Provided by: gcc-4.8_4.8.5-4ubuntu2_amd64 
NAME
gcc - GNU project C and C++ compiler
SYNOPSIS
gcc [-c|-S|-E] [-std=standard]
[-g] [-pg] [-Olevel]
[-Wwarn...] [-Wpedantic]
[-Idir...] [-Ldir...]
[-Dmacro[=defn]...] [-Umacro]
[-foption...] [-mmachine-option...]
[-o outfile] [@file] infile...
Only the most useful options are listed here; see below for the remainder. g++ accepts mostly the same
options as gcc.
DESCRIPTION
When you invoke GCC, it normally does preprocessing, compilation, assembly and linking. The "overall
options" allow you to stop this process at an intermediate stage. For example, the -c option says not to
run the linker. Then the output consists of object files output by the assembler.
Other options are passed on to one stage of processing. Some options control the preprocessor and others
the compiler itself. Yet other options control the assembler and linker; most of these are not
documented here, since you rarely need to use any of them.
Most of the command-line options that you can use with GCC are useful for C programs; when an option is
only useful with another language (usually C++), the explanation says so explicitly. If the description
for a particular option does not mention a source language, you can use that option with all supported
languages.
The gcc program accepts options and file names as operands. Many options have multi-letter names;
therefore multiple single-letter options may not be grouped: -dv is very different from -d -v.
You can mix options and other arguments. For the most part, the order you use doesn't matter. Order
does matter when you use several options of the same kind; for example, if you specify -L more than once,
the directories are searched in the order specified. Also, the placement of the -l option is
significant.
Many options have long names starting with -f or with -W---for example, -fmove-loop-invariants, -Wformat
and so on. Most of these have both positive and negative forms; the negative form of -ffoo is -fno-foo.
This manual documents only one of these two forms, whichever one is not the default.
OPTIONS
Option Summary
Here is a summary of all the options, grouped by type. Explanations are in the following sections.
Overall Options
-c -S -E -o file -no-canonical-prefixes -pipe -pass-exit-codes -x language -v -###
--help[=class[,...]] --target-help --version -wrapper @file -fplugin=file -fplugin-arg-name=arg
-fdump-ada-spec[-slim] -fada-spec-parent=unit -fdump-go-spec=file
C Language Options
-ansi -std=standard -fgnu89-inline -aux-info filename -fallow-parameterless-variadic-functions
-fno-asm -fno-builtin -fno-builtin-function -fhosted -ffreestanding -fopenmp -fms-extensions
-fplan9-extensions -trigraphs -traditional -traditional-cpp -fallow-single-precision
-fcond-mismatch -flax-vector-conversions -fsigned-bitfields -fsigned-char -funsigned-bitfields
-funsigned-char
C++ Language Options
-fabi-version=n -fno-access-control -fcheck-new -fconstexpr-depth=n -ffriend-injection
-fno-elide-constructors -fno-enforce-eh-specs -ffor-scope -fno-for-scope -fno-gnu-keywords
-fno-implicit-templates -fno-implicit-inline-templates -fno-implement-inlines -fms-extensions
-fno-nonansi-builtins -fnothrow-opt -fno-operator-names -fno-optional-diags -fpermissive
-fno-pretty-templates -frepo -fno-rtti -fstats -ftemplate-backtrace-limit=n -ftemplate-depth=n
-fno-threadsafe-statics -fuse-cxa-atexit -fno-weak -nostdinc++ -fno-default-inline
-fvisibility-inlines-hidden -fvisibility-ms-compat -fext-numeric-literals -Wabi -Wconversion-null
-Wctor-dtor-privacy -Wdelete-non-virtual-dtor -Wliteral-suffix -Wnarrowing -Wnoexcept
-Wnon-virtual-dtor -Wreorder -Weffc++ -Wstrict-null-sentinel -Wno-non-template-friend
-Wold-style-cast -Woverloaded-virtual -Wno-pmf-conversions -Wsign-promo
Objective-C and Objective-C++ Language Options
-fconstant-string-class=class-name -fgnu-runtime -fnext-runtime -fno-nil-receivers
-fobjc-abi-version=n -fobjc-call-cxx-cdtors -fobjc-direct-dispatch -fobjc-exceptions -fobjc-gc
-fobjc-nilcheck -fobjc-std=objc1 -freplace-objc-classes -fzero-link -gen-decls -Wassign-intercept
-Wno-protocol -Wselector -Wstrict-selector-match -Wundeclared-selector
Language Independent Options
-fmessage-length=n -fdiagnostics-show-location=[once|every-line] -fno-diagnostics-show-option
-fno-diagnostics-show-caret
Warning Options
-fsyntax-only -fmax-errors=n -Wpedantic -pedantic-errors -w -Wextra -Wall -Waddress
-Waggregate-return -Waggressive-loop-optimizations -Warray-bounds -Wno-attributes
-Wno-builtin-macro-redefined -Wc++-compat -Wc++11-compat -Wcast-align -Wcast-qual -Wchar-subscripts
-Wclobbered -Wcomment -Wconversion -Wcoverage-mismatch -Wno-cpp -Wno-deprecated
-Wno-deprecated-declarations -Wdisabled-optimization -Wno-div-by-zero -Wdouble-promotion -Wempty-body
-Wenum-compare -Wno-endif-labels -Werror -Werror=* -Wfatal-errors -Wfloat-equal -Wformat
-Wformat=2 -Wno-format-contains-nul -Wno-format-extra-args -Wformat-nonliteral -Wformat-security
-Wformat-y2k -Wframe-larger-than=len -Wno-free-nonheap-object -Wjump-misses-init -Wignored-qualifiers
-Wimplicit -Wimplicit-function-declaration -Wimplicit-int -Winit-self -Winline
-Wmaybe-uninitialized -Wno-int-to-pointer-cast -Wno-invalid-offsetof -Winvalid-pch -Wlarger-than=len
-Wunsafe-loop-optimizations -Wlogical-op -Wlong-long -Wmain -Wmaybe-uninitialized -Wmissing-braces
-Wmissing-field-initializers -Wmissing-include-dirs -Wno-mudflap -Wno-multichar -Wnonnull
-Wno-overflow -Woverlength-strings -Wpacked -Wpacked-bitfield-compat -Wpadded -Wparentheses
-Wpedantic-ms-format -Wno-pedantic-ms-format -Wpointer-arith -Wno-pointer-to-int-cast
-Wredundant-decls -Wno-return-local-addr -Wreturn-type -Wsequence-point -Wshadow -Wsign-compare
-Wsign-conversion -Wsizeof-pointer-memaccess -Wstack-protector -Wstack-usage=len -Wstrict-aliasing
-Wstrict-aliasing=n -Wstrict-overflow -Wstrict-overflow=n
-Wsuggest-attribute=[pure|const|noreturn|format] -Wmissing-format-attribute -Wswitch
-Wswitch-default -Wswitch-enum -Wsync-nand -Wsystem-headers -Wtrampolines -Wtrigraphs
-Wtype-limits -Wundef -Wuninitialized -Wunknown-pragmas -Wno-pragmas -Wunsuffixed-float-constants
-Wunused -Wunused-function -Wunused-label -Wunused-local-typedefs -Wunused-parameter
-Wno-unused-result -Wunused-value -Wunused-variable -Wunused-but-set-parameter
-Wunused-but-set-variable -Wuseless-cast -Wvariadic-macros -Wvector-operation-performance -Wvla
-Wvolatile-register-var -Wwrite-strings -Wzero-as-null-pointer-constant
C and Objective-C-only Warning Options
-Wbad-function-cast -Wmissing-declarations -Wmissing-parameter-type -Wmissing-prototypes
-Wnested-externs -Wold-style-declaration -Wold-style-definition -Wstrict-prototypes -Wtraditional
-Wtraditional-conversion -Wdeclaration-after-statement -Wpointer-sign
Debugging Options
-dletters -dumpspecs -dumpmachine -dumpversion -fsanitize=style -fdbg-cnt-list -fdbg-cnt=counter-
value-list -fdisable-ipa-pass_name -fdisable-rtl-pass_name -fdisable-rtl-pass-name=range-list
-fdisable-tree-pass_name -fdisable-tree-pass-name=range-list -fdump-noaddr -fdump-unnumbered
-fdump-unnumbered-links -fdump-translation-unit[-n] -fdump-class-hierarchy[-n] -fdump-ipa-all
-fdump-ipa-cgraph -fdump-ipa-inline -fdump-passes -fdump-statistics -fdump-tree-all
-fdump-tree-original[-n] -fdump-tree-optimized[-n] -fdump-tree-cfg -fdump-tree-alias -fdump-tree-ch
-fdump-tree-ssa[-n] -fdump-tree-pre[-n] -fdump-tree-ccp[-n] -fdump-tree-dce[-n]
-fdump-tree-gimple[-raw] -fdump-tree-mudflap[-n] -fdump-tree-dom[-n] -fdump-tree-dse[-n]
-fdump-tree-phiprop[-n] -fdump-tree-phiopt[-n] -fdump-tree-forwprop[-n] -fdump-tree-copyrename[-n]
-fdump-tree-nrv -fdump-tree-vect -fdump-tree-sink -fdump-tree-sra[-n] -fdump-tree-forwprop[-n]
-fdump-tree-fre[-n] -fdump-tree-vrp[-n] -ftree-vectorizer-verbose=n -fdump-tree-storeccp[-n]
-fdump-final-insns=file -fcompare-debug[=opts] -fcompare-debug-second -feliminate-dwarf2-dups
-fno-eliminate-unused-debug-types -feliminate-unused-debug-symbols -femit-class-debug-always
-fenable-kind-pass -fenable-kind-pass=range-list -fdebug-types-section -fmem-report-wpa -fmem-report
-fpre-ipa-mem-report -fpost-ipa-mem-report -fprofile-arcs -fopt-info -fopt-info-options[=file]
-frandom-seed=string -fsched-verbose=n -fsel-sched-verbose -fsel-sched-dump-cfg
-fsel-sched-pipelining-verbose -fstack-usage -ftest-coverage -ftime-report -fvar-tracking
-fvar-tracking-assignments -fvar-tracking-assignments-toggle -g -glevel -gtoggle -gcoff
