ISA (instruction set architecture) without the -mips2 or -mips3 switches being used. -mips2 GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 34 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) Issue instructions from level 2 of the MIPS ISA (branch likely, square root instructions). The -mcpu=r4000 or -mcpu=r6000 switch must be used in conjunction with -mips2. -mips3 Issue instructions from level 3 of the MIPS ISA (64 bit instructions). The -mcpu=r4000 switch must be used in conjunction with -mips2. -mint64 -mlong64 -mlonglong128 These options don't work at present. -mmips-as Generate code for the MIPS assembler, and invoke mips-tfile to add normal debug information. This is the default for all platforms except for the OSF/1 reference platform, using the OSF/rose object format. If any of the -ggdb, -gstabs, or -gstabs+ switches are used, the mips-tfile program will encapsulate the stabs within MIPS ECOFF. -mgas Generate code for the GNU assembler. This is the de- fault on the OSF/1 reference platform, using the OSF/rose object format. -mrnames -mno-rnames The -mrnames switch says to output code using the MIPS software names for the registers, instead of the hardware names (ie, a0 instead of $4). The GNU assem- bler does not support the -mrnames switch, and the MIPS assembler will be instructed to run the MIPS C prepro- cessor over the source file. The -mno-rnames switch is default. -mgpopt -mno-gpopt The -mgpopt switch says to write all of the data de- clarations before the instructions in the text section, to all the MIPS assembler to generate one word memory references instead of using two words for short global or static data items. This is on by default if optimi- zation is selected. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 35 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) -mstats -mno-stats For each non-inline function processed, the -mstats switch causes the compiler to emit one line to the standard error file to print statistics about the pro- gram (number of registers saved, stack size, etc.). -mmemcpy -mno-memcpy The -mmemcpy switch makes all block moves call the ap- propriate string function (memcpy or bcopy) instead of possibly generating inline code. -mmips-tfile -mno-mips-tfile The -mno-mips-tfile switch causes the compiler not postprocess the object file with the mips-tfile pro- gram, after the MIPS assembler has generated it to add debug support. If mips-tfile is not run, then no local variables will be available to the debugger. In addi- tion, stage2 and stage3 objects will have the temporary file names passed to the assembler embedded in the ob- ject file, which means the objects will not compare the same. -msoft-float Generate output containing library calls for floating point. _W_A_R_N_I_N_G: the requisite libraries are not part of GNU CC. Normally the facilities of the machine's usual C compiler are used, but this can't be done directly in cross-compilation. You must make your own arrangements to provide suitable library functions for cross-compilation. -mhard-float Generate output containing floating point instructions. This is the default if you use the unmodified sources. -mfp64 Assume that the FR bit in the status word is on, and that there are 32 64-bit floating point registers, in- stead of 32 32-bit floating point registers. You must also specify the -mcpu=r4000 and -mips3 switches. -mfp32 Assume that there are 32 32-bit floating point regis- ters. This is the default. -mabicalls GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 36 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) The -mabicalls switch says to emit the .abicalls, .cpload, and .cprestore pseudo operations that some System V.4 ports use for position independent code. -mhalf-pic -mno-half-pic The -mhalf-pic switch says to put pointers to extern references into the data section and load them up, rather than put the references in the text section. This option does not work at present. -G_n_u_m Put global and static items less than or equal to _n_u_m bytes into the small data or bss sections instead of the normal data or bss section. This allows the assembler to emit one word memory reference instructions based on the global pointer (gp or $28), instead of the normal two words used. By default, _n_u_m is 8 when the MIPS assem- bler is used, and 0 when the GNU assembler is used. The -G_n_u_m switch is also passed to the assembler and linker. All modules should be compiled with the same -G_n_u_m value. CODE GENERATION OPTIONS These machine-independent options control the interface con- ventions used in code generation. Most of them begin with `-f'. These options have both posi- tive and negative forms; the negative form of `-ffoo' would be `-fno-foo'. In the table below, only one of the forms is listed-the one which is not the default. You can figure out the other form by either removing `no-' or adding it. +e_N (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) control whether virtual function