-gdwarf-version -ggdb -grecord-gcc-switches -gno-record-gcc-switches -gstabs -gstabs+
-gstrict-dwarf -gno-strict-dwarf -gvms -gxcoff -gxcoff+ -fno-merge-debug-strings
-fno-dwarf2-cfi-asm -fdebug-prefix-map=old=new -femit-struct-debug-baseonly
-femit-struct-debug-reduced -femit-struct-debug-detailed[=spec-list] -p -pg
-print-file-name=library -print-libgcc-file-name -print-multi-directory -print-multi-lib
-print-multi-os-directory -print-prog-name=program -print-search-dirs -Q -print-sysroot
-print-sysroot-headers-suffix -save-temps -save-temps=cwd -save-temps=obj -time[=file]
Optimization Options
-faggressive-loop-optimizations -falign-functions[=n] -falign-jumps[=n] -falign-labels[=n]
-falign-loops[=n] -fassociative-math -fauto-inc-dec -fbranch-probabilities
-fbranch-target-load-optimize -fbranch-target-load-optimize2 -fbtr-bb-exclusive -fcaller-saves
-fcheck-data-deps -fcombine-stack-adjustments -fconserve-stack -fcompare-elim -fcprop-registers
-fcrossjumping -fcse-follow-jumps -fcse-skip-blocks -fcx-fortran-rules -fcx-limited-range
-fdata-sections -fdce -fdelayed-branch -fdelete-null-pointer-checks -fdevirtualize -fdse
-fearly-inlining -fipa-sra -fexpensive-optimizations -ffat-lto-objects -ffast-math -ffinite-math-only
-ffloat-store -fexcess-precision=style -fforward-propagate -ffp-contract=style -ffunction-sections
-fgcse -fgcse-after-reload -fgcse-las -fgcse-lm -fgraphite-identity -fgcse-sm -fhoist-adjacent-loads
-fif-conversion -fif-conversion2 -findirect-inlining -finline-functions
-finline-functions-called-once -finline-limit=n -finline-small-functions -fipa-cp -fipa-cp-clone
-fipa-pta -fipa-profile -fipa-pure-const -fipa-reference -fira-algorithm=algorithm
-fira-region=region -fira-hoist-pressure -fira-loop-pressure -fno-ira-share-save-slots
-fno-ira-share-spill-slots -fira-verbose=n -fivopts -fkeep-inline-functions -fkeep-static-consts
-floop-block -floop-interchange -floop-strip-mine -floop-nest-optimize -floop-parallelize-all -flto
-flto-compression-level -flto-partition=alg -flto-report -fmerge-all-constants -fmerge-constants
-fmodulo-sched -fmodulo-sched-allow-regmoves -fmove-loop-invariants fmudflap -fmudflapir -fmudflapth
-fno-branch-count-reg -fno-default-inline -fno-defer-pop -fno-function-cse
-fno-guess-branch-probability -fno-inline -fno-math-errno -fno-peephole -fno-peephole2
-fno-sched-interblock -fno-sched-spec -fno-signed-zeros -fno-toplevel-reorder -fno-trapping-math
-fno-zero-initialized-in-bss -fomit-frame-pointer -foptimize-register-move -foptimize-sibling-calls
-fpartial-inlining -fpeel-loops -fpredictive-commoning -fprefetch-loop-arrays -fprofile-report
-fprofile-correction -fprofile-dir=path -fprofile-generate -fprofile-generate=path -fprofile-use
-fprofile-use=path -fprofile-values -freciprocal-math -free -fregmove -frename-registers
-freorder-blocks -freorder-blocks-and-partition -freorder-functions -frerun-cse-after-loop
-freschedule-modulo-scheduled-loops -frounding-math -fsched2-use-superblocks -fsched-pressure
-fsched-spec-load -fsched-spec-load-dangerous -fsched-stalled-insns-dep[=n] -fsched-stalled-insns[=n]
-fsched-group-heuristic -fsched-critical-path-heuristic -fsched-spec-insn-heuristic
-fsched-rank-heuristic -fsched-last-insn-heuristic -fsched-dep-count-heuristic -fschedule-insns
-fschedule-insns2 -fsection-anchors -fselective-scheduling -fselective-scheduling2
-fsel-sched-pipelining -fsel-sched-pipelining-outer-loops -fshrink-wrap -fsignaling-nans
-fsingle-precision-constant -fsplit-ivs-in-unroller -fsplit-wide-types -fstack-protector
-fstack-protector-all -fstrict-aliasing -fstrict-overflow -fthread-jumps -ftracer -ftree-bit-ccp
-ftree-builtin-call-dce -ftree-ccp -ftree-ch -ftree-coalesce-inline-vars -ftree-coalesce-vars
-ftree-copy-prop -ftree-copyrename -ftree-dce -ftree-dominator-opts -ftree-dse -ftree-forwprop
-ftree-fre -ftree-loop-if-convert -ftree-loop-if-convert-stores -ftree-loop-im -ftree-phiprop
-ftree-loop-distribution -ftree-loop-distribute-patterns -ftree-loop-ivcanon -ftree-loop-linear
-ftree-loop-optimize -ftree-parallelize-loops=n -ftree-pre -ftree-partial-pre -ftree-pta
-ftree-reassoc -ftree-sink -ftree-slsr -ftree-sra -ftree-switch-conversion -ftree-tail-merge
-ftree-ter -ftree-vect-loop-version -ftree-vectorize -ftree-vrp -funit-at-a-time -funroll-all-loops
-funroll-loops -funsafe-loop-optimizations -funsafe-math-optimizations -funswitch-loops
-fvariable-expansion-in-unroller -fvect-cost-model -fvpt -fweb -fwhole-program -fwpa -fuse-ld=linker
-fuse-linker-plugin --param name=value -O -O0 -O1 -O2 -O3 -Os -Ofast -Og
Preprocessor Options
-Aquestion=answer -A-question[=answer] -C -dD -dI -dM -dN -Dmacro[=defn] -E -H -idirafter dir
-include file -imacros file -iprefix file -iwithprefix dir -iwithprefixbefore dir -isystem dir
-imultilib dir -isysroot dir -M -MM -MF -MG -MP -MQ -MT -nostdinc -P -fdebug-cpp
-ftrack-macro-expansion -fworking-directory -remap -trigraphs -undef -Umacro -Wp,option
-Xpreprocessor option -no-integrated-cpp
Assembler Option
-Wa,option -Xassembler option
Linker Options
object-file-name -llibrary -nostartfiles -nodefaultlibs -nostdlib -pie -rdynamic -s -static
-static-libgcc -static-libstdc++ -static-libasan -static-libtsan -shared -shared-libgcc -symbolic -T
script -Wl,option -Xlinker option -u symbol
Directory Options
-Bprefix -Idir -iplugindir=dir -iquotedir -Ldir -specs=file -I- --sysroot=dir --no-sysroot-suffix
Machine Dependent Options
AArch64 Options -mbig-endian -mlittle-endian -mgeneral-regs-only -mcmodel=tiny -mcmodel=small
-mcmodel=large -mstrict-align -momit-leaf-frame-pointer -mno-omit-leaf-frame-pointer
-mtls-dialect=desc -mtls-dialect=traditional -mfix-cortex-a53-835769 -mno-fix-cortex-a53-835769
-march=name -mcpu=name -mtune=name
Adapteva Epiphany Options -mhalf-reg-file -mprefer-short-insn-regs -mbranch-cost=num -mcmove
-mnops=num -msoft-cmpsf -msplit-lohi -mpost-inc -mpost-modify -mstack-offset=num -mround-nearest
-mlong-calls -mshort-calls -msmall16 -mfp-mode=mode -mvect-double -max-vect-align=num
-msplit-vecmove-early -m1reg-reg
ARM Options -mapcs-frame -mno-apcs-frame -mabi=name -mapcs-stack-check -mno-apcs-stack-check
-mapcs-float -mno-apcs-float -mapcs-reentrant -mno-apcs-reentrant -msched-prolog -mno-sched-prolog
-mlittle-endian -mbig-endian -mwords-little-endian -mfloat-abi=name -mfp16-format=name
-mthumb-interwork -mno-thumb-interwork -mcpu=name -march=name -mfpu=name
-mstructure-size-boundary=n -mabort-on-noreturn -mlong-calls -mno-long-calls -msingle-pic-base
-mno-single-pic-base -mpic-register=reg -mnop-fun-dllimport -mpoke-function-name -mthumb -marm
-mtpcs-frame -mtpcs-leaf-frame -mcaller-super-interworking -mcallee-super-interworking -mtp=name
-mtls-dialect=dialect -mword-relocations -mfix-cortex-m3-ldrd -munaligned-access
AVR Options -mmcu=mcu -maccumulate-args -mbranch-cost=cost -mcall-prologues -mint8 -mno-interrupts
-mrelax -mstrict-X -mtiny-stack -Waddr-space-convert
Blackfin Options -mcpu=cpu[-sirevision] -msim -momit-leaf-frame-pointer -mno-omit-leaf-frame-pointer
-mspecld-anomaly -mno-specld-anomaly -mcsync-anomaly -mno-csync-anomaly -mlow-64k -mno-low64k
-mstack-check-l1 -mid-shared-library -mno-id-shared-library -mshared-library-id=n
-mleaf-id-shared-library -mno-leaf-id-shared-library -msep-data -mno-sep-data -mlong-calls
-mno-long-calls -mfast-fp -minline-plt -mmulticore -mcorea -mcoreb -msdram -micplb
C6X Options -mbig-endian -mlittle-endian -march=cpu -msim -msdata=sdata-type
CRIS Options -mcpu=cpu -march=cpu -mtune=cpu -mmax-stack-frame=n -melinux-stacksize=n -metrax4
-metrax100 -mpdebug -mcc-init -mno-side-effects -mstack-align -mdata-align -mconst-align
-m32-bit -m16-bit -m8-bit -mno-prologue-epilogue -mno-gotplt -melf -maout -melinux -mlinux
-sim -sim2 -mmul-bug-workaround -mno-mul-bug-workaround
CR16 Options -mmac -mcr16cplus -mcr16c -msim -mint32 -mbit-ops -mdata-model=model
Darwin Options -all_load -allowable_client -arch -arch_errors_fatal -arch_only -bind_at_load
-bundle -bundle_loader -client_name -compatibility_version -current_version -dead_strip
-dependency-file -dylib_file -dylinker_install_name -dynamic -dynamiclib -exported_symbols_list
-filelist -flat_namespace -force_cpusubtype_ALL -force_flat_namespace -headerpad_max_install_names
-iframework -image_base -init -install_name -keep_private_externs -multi_module -multiply_defined
-multiply_defined_unused -noall_load -no_dead_strip_inits_and_terms -nofixprebinding -nomultidefs
-noprebind -noseglinkedit -pagezero_size -prebind -prebind_all_twolevel_modules -private_bundle
-read_only_relocs -sectalign -sectobjectsymbols -whyload -seg1addr -sectcreate -sectobjectsymbols
-sectorder -segaddr -segs_read_only_addr -segs_read_write_addr -seg_addr_table
-seg_addr_table_filename -seglinkedit -segprot -segs_read_only_addr -segs_read_write_addr
-single_module -static -sub_library -sub_umbrella -twolevel_namespace -umbrella -undefined
-unexported_symbols_list -weak_reference_mismatches -whatsloaded -F -gused -gfull
-mmacosx-version-min=version -mkernel -mone-byte-bool
DEC Alpha Options -mno-fp-regs -msoft-float -mieee -mieee-with-inexact -mieee-conformant
-mfp-trap-mode=mode -mfp-rounding-mode=mode -mtrap-precision=mode -mbuild-constants -mcpu=cpu-type
-mtune=cpu-type -mbwx -mmax -mfix -mcix -mfloat-vax -mfloat-ieee -mexplicit-relocs -msmall-data
-mlarge-data -msmall-text -mlarge-text -mmemory-latency=time
FR30 Options -msmall-model -mno-lsim
FRV Options -mgpr-32 -mgpr-64 -mfpr-32 -mfpr-64 -mhard-float -msoft-float -malloc-cc -mfixed-cc
-mdword -mno-dword -mdouble -mno-double -mmedia -mno-media -mmuladd -mno-muladd -mfdpic
-minline-plt -mgprel-ro -multilib-library-pic -mlinked-fp -mlong-calls -malign-labels
-mlibrary-pic -macc-4 -macc-8 -mpack -mno-pack -mno-eflags -mcond-move -mno-cond-move
-moptimize-membar -mno-optimize-membar -mscc -mno-scc -mcond-exec -mno-cond-exec -mvliw-branch
-mno-vliw-branch -mmulti-cond-exec -mno-multi-cond-exec -mnested-cond-exec -mno-nested-cond-exec
-mtomcat-stats -mTLS -mtls -mcpu=cpu
GNU/Linux Options -mglibc -muclibc -mbionic -mandroid -tno-android-cc -tno-android-ld
H8/300 Options -mrelax -mh -ms -mn -mexr -mno-exr -mint32 -malign-300
HPPA Options -march=architecture-type -mbig-switch -mdisable-fpregs -mdisable-indexing
-mfast-indirect-calls -mgas -mgnu-ld -mhp-ld -mfixed-range=register-range -mjump-in-delay
-mlinker-opt -mlong-calls -mlong-load-store -mno-big-switch -mno-disable-fpregs
-mno-disable-indexing -mno-fast-indirect-calls -mno-gas -mno-jump-in-delay -mno-long-load-store
-mno-portable-runtime -mno-soft-float -mno-space-regs -msoft-float -mpa-risc-1-0 -mpa-risc-1-1
-mpa-risc-2-0 -mportable-runtime -mschedule=cpu-type -mspace-regs -msio -mwsio -munix=unix-std
-nolibdld -static -threads
i386 and x86-64 Options -mtune=cpu-type -march=cpu-type -mfpmath=unit -masm=dialect
-mno-fancy-math-387 -mno-fp-ret-in-387 -msoft-float -mno-wide-multiply -mrtd -malign-double
-mpreferred-stack-boundary=num -mincoming-stack-boundary=num -mcld -mcx16 -msahf -mmovbe -mcrc32
-mrecip -mrecip=opt -mvzeroupper -mprefer-avx128 -mmmx -msse -msse2 -msse3 -mssse3 -msse4.1
-msse4.2 -msse4 -mavx -mavx2 -maes -mpclmul -mfsgsbase -mrdrnd -mf16c -mfma -msse4a -m3dnow -mpopcnt
-mabm -mbmi -mtbm -mfma4 -mxop -mlzcnt -mbmi2 -mrtm -mlwp -mthreads -mno-align-stringops
-minline-all-stringops -minline-stringops-dynamically -mstringop-strategy=alg -mpush-args
-maccumulate-outgoing-args -m128bit-long-double -m96bit-long-double -mlong-double-64
-mlong-double-80 -mregparm=num -msseregparm -mveclibabi=type -mvect8-ret-in-mem -mpc32 -mpc64 -mpc80
-mstackrealign -momit-leaf-frame-pointer -mno-red-zone -mno-tls-direct-seg-refs -mcmodel=code-model
-mabi=name -maddress-mode=mode -m32 -m64 -mx32 -mlarge-data-threshold=num -msse2avx -mfentry
-m8bit-idiv -mavx256-split-unaligned-load -mavx256-split-unaligned-store
i386 and x86-64 Windows Options -mconsole -mcygwin -mno-cygwin -mdll -mnop-fun-dllimport -mthread
-municode -mwin32 -mwindows -fno-set-stack-executable
IA-64 Options -mbig-endian -mlittle-endian -mgnu-as -mgnu-ld -mno-pic -mvolatile-asm-stop
-mregister-names -msdata -mno-sdata -mconstant-gp -mauto-pic -mfused-madd
-minline-float-divide-min-latency -minline-float-divide-max-throughput -mno-inline-float-divide
-minline-int-divide-min-latency -minline-int-divide-max-throughput -mno-inline-int-divide
-minline-sqrt-min-latency -minline-sqrt-max-throughput -mno-inline-sqrt -mdwarf2-asm
-mearly-stop-bits -mfixed-range=register-range -mtls-size=tls-size -mtune=cpu-type -milp32 -mlp64
-msched-br-data-spec -msched-ar-data-spec -msched-control-spec -msched-br-in-data-spec
-msched-ar-in-data-spec -msched-in-control-spec -msched-spec-ldc -msched-spec-control-ldc
-msched-prefer-non-data-spec-insns -msched-prefer-non-control-spec-insns
-msched-stop-bits-after-every-cycle -msched-count-spec-in-critical-path
-msel-sched-dont-check-control-spec -msched-fp-mem-deps-zero-cost -msched-max-memory-insns-hard-limit
-msched-max-memory-insns=max-insns
LM32 Options -mbarrel-shift-enabled -mdivide-enabled -mmultiply-enabled -msign-extend-enabled
-muser-enabled
M32R/D Options -m32r2 -m32rx -m32r -mdebug -malign-loops -mno-align-loops -missue-rate=number
-mbranch-cost=number -mmodel=code-size-model-type -msdata=sdata-type -mno-flush-func
-mflush-func=name -mno-flush-trap -mflush-trap=number -G num
M32C Options -mcpu=cpu -msim -memregs=number
M680x0 Options -march=arch -mcpu=cpu -mtune=tune -m68000 -m68020 -m68020-40 -m68020-60 -m68030
-m68040 -m68060 -mcpu32 -m5200 -m5206e -m528x -m5307 -m5407 -mcfv4e -mbitfield -mno-bitfield
-mc68000 -mc68020 -mnobitfield -mrtd -mno-rtd -mdiv -mno-div -mshort -mno-short -mhard-float
-m68881 -msoft-float -mpcrel -malign-int -mstrict-align -msep-data -mno-sep-data
-mshared-library-id=n -mid-shared-library -mno-id-shared-library -mxgot -mno-xgot
MCore Options -mhardlit -mno-hardlit -mdiv -mno-div -mrelax-immediates -mno-relax-immediates
-mwide-bitfields -mno-wide-bitfields -m4byte-functions -mno-4byte-functions -mcallgraph-data
-mno-callgraph-data -mslow-bytes -mno-slow-bytes -mno-lsim -mlittle-endian -mbig-endian -m210
-m340 -mstack-increment
MeP Options -mabsdiff -mall-opts -maverage -mbased=n -mbitops -mc=n -mclip -mconfig=name -mcop
-mcop32 -mcop64 -mivc2 -mdc -mdiv -meb -mel -mio-volatile -ml -mleadz -mm -mminmax -mmult -mno-opts
-mrepeat -ms -msatur -msdram -msim -msimnovec -mtf -mtiny=n
MicroBlaze Options -msoft-float -mhard-float -msmall-divides -mcpu=cpu -mmemcpy -mxl-soft-mul
-mxl-soft-div -mxl-barrel-shift -mxl-pattern-compare -mxl-stack-check -mxl-gp-opt -mno-clearbss
-mxl-multiply-high -mxl-float-convert -mxl-float-sqrt -mbig-endian -mlittle-endian -mxl-reorder
-mxl-mode-app-model
MIPS Options -EL -EB -march=arch -mtune=arch -mips1 -mips2 -mips3 -mips4 -mips32 -mips32r2
-mips64 -mips64r2 -mips16 -mno-mips16 -mflip-mips16 -minterlink-mips16 -mno-interlink-mips16
-mabi=abi -mabicalls -mno-abicalls -mshared -mno-shared -mplt -mno-plt -mxgot -mno-xgot -mgp32
-mgp64 -mfp32 -mfp64 -mhard-float -msoft-float -mno-float -msingle-float -mdouble-float -mdsp
-mno-dsp -mdspr2 -mno-dspr2 -mmcu -mmno-mcu -mfpu=fpu-type -msmartmips -mno-smartmips
-mpaired-single -mno-paired-single -mdmx -mno-mdmx -mips3d -mno-mips3d -mmt -mno-mt -mllsc
-mno-llsc -mlong64 -mlong32 -msym32 -mno-sym32 -Gnum -mlocal-sdata -mno-local-sdata
-mextern-sdata -mno-extern-sdata -mgpopt -mno-gopt -membedded-data -mno-embedded-data
-muninit-const-in-rodata -mno-uninit-const-in-rodata -mcode-readable=setting -msplit-addresses
-mno-split-addresses -mexplicit-relocs -mno-explicit-relocs -mcheck-zero-division
-mno-check-zero-division -mdivide-traps -mdivide-breaks -mmemcpy -mno-memcpy -mlong-calls
-mno-long-calls -mmad -mno-mad -mfused-madd -mno-fused-madd -nocpp -mfix-24k -mno-fix-24k
-mfix-r4000 -mno-fix-r4000 -mfix-r4400 -mno-fix-r4400 -mfix-r10000 -mno-fix-r10000 -mfix-vr4120
-mno-fix-vr4120 -mfix-vr4130 -mno-fix-vr4130 -mfix-sb1 -mno-fix-sb1 -mflush-func=func
-mno-flush-func -mbranch-cost=num -mbranch-likely -mno-branch-likely -mfp-exceptions
-mno-fp-exceptions -mvr4130-align -mno-vr4130-align -msynci -mno-synci -mrelax-pic-calls
-mno-relax-pic-calls -mmcount-ra-address
MMIX Options -mlibfuncs -mno-libfuncs -mepsilon -mno-epsilon -mabi=gnu -mabi=mmixware
-mzero-extend -mknuthdiv -mtoplevel-symbols -melf -mbranch-predict -mno-branch-predict
-mbase-addresses -mno-base-addresses -msingle-exit -mno-single-exit
MN10300 Options -mmult-bug -mno-mult-bug -mno-am33 -mam33 -mam33-2 -mam34 -mtune=cpu-type
-mreturn-pointer-on-d0 -mno-crt0 -mrelax -mliw -msetlb
Moxie Options -meb -mel -mno-crt0
PDP-11 Options -mfpu -msoft-float -mac0 -mno-ac0 -m40 -m45 -m10 -mbcopy -mbcopy-builtin
-mint32 -mno-int16 -mint16 -mno-int32 -mfloat32 -mno-float64 -mfloat64 -mno-float32 -mabshi
-mno-abshi -mbranch-expensive -mbranch-cheap -munix-asm -mdec-asm
picoChip Options -mae=ae_type -mvliw-lookahead=N -msymbol-as-address -mno-inefficient-warnings
PowerPC Options See RS/6000 and PowerPC Options.