defini- tions in classes are used to generate code, or only to define interfaces for their callers. These options are provided for compatibility with cfront 1.x usage; the recommended GNU C++ usage is to use #pragma interface and #pragma implementation, instead. With `+e0', virtual function definitions in classes are declared extern; the declaration is used only as an in- terface specification, not to generate code for the virtual functions (in this compilation). With `+e1', g++ actually generates the code implement- ing virtual functions defined in the code, and makes them publicly visible. -fnonnull-objects (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) Normally, GNU C++ makes conservative as- sumptions about objects reached through references. For example, the compiler must check that `a' is not GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 37 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) null in code like the following: obj &a = g (); a.f (2); Checking that references of this sort have non-null values requires extra code, however, and it is unneces- sary for many programs. You can use `-fnonnull-objects' to omit the checks for null, if your program doesn't require the default checking. -fpcc-struct-return Use the same convention for returning struct and union values that is used by the usual C compiler on your system. This convention is less efficient for small structures, and on many machines it fails to be reen- trant; but it has the advantage of allowing intercalla- bility between GCC-compiled code and PCC-compiled code. -fshort-enums Allocate to an enum type only as many bytes as it needs for the declared range of possible values. Specifical- ly, the enum type will be equivalent to the smallest integer type which has enough room. -fshort-double Use the same size for double as for float . -fshared-data Requests that the data and non-const variables of this compilation be shared data rather than private data. The distinction makes sense only on certain operating systems, where shared data is shared between processes running the same program, while private data exists in one copy per process. -fno-common Allocate even uninitialized global variables in the bss section of the object file, rather than generating them as common blocks. This has the effect that if the same variable is declared (without extern) in two different compilations, you will get an error when you link them. The only reason this might be useful is if you wish to verify that the program will work on other systems which always work this way. -fvolatile Consider all memory references through pointers to be volatile. -fpic If supported for the target machines, generate position-independent code, suitable for use in a shared library. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 38 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) -fPIC If supported for the target machine, emit position- independent code, suitable for dynamic linking, even if branches need large displacements. -ffixed-_r_e_g Treat the register named _r_e_g as a fixed register; gen- erated code should never refer to it (except perhaps as a stack pointer, frame pointer or in some other fixed role). _r_e_g must be the name of a register. The register names accepted are machine-specific and are defined in the REGISTER_NAMES macro in the machine description macro file. This flag does not have a negative form, because it specifies a three-way choice. -fcall-used-_r_e_g Treat the register named _r_e_g as an allocatable regis- ter that is clobbered by function calls. It may be al- located for temporaries or variables that do not live across a call. Functions compiled this way will not save and restore the register _r_e_g. Use of this flag for a register that has a fixed per- vasive role in the machine's execution model, such as the stack pointer or frame pointer, will produce disas- trous results. This flag does not have a negative form, because it specifies a three-way choice. -fcall-saved-_r_e_g Treat the register named _r_e_g as an allocatable regis- ter saved by functions. It may be allocated even for temporaries or variables that live across a call. Functions compiled this way will save and restore the register _r_e_g if they use it. Use of this flag for a register that has a fixed per- vasive role in the machine's execution model, such as the stack pointer or frame pointer, will produce disas- trous results. A different sort of disaster will result from the use of this flag for a register in which function values may be returned. This flag does not have a negative form, because it specifies a three-way choice. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 39 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) -fgnu-binutils -fno-gnu-binutils (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) `-fgnu-binutils ' (the default for most, but not all, platforms) makes GNU C++ emit extra infor- mation for static initialization and finalization. This information has to be passed from the assembler to the GNU linker. Some assemblers won't pass this infor- mation; you must either use GNU as or specify the op- tion `-fno-gnu-binutils'. With `-fno-gnu-binutils', you must use the program col- lect (part of the GCC distribution) for linking. PRAGMAS Two `#pragma' directives are supported for GNU C++, to per- mit using the same header file for two purposes: as a defin- ition of interfaces to a given object class, and as the full definition of the contents of that object class. #pragma interface (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) Use this directive in header files that de- fine object classes, to save space in most of the ob- ject files that use those classes. Normally, local copies of certain information (backup copies of inline member functions, debugging information, and the inter- nal tables that implement virtual functions) must be kept in each object file that includes class defini- tions. You can use this pragma to avoid such duplica- tion. When a header file containing `#pragma inter- face' is included in a compilation, this auxiliary in- formation will not be generated (unless the main input source file itself uses `#pragma implementation'). In- stead, the object files will contain references to be resolved at link time. #pragma implementation #pragma implementation "_o_b_j_e_c_t_s.h" (_C++ _o_n_l_y.) Use this pragma in a main input file, when you want full output from included header files to be generated (and made globally visible). The included header file, in turn, should use `#pragma interface'. Backup copies of inline member functions, debugging in- formation, and the internal tables used to implement virtual functions are all generated in implementation files. If you use `#pragma implementation' with no argument, it applies to an include file with the same basename as your source file; for example, in `allclass.cc', `#pragma implementation' by itself is equivalent to GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 40 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) `#pragma implementation "allclass.h"'. Use the string argument if you want a single implementation file to include code from multiple header files. There is no way to split up the contents of a single header file into multiple implementation files. FILES file.c C source file file.h C header (preprocessor) file file.i preprocessed C source file file.C C++ source file file.cc C++ source file file.cxx C++ source file file.m Objective-C source file file.s assembly language file file.o object file a.out link edited output _T_M_P_D_I_R/cc* temporary files _L_I_B_D_I_R/cpp preprocessor _L_I_B_D_I_R/cc1 compiler for C _L_I_B_D_I_R/cc1plus compiler for C++ _L_I_B_D_I_R/collect linker front end needed on some machines _L_I_B_D_I_R/libgcc.a GCC subroutine library /lib/crt[01n].o start-up routine _L_I_B_D_I_R/ccrt0 additional start-up routine for C++ /lib/libc.a standard C library, see _i_n_t_r_o(3) /usr/include standard directory for #include files _L_I_B_D_I_R/include standard gcc directory for #include files _L_I_B_D_I_R/g++-include additional g++ directory for #include _L_I_B_D_I_R is usually /usr/local/lib/_m_a_c_h_i_n_e/_v_e_r_s_i_o_n. _T_M_P_D_I_R comes from the environment variable TMPDIR (default /usr/tmp if available, else /tmp). SEE ALSO cpp(1), as(1), ld(1), gdb(1), adb(1), dbx(1), sdb(1). `gcc', `cpp', `as',`ld', and `gdb' entries in info. _U_s_i_n_g _a_n_d _P_o_r_t_i_n_g _G_N_U _C_C (_f_o_r _v_e_r_s_i_o_n _2._0), Richard M. Stallman, November 1990; _T_h_e _C _P_r_e_p_r_o_c_e_s_s_o_r, Richard M. Stallman, July 1990; _U_s_i_n_g _G_D_B: _A _G_u_i_d_e _t_o _t_h_e _G_N_U _S_o_u_r_c_e- _L_e_v_e_l _D_e_b_u_g_g_e_r, Richard M. Stallman and Roland H. Pesch, De- cember 1991; _U_s_i_n_g _a_s: _t_h_e _G_N_U _A_s_s_e_m_b_l_e_r, Dean Elsner, Jay Fenlason & friends, March 1991; _g_l_d: _t_h_e _G_N_U _l_i_n_k_e_r, Steve Chamberlain and Roland Pesch, April 1991. BUGS Report bugs to bug-gcc@prep.ai.mit.edu. Bugs tend actually to be fixed if they can be isolated, so it is in your in- terest to report them in such a way that they can be easily reproduced. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 41 GCC(1) GNU Tools GCC(1) COPYING Copyright (c) 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the copyright notice and this per- mission notice are preserved on all copies. Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified ver- sions of this manual under the conditions for verbatim copy- ing, provided that the entire resulting derived work is dis- tributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this one. Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual into another language, under the above condi- tions for modified versions, except that this permission no- tice may be included in translations approved by the Free Software Foundation instead of in the original English. AUTHORS See the GNU CC Manual for the contributors to GNU CC. GNU Tools Last change: 27dec1991 42 .. .