RL78 Options -msim -mmul=none -mmul=g13 -mmul=rl78
RS/6000 and PowerPC Options -mcpu=cpu-type -mtune=cpu-type -mcmodel=code-model -mpowerpc64 -maltivec
-mno-altivec -mpowerpc-gpopt -mno-powerpc-gpopt -mpowerpc-gfxopt -mno-powerpc-gfxopt -mmfcrf
-mno-mfcrf -mpopcntb -mno-popcntb -mpopcntd -mno-popcntd -mfprnd -mno-fprnd -mcmpb -mno-cmpb
-mmfpgpr -mno-mfpgpr -mhard-dfp -mno-hard-dfp -mfull-toc -mminimal-toc -mno-fp-in-toc
-mno-sum-in-toc -m64 -m32 -mxl-compat -mno-xl-compat -mpe -malign-power -malign-natural
-msoft-float -mhard-float -mmultiple -mno-multiple -msingle-float -mdouble-float -msimple-fpu
-mstring -mno-string -mupdate -mno-update -mavoid-indexed-addresses -mno-avoid-indexed-addresses
-mfused-madd -mno-fused-madd -mbit-align -mno-bit-align -mstrict-align -mno-strict-align
-mrelocatable -mno-relocatable -mrelocatable-lib -mno-relocatable-lib -mtoc -mno-toc -mlittle
-mlittle-endian -mbig -mbig-endian -mdynamic-no-pic -maltivec -mswdiv -msingle-pic-base
-mprioritize-restricted-insns=priority -msched-costly-dep=dependence_type -minsert-sched-nops=scheme
-mcall-sysv -mcall-netbsd -maix-struct-return -msvr4-struct-return -mabi=abi-type -msecure-plt
-mbss-plt -mblock-move-inline-limit=num -misel -mno-isel -misel=yes -misel=no -mspe -mno-spe
-mspe=yes -mspe=no -mpaired -mgen-cell-microcode -mwarn-cell-microcode -mvrsave -mno-vrsave -mmulhw
-mno-mulhw -mdlmzb -mno-dlmzb -mfloat-gprs=yes -mfloat-gprs=no -mfloat-gprs=single
-mfloat-gprs=double -mprototype -mno-prototype -msim -mmvme -mads -myellowknife -memb -msdata
-msdata=opt -mvxworks -G num -pthread -mrecip -mrecip=opt -mno-recip -mrecip-precision
-mno-recip-precision -mveclibabi=type -mfriz -mno-friz -mpointers-to-nested-functions
-mno-pointers-to-nested-functions -msave-toc-indirect -mno-save-toc-indirect -mpower8-fusion
-mno-mpower8-fusion -mpower8-vector -mno-power8-vector -mcrypto -mno-crypto -mdirect-move
-mno-direct-move -mquad-memory -mno-quad-memory -mquad-memory-atomic -mno-quad-memory-atomic
-mcompat-align-parm -mno-compat-align-parm
RX Options -m64bit-doubles -m32bit-doubles -fpu -nofpu -mcpu= -mbig-endian-data
-mlittle-endian-data -msmall-data -msim -mno-sim -mas100-syntax -mno-as100-syntax -mrelax
-mmax-constant-size= -mint-register= -mpid -mno-warn-multiple-fast-interrupts
-msave-acc-in-interrupts
S/390 and zSeries Options -mtune=cpu-type -march=cpu-type -mhard-float -msoft-float -mhard-dfp
-mno-hard-dfp -mlong-double-64 -mlong-double-128 -mbackchain -mno-backchain -mpacked-stack
-mno-packed-stack -msmall-exec -mno-small-exec -mmvcle -mno-mvcle -m64 -m31 -mdebug -mno-debug
-mesa -mzarch -mtpf-trace -mno-tpf-trace -mfused-madd -mno-fused-madd -mwarn-framesize
-mwarn-dynamicstack -mstack-size -mstack-guard -mhotpatch=halfwords,halfwords
Score Options -meb -mel -mnhwloop -muls -mmac -mscore5 -mscore5u -mscore7 -mscore7d
SH Options -m1 -m2 -m2e -m2a-nofpu -m2a-single-only -m2a-single -m2a -m3 -m3e -m4-nofpu
-m4-single-only -m4-single -m4 -m4a-nofpu -m4a-single-only -m4a-single -m4a -m4al -m5-64media
-m5-64media-nofpu -m5-32media -m5-32media-nofpu -m5-compact -m5-compact-nofpu -mb -ml -mdalign
-mrelax -mbigtable -mfmovd -mhitachi -mrenesas -mno-renesas -mnomacsave -mieee -mno-ieee -mbitops
-misize -minline-ic_invalidate -mpadstruct -mspace -mprefergot -musermode -multcost=number
-mdiv=strategy -mdivsi3_libfunc=name -mfixed-range=register-range -mindexed-addressing
-mgettrcost=number -mpt-fixed -maccumulate-outgoing-args -minvalid-symbols -matomic-model=atomic-
model -mbranch-cost=num -mzdcbranch -mno-zdcbranch -mcbranchdi -mcmpeqdi -mfused-madd -mno-fused-madd
-mfsca -mno-fsca -mfsrra -mno-fsrra -mpretend-cmove -mtas
Solaris 2 Options -mimpure-text -mno-impure-text -pthreads -pthread
SPARC Options -mcpu=cpu-type -mtune=cpu-type -mcmodel=code-model -mmemory-model=mem-model -m32 -m64
-mapp-regs -mno-app-regs -mfaster-structs -mno-faster-structs -mflat -mno-flat -mfpu -mno-fpu
-mhard-float -msoft-float -mhard-quad-float -msoft-quad-float -mstack-bias -mno-stack-bias
-munaligned-doubles -mno-unaligned-doubles -muser-mode -mno-user-mode -mv8plus -mno-v8plus -mvis
-mno-vis -mvis2 -mno-vis2 -mvis3 -mno-vis3 -mcbcond -mno-cbcond -mfmaf -mno-fmaf -mpopc
-mno-popc -mfix-at697f -mfix-ut699
SPU Options -mwarn-reloc -merror-reloc -msafe-dma -munsafe-dma -mbranch-hints -msmall-mem -mlarge-mem
-mstdmain -mfixed-range=register-range -mea32 -mea64 -maddress-space-conversion
-mno-address-space-conversion -mcache-size=cache-size -matomic-updates -mno-atomic-updates
System V Options -Qy -Qn -YP,paths -Ym,dir
TILE-Gx Options -mcpu=cpu -m32 -m64 -mcmodel=code-model
TILEPro Options -mcpu=cpu -m32
V850 Options -mlong-calls -mno-long-calls -mep -mno-ep -mprolog-function -mno-prolog-function
-mspace -mtda=n -msda=n -mzda=n -mapp-regs -mno-app-regs -mdisable-callt -mno-disable-callt
-mv850e2v3 -mv850e2 -mv850e1 -mv850es -mv850e -mv850 -mv850e3v5 -mloop -mrelax -mlong-jumps
-msoft-float -mhard-float -mgcc-abi -mrh850-abi -mbig-switch
VAX Options -mg -mgnu -munix
VMS Options -mvms-return-codes -mdebug-main=prefix -mmalloc64 -mpointer-size=size
VxWorks Options -mrtp -non-static -Bstatic -Bdynamic -Xbind-lazy -Xbind-now
x86-64 Options See i386 and x86-64 Options.
Xstormy16 Options -msim
Xtensa Options -mconst16 -mno-const16 -mfused-madd -mno-fused-madd -mforce-no-pic
-mserialize-volatile -mno-serialize-volatile -mtext-section-literals -mno-text-section-literals
-mtarget-align -mno-target-align -mlongcalls -mno-longcalls
zSeries Options See S/390 and zSeries Options.
Code Generation Options
-fcall-saved-reg -fcall-used-reg -ffixed-reg -fexceptions -fnon-call-exceptions
-fdelete-dead-exceptions -funwind-tables -fasynchronous-unwind-tables -fno-gnu-unique
-finhibit-size-directive -finstrument-functions
-finstrument-functions-exclude-function-list=sym,sym,...
-finstrument-functions-exclude-file-list=file,file,... -fno-common -fno-ident -fpcc-struct-return
-fpic -fPIC -fpie -fPIE -fno-jump-tables -frecord-gcc-switches -freg-struct-return -fshort-enums
-fshort-double -fshort-wchar -fverbose-asm -fpack-struct[=n] -fstack-check
-fstack-limit-register=reg -fstack-limit-symbol=sym -fno-stack-limit -fsplit-stack
-fleading-underscore -ftls-model=model -fstack-reuse=reuse_level -ftrapv -fwrapv -fbounds-check
-fvisibility -fstrict-volatile-bitfields -fsync-libcalls
Options Controlling the Kind of Output
Compilation can involve up to four stages: preprocessing, compilation proper, assembly and linking,
always in that order. GCC is capable of preprocessing and compiling several files either into several
assembler input files, or into one assembler input file; then each assembler input file produces an
object file, and linking combines all the object files (those newly compiled, and those specified as
input) into an executable file.
For any given input file, the file name suffix determines what kind of compilation is done:
file.c
C source code that must be preprocessed.
file.i
C source code that should not be preprocessed.
file.ii
C++ source code that should not be preprocessed.
file.m
Objective-C source code. Note that you must link with the libobjc library to make an Objective-C
program work.
file.mi
Objective-C source code that should not be preprocessed.
file.mm
file.M
Objective-C++ source code. Note that you must link with the libobjc library to make an Objective-C++
program work. Note that .M refers to a literal capital M.
file.mii
Objective-C++ source code that should not be preprocessed.
file.h
C, C++, Objective-C or Objective-C++ header file to be turned into a precompiled header (default), or
C, C++ header file to be turned into an Ada spec (via the -fdump-ada-spec switch).
file.cc
file.cp
file.cxx
file.cpp
file.CPP
file.c++
file.C
C++ source code that must be preprocessed. Note that in .cxx, the last two letters must both be
literally x. Likewise, .C refers to a literal capital C.
file.mm
file.M
Objective-C++ source code that must be preprocessed.
file.mii
Objective-C++ source code that should not be preprocessed.
file.hh
file.H
file.hp
file.hxx
file.hpp
file.HPP
file.h++
file.tcc
C++ header file to be turned into a precompiled header or Ada spec.
file.f
file.for
file.ftn
Fixed form Fortran source code that should not be preprocessed.
file.F
file.FOR
file.fpp
file.FPP
file.FTN
Fixed form Fortran source code that must be preprocessed (with the traditional preprocessor).
file.f90
file.f95
file.f03
file.f08
Free form Fortran source code that should not be preprocessed.
file.F90
file.F95
file.F03
file.F08
Free form Fortran source code that must be preprocessed (with the traditional preprocessor).
file.go
Go source code.
file.ads
Ada source code file that contains a library unit declaration (a declaration of a package,
subprogram, or generic, or a generic instantiation), or a library unit renaming declaration (a
package, generic, or subprogram renaming declaration). Such files are also called specs.
file.adb
Ada source code file containing a library unit body (a subprogram or package body). Such files are
also called bodies.
file.d
D source code file.
file.di
D interface code file.
file.dd
D documentation code file.
file.s
Assembler code.
file.S
file.sx
Assembler code that must be preprocessed.
other
An object file to be fed straight into linking. Any file name with no recognized suffix is treated
this way.
You can specify the input language explicitly with the -x option:
-x language
Specify explicitly the language for the following input files (rather than letting the compiler
choose a default based on the file name suffix). This option applies to all following input files
until the next -x option. Possible values for language are:
c c-header cpp-output
c++ c++-header c++-cpp-output
objective-c objective-c-header objective-c-cpp-output
objective-c++ objective-c++-header objective-c++-cpp-output
assembler assembler-with-cpp
ada
d
f77 f77-cpp-input f95 f95-cpp-input
go
java
-x none
Turn off any specification of a language, so that subsequent files are handled according to their
file name suffixes (as they are if -x has not been used at all).
-pass-exit-codes
Normally the gcc program exits with the code of 1 if any phase of the compiler returns a non-success
return code. If you specify -pass-exit-codes, the gcc program instead returns with the numerically
highest error produced by any phase returning an error indication. The C, C++, and Fortran front
ends return 4 if an internal compiler error is encountered.
If you only want some of the stages of compilation, you can use -x (or filename suffixes) 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 linking stage simply is not done. The
ultimate output is in the form of an object file for each source file.
By default, the object file name for a source file is made by replacing the suffix .c, .i, .s, etc.,
with .o.
Unrecognized input files, not requiring compilation or assembly, are ignored.
-S Stop after the stage of compilation proper; do not assemble. The output is in the form of an
assembler code file for each non-assembler input file specified.
By default, the assembler file name for a source file is made by replacing the suffix .c, .i, etc.,
with .s.
Input files that don't require compilation are ignored.
-E Stop after the preprocessing stage; do not run the compiler proper. The output is in the form of
preprocessed source code, which is sent to the standard output.
Input files that don't require preprocessing are ignored.
-o file
Place output in file file. This applies to whatever sort of output is being produced, whether it be
an executable file, an object file, an assembler file or preprocessed C code.
If -o is not specified, the default is to put an executable file in a.out, the object file for
source.suffix in source.o, its assembler file in source.s, a precompiled header file in
source.suffix.gch, 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 version number of the compiler driver program and of the preprocessor and the compiler proper.
-###
Like -v except the commands are not executed and arguments are quoted unless they contain only
alphanumeric characters or "./-_". This is useful for shell scripts to capture the driver-generated
command lines.
-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 is unable to read from a pipe; but the GNU
assembler has no trouble.
--help
Print (on the standard output) a description of the command-line options understood by gcc. If the
-v option is also specified then --help is also passed on to the various processes invoked by gcc, so
that they can display the command-line options they accept. If the -Wextra option has also been
specified (prior to the --help option), then command-line options that have no documentation
associated with them are also displayed.
--target-help
Print (on the standard output) a description of target-specific command-line options for each tool.
For some targets extra target-specific information may also be printed.
--help={class|[^]qualifier}[,...]
Print (on the standard output) a description of the command-line options understood by the compiler
that fit into all specified classes and qualifiers. These are the supported classes:
optimizers
Display all of the optimization options supported by the compiler.
warnings
Display all of the options controlling warning messages produced by the compiler.
target
Display target-specific options. Unlike the --target-help option however, target-specific
options of the linker and assembler are not displayed. This is because those tools do not
currently support the extended --help= syntax.
params
Display the values recognized by the --param option.
language
Display the options supported for language, where language is the name of one of the languages
supported in this version of GCC.
common
Display the options that are common to all languages.
These are the supported qualifiers:
undocumented
Display only those options that are undocumented.
joined
Display options taking an argument that appears after an equal sign in the same continuous piece
of text, such as: --help=target.
separate
Display options taking an argument that appears as a separate word following the original option,
such as: -o output-file.
Thus for example to display all the undocumented target-specific switches supported by the compiler,
use:
--help=target,undocumented
The sense of a qualifier can be inverted by prefixing it with the ^ character, so for example to
display all binary warning options (i.e., ones that are either on or off and that do not take an
argument) that have a description, use:
--help=warnings,^joined,^undocumented
The argument to --help= should not consist solely of inverted qualifiers.
Combining several classes is possible, although this usually restricts the output so much that there
is nothing to display. One case where it does work, however, is when one of the classes is target.
For example, to display all the target-specific optimization options, use:
--help=target,optimizers
The --help= option can be repeated on the command line. Each successive use displays its requested
class of options, skipping those that have already been displayed.
If the -Q option appears on the command line before the --help= option, then the descriptive text
displayed by --help= is changed. Instead of describing the displayed options, an indication is given
as to whether the option is enabled, disabled or set to a specific value (assuming that the compiler
knows this at the point where the --help= option is used).
Here is a truncated example from the ARM port of gcc:
% gcc -Q -mabi=2 --help=target -c
The following options are target specific:
-mabi= 2
-mabort-on-noreturn [disabled]
-mapcs [disabled]
The output is sensitive to the effects of previous command-line options, so for example it is
possible to find out which optimizations are enabled at -O2 by using:
-Q -O2 --help=optimizers
Alternatively you can discover which binary optimizations are enabled by -O3 by using:
gcc -c -Q -O3 --help=optimizers > /tmp/O3-opts
gcc -c -Q -O2 --help=optimizers > /tmp/O2-opts
diff /tmp/O2-opts /tmp/O3-opts | grep enabled
-no-canonical-prefixes
Do not expand any symbolic links, resolve references to /../ or /./, or make the path absolute when
generating a relative prefix.
--version
Display the version number and copyrights of the invoked GCC.
-wrapper
Invoke all subcommands under a wrapper program. The name of the wrapper program and its parameters
are passed as a comma separated list.
gcc -c t.c -wrapper gdb,--args
This invokes all subprograms of gcc under gdb --args, thus the invocation of cc1 is gdb --args cc1
....
-fplugin=name.so
Load the plugin code in file name.so, assumed to be a shared object to be dlopen'd by the compiler.
The base name of the shared object file is used to identify the plugin for the purposes of argument
parsing (See -fplugin-arg-name-key=value below). Each plugin should define the callback functions
specified in the Plugins API.
-fplugin-arg-name-key=value
Define an argument called key with a value of value for the plugin called name.
-fdump-ada-spec[-slim]
For C and C++ source and include files, generate corresponding Ada specs.
-fada-spec-parent=unit
In conjunction with -fdump-ada-spec[-slim] above, generate Ada specs as child units of parent unit.
-fdump-go-spec=file
For input files in any language, generate corresponding Go declarations in file. This generates Go
"const", "type", "var", and "func" declarations which may be a useful way to start writing a Go
interface to code written in some other language.
@file
Read command-line options from file. The options read are inserted in place of the original @file
option. If file does not exist, or cannot be read, then the option will be treated literally, and
not removed.
Options in file are separated by whitespace. A whitespace character may be included in an option by
surrounding the entire option in either single or double quotes. Any character (including a
backslash) may be included by prefixing the character to be included with a backslash. The file may
itself contain additional @file options; any such options will be processed recursively.
Compiling C++ Programs
C++ source files conventionally use one of the suffixes .C, .cc, .cpp, .CPP, .c++, .cp, or .cxx; C++
header files often use .hh, .hpp, .H, or (for shared template code) .tcc; and preprocessed C++ files use
the suffix .ii. GCC recognizes files with these names and compiles them as C++ programs even if you call
the compiler the same way as for compiling C programs (usually with the name gcc).
However, the use of gcc does not add the C++ library. g++ is a program that calls GCC and automatically
specifies linking against the C++ library. It treats .c, .h and .i files as C++ source files instead of
C source files unless -x is used. This program is also useful when precompiling a C header file with a
.h extension for use in C++ compilations. On many systems, g++ is also installed with the name c++.
When you compile C++ programs, you may specify many of the same command-line options that you use for
compiling programs in any language; or command-line options meaningful for C and related languages; or
options that are meaningful only for C++ programs.
Options Controlling C Dialect
The following options control the dialect of C (or languages derived from C, such as C++, Objective-C and
Objective-C++) that the compiler accepts:
-ansi
In C mode, this is equivalent to -std=c90. In C++ mode, it is equivalent to -std=c++98.
This turns off certain features of GCC that are incompatible with ISO C90 (when compiling C code), or
of standard C++ (when compiling C++ code), such as the "asm" 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 ISO trigraph feature. For the C compiler, it disables recognition of C++
style // comments as well as the "inline" keyword.
The alternate keywords "__asm__", "__extension__", "__inline__" and "__typeof__" continue to work
despite -ansi. You would not want to use them in an ISO 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-ISO programs to be rejected gratuitously. For that, -Wpedantic
is required in addition to -ansi.
The macro "__STRICT_ANSI__" is predefined when the -ansi option is used. Some header files may
notice this macro and refrain from declaring certain functions or defining certain macros that the
ISO standard doesn't call for; this is to avoid interfering with any programs that might use these
names for other things.
Functions that are normally built in but do not have semantics defined by ISO C (such as "alloca" and
"ffs") are not built-in functions when -ansi is used.
-std=
Determine the language standard. This option is currently only supported when compiling C or C++.
The compiler can accept several base standards, such as c90 or c++98, and GNU dialects of those
standards, such as gnu90 or gnu++98. When a base standard is specified, the compiler accepts all
programs following that standard plus those using GNU extensions that do not contradict it. For
example, -std=c90 turns off certain features of GCC that are incompatible with ISO C90, such as the
"asm" and "typeof" keywords, but not other GNU extensions that do not have a meaning in ISO C90, such
as omitting the middle term of a "?:" expression. On the other hand, when a GNU dialect of a standard
is specified, all features supported by the compiler are enabled, even when those features change the
meaning of the base standard. As a result, some strict-conforming programs may be rejected. The
particular standard is used by -Wpedantic to identify which features are GNU extensions given that
version of the standard. For example -std=gnu90 -Wpedantic warns about C++ style // comments, while
-std=gnu99 -Wpedantic does not.
A value for this option must be provided; possible values are
c90
c89
iso9899:1990
Support all ISO C90 programs (certain GNU extensions that conflict with ISO C90 are disabled).
Same as -ansi for C code.
iso9899:199409
ISO C90 as modified in amendment 1.
c99
c9x
iso9899:1999
iso9899:199x
ISO C99. Note that this standard is not yet fully supported; see
<http://gcc.gnu.org/c99status.html> for more information. The names c9x and iso9899:199x are
deprecated.
c11
c1x
iso9899:2011
ISO C11, the 2011 revision of the ISO C standard. Support is incomplete and experimental. The
name c1x is deprecated.
gnu90
gnu89
GNU dialect of ISO C90 (including some C99 features). This is the default for C code.
gnu99
gnu9x
GNU dialect of ISO C99. When ISO C99 is fully implemented in GCC, this will become the default.
The name gnu9x is deprecated.
gnu11
gnu1x
GNU dialect of ISO C11. Support is incomplete and experimental. The name gnu1x is deprecated.
c++98
c++03
The 1998 ISO C++ standard plus the 2003 technical corrigendum and some additional defect reports.
Same as -ansi for C++ code.
gnu++98
gnu++03
GNU dialect of -std=c++98. This is the default for C++ code.
c++11
c++0x
The 2011 ISO C++ standard plus amendments. Support for C++11 is still experimental, and may
change in incompatible ways in future releases. The name c++0x is deprecated.
gnu++11
gnu++0x
GNU dialect of -std=c++11. Support for C++11 is still experimental, and may change in
incompatible ways in future releases. The name gnu++0x is deprecated.
c++1y
The next revision of the ISO C++ standard, tentatively planned for 2017. Support is highly
experimental, and will almost certainly change in incompatible ways in future releases.
gnu++1y
GNU dialect of -std=c++1y. Support is highly experimental, and will almost certainly change in
incompatible ways in future releases.
-fgnu89-inline
The option -fgnu89-inline tells GCC to use the traditional GNU semantics for "inline" functions when
in C99 mode.
This option is accepted and ignored by GCC versions 4.1.3 up to but not including 4.3. In GCC
versions 4.3 and later it changes the behavior of GCC in C99 mode. Using this option is roughly
equivalent to adding the "gnu_inline" function attribute to all inline functions.
The option -fno-gnu89-inline explicitly tells GCC to use the C99 semantics for "inline" when in C99
or gnu99 mode (i.e., it specifies the default behavior). This option was first supported in GCC 4.3.
This option is not supported in -std=c90 or -std=gnu90 mode.
The preprocessor macros "__GNUC_GNU_INLINE__" and "__GNUC_STDC_INLINE__" may be used to check which
semantics are in effect for "inline" functions.
-aux-info filename
Output to the given filename prototyped declarations for all functions declared and/or defined in a
translation unit, including those in header files. This option is silently ignored in any language
other than C.
Besides declarations, the file indicates, in comments, the origin of each declaration (source file
and line), whether the declaration was implicit, prototyped or unprototyped (I, N for new or O for
old, respectively, in the first character after the line number and the colon), and whether it came
from a declaration or a definition (C or F, respectively, in the following character). In the case
of function definitions, a K&R-style list of arguments followed by their declarations is also
provided, inside comments, after the declaration.
-fallow-parameterless-variadic-functions
Accept variadic functions without named parameters.
Although it is possible to define such a function, this is not very useful as it is not possible to
read the arguments. This is only supported for C as this construct is allowed by C++.
-fno-asm
Do not recognize "asm", "inline" or "typeof" as a keyword, so that code can use these words as
identifiers. You can use the keywords "__asm__", "__inline__" and "__typeof__" instead. -ansi
implies -fno-asm.
In C++, this switch only affects the "typeof" keyword, since "asm" and "inline" are standard
keywords. You may want to use the -fno-gnu-keywords flag instead, which has the same effect. In C99
mode (-std=c99 or -std=gnu99), this switch only affects the "asm" and "typeof" keywords, since
"inline" is a standard keyword in ISO C99.
-fno-builtin
-fno-builtin-function
Don't recognize built-in functions that do not begin with __builtin_ as prefix.
GCC normally generates special code to handle certain built-in functions more efficiently; for
instance, calls to "alloca" may become single instructions which adjust the stack directly, and calls
to "memcpy" may become inline copy loops. The resulting code is often both smaller and faster, but
since the function calls no longer appear as such, you cannot set a breakpoint on those calls, nor
can you change the behavior of the functions by linking with a different library. In addition, when
a function is recognized as a built-in function, GCC may use information about that function to warn
about problems with calls to that function, or to generate more efficient code, even if the resulting
code still contains calls to that function. For example, warnings are given with -Wformat for bad
calls to "printf" when "printf" is built in and "strlen" is known not to modify global memory.
With the -fno-builtin-function option only the built-in function function is disabled. function must
not begin with __builtin_. If a function is named that is not built-in in this version of GCC, this
option is ignored. There is no corresponding -fbuiltin-function option; if you wish to enable built-
in functions selectively when using -fno-builtin or -ffreestanding, you may define macros such as:
#define abs(n) __builtin_abs ((n))
#define strcpy(d, s) __builtin_strcpy ((d), (s))
-fhosted
Assert that compilation targets a hosted environment. This implies -fbuiltin. A hosted environment
is one in which the entire standard library is available, and in which "main" has a return type of
"int". Examples are nearly everything except a kernel. This is equivalent to -fno-freestanding.
-ffreestanding
Assert that compilation targets a freestanding environment. This implies -fno-builtin. A
freestanding environment is one in which the standard library may not exist, and program startup may
not necessarily be at "main". The most obvious example is an OS kernel. This is equivalent to
-fno-hosted.
-fopenmp
Enable handling of OpenMP directives "#pragma omp" in C/C++ and "!$omp" in Fortran. When -fopenmp is
specified, the compiler generates parallel code according to the OpenMP Application Program Interface
v3.0 <http://www.openmp.org/>. This option implies -pthread, and thus is only supported on targets
that have support for -pthread.
-fgnu-tm
When the option -fgnu-tm is specified, the compiler generates code for the Linux variant of Intel's
current Transactional Memory ABI specification document (Revision 1.1, May 6 2009). This is an
experimental feature whose interface may change in future versions of GCC, as the official
specification changes. Please note that not all architectures are supported for this feature.
For more information on GCC's support for transactional memory,
Note that the transactional memory feature is not supported with non-call exceptions
(-fnon-call-exceptions).
-fms-extensions
Accept some non-standard constructs used in Microsoft header files.
In C++ code, this allows member names in structures to be similar to previous types declarations.
typedef int UOW;
struct ABC {
UOW UOW;
};
Some cases of unnamed fields in structures and unions are only accepted with this option.
-fplan9-extensions
Accept some non-standard constructs used in Plan 9 code.
This enables -fms-extensions, permits passing pointers to structures with anonymous fields to
functions that expect pointers to elements of the type of the field, and permits referring to
anonymous fields declared using a typedef. This is only supported for C, not C++.
-trigraphs
Support ISO C trigraphs. The -ansi option (and -std options for strict ISO C conformance) implies
-trigraphs.
-traditional
-traditional-cpp
Formerly, these options caused GCC to attempt to emulate a pre-standard C compiler. They are now
only supported with the -E switch. The preprocessor continues to support a pre-standard mode. See
the GNU CPP manual for details.
-fcond-mismatch
Allow conditional expressions with mismatched types in the second and third arguments. The value of
such an expression is void. This option is not supported for C++.
-flax-vector-conversions
Allow implicit conversions between vectors with differing numbers of elements and/or incompatible
element types. This option should not be used for new code.
-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" or "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.
Likewise, the option -fno-signed-char is equivalent to -funsigned-char.
-fsigned-bitfields
-funsigned-bitfields
-fno-signed-bitfields
-fno-unsigned-bitfields
These options control whether a bit-field is signed or unsigned, when the declaration does not use
either "signed" or "unsigned". By default, such a bit-field is signed, because this is consistent:
the basic integer types such as "int" are signed types.
Options Controlling C++ Dialect
This section describes the command-line options that are only meaningful for C++ programs. You can also
use most of the GNU compiler options regardless of what language your program is in. For example, you
might compile a file "firstClass.C" like this:
g++ -g -frepo -O -c firstClass.C
In this example, only -frepo is an option meant only for C++ programs; you can use the other options with
any language supported by GCC.
Here is a list of options that are only for compiling C++ programs:
-fabi-version=n
Use version n of the C++ ABI. The default is version 2.
Version 0 refers to the version conforming most closely to the C++ ABI specification. Therefore, the
ABI obtained using version 0 will change in different versions of G++ as ABI bugs are fixed.
Version 1 is the version of the C++ ABI that first appeared in G++ 3.2.
Version 2 is the version of the C++ ABI that first appeared in G++ 3.4.
Version 3 corrects an error in mangling a constant address as a template argument.
Version 4, which first appeared in G++ 4.5, implements a standard mangling for vector types.
Version 5, which first appeared in G++ 4.6, corrects the mangling of attribute const/volatile on
function pointer types, decltype of a plain decl, and use of a function parameter in the declaration
of another parameter.
Version 6, which first appeared in G++ 4.7, corrects the promotion behavior of C++11 scoped enums and
the mangling of template argument packs, const/static_cast, prefix ++ and --, and a class scope
function used as a template argument.
See also -Wabi.
-fno-access-control
Turn off all access checking. This switch is mainly useful for working around bugs in the access
control code.
-fcheck-new
Check that the pointer returned by "operator new" is non-null before attempting to modify the storage
allocated. This check is normally unnecessary because the C++ standard specifies that "operator new"
only returns 0 if it is declared throw(), in which case the compiler always checks the return value
even without this option. In all other cases, when "operator new" has a non-empty exception
specification, memory exhaustion is signalled by throwing "std::bad_alloc". See also new (nothrow).
-fconstexpr-depth=n
Set the maximum nested evaluation depth for C++11 constexpr functions to n. A limit is needed to
detect endless recursion during constant expression evaluation. The minimum specified by the
standard is 512.
-fdeduce-init-list
Enable deduction of a template type parameter as "std::initializer_list" from a brace-enclosed
initializer list, i.e.
template <class T> auto forward(T t) -> decltype (realfn (t))
{
return realfn (t);
}
void f()
{
forward({1,2}); // call forward<std::initializer_list<int>>
}
This deduction was implemented as a possible extension to the originally proposed semantics for the
C++11 standard, but was not part of the final standard, so it is disabled by default. This option is
deprecated, and may be removed in a future version of G++.
-ffriend-injection
Inject friend functions into the enclosing namespace, so that they are visible outside the scope of
the class in which they are declared. Friend functions were documented to work this way in the old
Annotated C++ Reference Manual, and versions of G++ before 4.1 always worked that way. However, in
ISO C++ a friend function that is not declared in an enclosing scope can only be found using argument
dependent lookup. This option causes friends to be injected as they were in earlier releases.
This option is for compatibility, and may be removed in a future release of G++.
-fno-elide-constructors
The C++ standard allows an implementation to omit creating a temporary that is only used to
initialize another object of the same type. Specifying this option disables that optimization, and
forces G++ to call the copy constructor in all cases.
-fno-enforce-eh-specs
Don't generate code to check for violation of exception specifications at run time. This option
violates the C++ standard, but may be useful for reducing code size in production builds, much like
defining NDEBUG. This does not give user code permission to throw exceptions in violation of the
exception specifications; the compiler still optimizes based on the specifications, so throwing an
unexpected exception results in undefined behavior at run time.
-fextern-tls-init
-fno-extern-tls-init
The C++11 and OpenMP standards allow thread_local and threadprivate variables to have dynamic
(runtime) initialization. To support this, any use of such a variable goes through a wrapper
function that performs any necessary initialization. When the use and definition of the variable are
in the same translation unit, this overhead can be optimized away, but when the use is in a different
translation unit there is significant overhead even if the variable doesn't actually need dynamic
initialization. If the programmer can be sure that no use of the variable in a non-defining TU needs
to trigger dynamic initialization (either because the variable is statically initialized, or a use of
the variable in the defining TU will be executed before any uses in another TU), they can avoid this
overhead with the -fno-extern-tls-init option.
On targets that support symbol aliases, the default is -fextern-tls-init. On targets that do not
support symbol aliases, the default is -fno-extern-tls-init.
-ffor-scope
-fno-for-scope
If -ffor-scope is specified, the scope of variables declared in a for-init-statement is limited to
the for loop itself, as specified by the C++ standard. If -fno-for-scope is specified, the scope of
variables declared in a for-init-statement extends to the end of the enclosing scope, as was the case
in old versions of G++, and other (traditional) implementations of C++.
If neither flag is given, the default is to follow the standard, but to allow and give a warning for
old-style code that would otherwise be invalid, or have different behavior.
-fno-gnu-keywords
Do not recognize "typeof" as a keyword, so that code can use this word as an identifier. You can use
the keyword "__typeof__" instead. -ansi implies -fno-gnu-keywords.
-fno-implicit-templates
Never emit code for non-inline templates that are instantiated implicitly (i.e. by use); only emit
code for explicit instantiations.
-fno-implicit-inline-templates
Don't emit code for implicit instantiations of inline templates, either. The default is to handle
inlines differently so that compiles with and without optimization need the same set of explicit
instantiations.
-fno-implement-inlines
To save space, do not emit out-of-line copies of inline functions controlled by #pragma
implementation. This causes linker errors if these functions are not inlined everywhere they are
called.
-fms-extensions
Disable Wpedantic warnings about constructs used in MFC, such as implicit int and getting a pointer
to member function via non-standard syntax.
-fno-nonansi-builtins
Disable built-in declarations of functions that are not mandated by ANSI/ISO C. These include "ffs",
"alloca", "_exit", "index", "bzero", "conjf", and other related functions.
-fnothrow-opt
Treat a "throw()" exception specification as if it were a "noexcept" specification to reduce or
eliminate the text size overhead relative to a function with no exception specification. If the
function has local variables of types with non-trivial destructors, the exception specification
actually makes the function smaller because the EH cleanups for those variables can be optimized
away. The semantic effect is that an exception thrown out of a function with such an exception
specification results in a call to "terminate" rather than "unexpected".
-fno-operator-names
Do not treat the operator name keywords "and", "bitand", "bitor", "compl", "not", "or" and "xor" as
synonyms as keywords.
-fno-optional-diags
Disable diagnostics that the standard says a compiler does not need to issue. Currently, the only
such diagnostic issued by G++ is the one for a name having multiple meanings within a class.
-fpermissive
Downgrade some diagnostics about nonconformant code from errors to warnings. Thus, using
-fpermissive allows some nonconforming code to compile.
-fno-pretty-templates
When an error message refers to a specialization of a function template, the compiler normally prints
the signature of the template followed by the template arguments and any typedefs or typenames in the
signature (e.g. "void f(T) [with T = int]" rather than "void f(int)") so that it's clear which
template is involved. When an error message refers to a specialization of a class template, the
compiler omits any template arguments that match the default template arguments for that template.
If either of these behaviors make it harder to understand the error message rather than easier, you
can use -fno-pretty-templates to disable them.
-frepo
Enable automatic template instantiation at link time. This option also implies
-fno-implicit-templates.
-fno-rtti
Disable generation of information about every class with virtual functions for use by the C++ run-
time type identification features (dynamic_cast and typeid). If you don't use those parts of the
language, you can save some space by using this flag. Note that exception handling uses the same
information, but G++ generates it as needed. The dynamic_cast operator can still be used for casts
that do not require run-time type information, i.e. casts to "void *" or to unambiguous base classes.
-fstats
Emit statistics about front-end processing at the end of the compilation. This information is
generally only useful to the G++ development team.
-fstrict-enums
Allow the compiler to optimize using the assumption that a value of enumerated type can only be one
of the values of the enumeration (as defined in the C++ standard; basically, a value that can be
represented in the minimum number of bits needed to represent all the enumerators). This assumption
may not be valid if the program uses a cast to convert an arbitrary integer value to the enumerated
type.
-ftemplate-backtrace-limit=n
Set the maximum number of template instantiation notes for a single warning or error to n. The
default value is 10.
-ftemplate-depth=n
Set the maximum instantiation depth for template classes to n. A limit on the template instantiation
depth is needed to detect endless recursions during template class instantiation. ANSI/ISO C++
conforming programs must not rely on a maximum depth greater than 17 (changed to 1024 in C++11). The
default value is 900, as the compiler can run out of stack space before hitting 1024 in some
situations.
-fno-threadsafe-statics
Do not emit the extra code to use the routines specified in the C++ ABI for thread-safe
initialization of local statics. You can use this option to reduce code size slightly in code that
doesn't need to be thread-safe.
-fuse-cxa-atexit
Register destructors for objects with static storage duration with the "__cxa_atexit" function rather
than the "atexit" function. This option is required for fully standards-compliant handling of static
destructors, but only works if your C library supports "__cxa_atexit".
-fno-use-cxa-get-exception-ptr
Don't use the "__cxa_get_exception_ptr" runtime routine. This causes "std::uncaught_exception" to be
incorrect, but is necessary if the runtime routine is not available.
-fvisibility-inlines-hidden
This switch declares that the user does not attempt to compare pointers to inline functions or
methods where the addresses of the two functions are taken in different shared objects.
The effect of this is that GCC may, effectively, mark inline methods with "__attribute__ ((visibility
("hidden")))" so that they do not appear in the export table of a DSO and do not require a PLT
indirection when used within the DSO. Enabling this option can have a dramatic effect on load and
link times of a DSO as it massively reduces the size of the dynamic export table when the library
makes heavy use of templates.
The behavior of this switch is not quite the same as marking the methods as hidden directly, because
it does not affect static variables local to the function or cause the compiler to deduce that the
function is defined in only one shared object.
You may mark a method as having a visibility explicitly to negate the effect of the switch for that
method. For example, if you do want to compare pointers to a particular inline method, you might
mark it as having default visibility. Marking the enclosing class with explicit visibility has no
effect.
Explicitly instantiated inline methods are unaffected by this option as their linkage might otherwise
cross a shared library boundary.
-fvisibility-ms-compat
This flag attempts to use visibility settings to make GCC's C++ linkage model compatible with that of
Microsoft Visual Studio.
The flag makes these changes to GCC's linkage model:
1. It sets the default visibility to "hidden", like -fvisibility=hidden.
2. Types, but not their members, are not hidden by default.
3. The One Definition Rule is relaxed for types without explicit visibility specifications that are
defined in more than one shared object: those declarations are permitted if they are permitted
when this option is not used.
In new code it is better to use -fvisibility=hidden and export those classes that are intended to be
externally visible. Unfortunately it is possible for code to rely, perhaps accidentally, on the
Visual Studio behavior.
Among the consequences of these changes are that static data members of the same type with the same
name but defined in different shared objects are different, so changing one does not change the
other; and that pointers to function members defined in different shared objects may not compare
equal. When this flag is given, it is a violation of the ODR to define types with the same name
differently.
-fno-weak
Do not use weak symbol support, even if it is provided by the linker. By default, G++ uses weak
symbols if they are available. This option exists only for testing, and should not be used by end-
users; it results in inferior code and has no benefits. This option may be removed in a future
release of G++.
-nostdinc++
Do not search for header files in the standard directories specific to C++, but do still search the
other standard directories. (This option is used when building the C++ library.)
In addition, these optimization, warning, and code generation options have meanings only for C++
programs:
-fno-default-inline
Do not assume inline for functions defined inside a class scope.
Note that these functions have linkage like inline functions; they just aren't inlined by default.
-Wabi (C, Objective-C, C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when G++ generates code that is probably not compatible with the vendor-neutral C++ ABI.
Although an effort has been made to warn about all such cases, there are probably some cases that are
not warned about, even though G++ is generating incompatible code. There may also be cases where
warnings are emitted even though the code that is generated is compatible.
You should rewrite your code to avoid these warnings if you are concerned about the fact that code
generated by G++ may not be binary compatible with code generated by other compilers.
The known incompatibilities in -fabi-version=2 (the default) include:
• A template with a non-type template parameter of reference type is mangled incorrectly:
extern int N;
template <int &> struct S {};
void n (S<N>) {2}
This is fixed in -fabi-version=3.
• SIMD vector types declared using "__attribute ((vector_size))" are mangled in a non-standard way
that does not allow for overloading of functions taking vectors of different sizes.
The mangling is changed in -fabi-version=4.
The known incompatibilities in -fabi-version=1 include:
• Incorrect handling of tail-padding for bit-fields. G++ may attempt to pack data into the same
byte as a base class. For example:
struct A { virtual void f(); int f1 : 1; };
struct B : public A { int f2 : 1; };
In this case, G++ places "B::f2" into the same byte as "A::f1"; other compilers do not. You can
avoid this problem by explicitly padding "A" so that its size is a multiple of the byte size on
your platform; that causes G++ and other compilers to lay out "B" identically.
• Incorrect handling of tail-padding for virtual bases. G++ does not use tail padding when laying
out virtual bases. For example:
struct A { virtual void f(); char c1; };
struct B { B(); char c2; };
struct C : public A, public virtual B {};
In this case, G++ does not place "B" into the tail-padding for "A"; other compilers do. You can
avoid this problem by explicitly padding "A" so that its size is a multiple of its alignment
(ignoring virtual base classes); that causes G++ and other compilers to lay out "C" identically.
• Incorrect handling of bit-fields with declared widths greater than that of their underlying
types, when the bit-fields appear in a union. For example:
union U { int i : 4096; };
Assuming that an "int" does not have 4096 bits, G++ makes the union too small by the number of
bits in an "int".
• Empty classes can be placed at incorrect offsets. For example:
struct A {};
struct B {
A a;
virtual void f ();
};
struct C : public B, public A {};
G++ places the "A" base class of "C" at a nonzero offset; it should be placed at offset zero.
G++ mistakenly believes that the "A" data member of "B" is already at offset zero.
• Names of template functions whose types involve "typename" or template template parameters can be
mangled incorrectly.
template <typename Q>
void f(typename Q::X) {}
template <template <typename> class Q>
void f(typename Q<int>::X) {}
Instantiations of these templates may be mangled incorrectly.
It also warns about psABI-related changes. The known psABI changes at this point include:
• For SysV/x86-64, unions with "long double" members are passed in memory as specified in psABI.
For example:
union U {
long double ld;
int i;
};
"union U" is always passed in memory.
-Wctor-dtor-privacy (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when a class seems unusable because all the constructors or destructors in that class are
private, and it has neither friends nor public static member functions. Also warn if there are no
non-private methods, and there's at least one private member function that isn't a constructor or
destructor.
-Wdelete-non-virtual-dtor (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when delete is used to destroy an instance of a class that has virtual functions and non-virtual
destructor. It is unsafe to delete an instance of a derived class through a pointer to a base class
if the base class does not have a virtual destructor. This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wliteral-suffix (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when a string or character literal is followed by a ud-suffix which does not begin with an
underscore. As a conforming extension, GCC treats such suffixes as separate preprocessing tokens in
order to maintain backwards compatibility with code that uses formatting macros from "<inttypes.h>".
For example:
#define __STDC_FORMAT_MACROS
#include <inttypes.h>
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int64_t i64 = 123;
printf("My int64: %"PRId64"\n", i64);
}
In this case, "PRId64" is treated as a separate preprocessing token.
This warning is enabled by default.
-Wnarrowing (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when a narrowing conversion prohibited by C++11 occurs within { }, e.g.
int i = { 2.2 }; // error: narrowing from double to int
This flag is included in -Wall and -Wc++11-compat.
With -std=c++11, -Wno-narrowing suppresses the diagnostic required by the standard. Note that this
does not affect the meaning of well-formed code; narrowing conversions are still considered ill-
formed in SFINAE context.
-Wnoexcept (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when a noexcept-expression evaluates to false because of a call to a function that does not have
a non-throwing exception specification (i.e. throw() or noexcept) but is known by the compiler to
never throw an exception.
-Wnon-virtual-dtor (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when a class has virtual functions and an accessible non-virtual destructor, in which case it is
possible but unsafe to delete an instance of a derived class through a pointer to the base class.
This warning is also enabled if -Weffc++ is specified.
-Wreorder (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when the order of member initializers given in the code does not match the order in which they
must be executed. For instance:
struct A {
int i;
int j;
A(): j (0), i (1) { }
};
The compiler rearranges the member initializers for i and j to match the declaration order of the
members, emitting a warning to that effect. This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-fext-numeric-literals (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Accept imaginary, fixed-point, or machine-defined literal number suffixes as GNU extensions. When
this option is turned off these suffixes are treated as C++11 user-defined literal numeric suffixes.
This is on by default for all pre-C++11 dialects and all GNU dialects: -std=c++98, -std=gnu++98,
-std=gnu++11, -std=gnu++1y. This option is off by default for ISO C++11 onwards (-std=c++11, ...).
The following -W... options are not affected by -Wall.
-Weffc++ (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn about violations of the following style guidelines from Scott Meyers' Effective C++, Second
Edition book:
• Item 11: Define a copy constructor and an assignment operator for classes with dynamically-
allocated memory.
• Item 12: Prefer initialization to assignment in constructors.
• Item 14: Make destructors virtual in base classes.
• Item 15: Have "operator=" return a reference to *this.
• Item 23: Don't try to return a reference when you must return an object.
Also warn about violations of the following style guidelines from Scott Meyers' More Effective C++
book:
• Item 6: Distinguish between prefix and postfix forms of increment and decrement operators.
• Item 7: Never overload "&&", "||", or ",".
When selecting this option, be aware that the standard library headers do not obey all of these
guidelines; use grep -v to filter out those warnings.
-Wstrict-null-sentinel (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn about the use of an uncasted "NULL" as sentinel. When compiling only with GCC this is a valid
sentinel, as "NULL" is defined to "__null". Although it is a null pointer constant rather than a
null pointer, it is guaranteed to be of the same size as a pointer. But this use is not portable
across different compilers.
-Wno-non-template-friend (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Disable warnings when non-templatized friend functions are declared within a template. Since the
advent of explicit template specification support in G++, if the name of the friend is an
unqualified-id (i.e., friend foo(int)), the C++ language specification demands that the friend
declare or define an ordinary, nontemplate function. (Section 14.5.3). Before G++ implemented
explicit specification, unqualified-ids could be interpreted as a particular specialization of a
templatized function. Because this non-conforming behavior is no longer the default behavior for
G++, -Wnon-template-friend allows the compiler to check existing code for potential trouble spots and
is on by default. This new compiler behavior can be turned off with -Wno-non-template-friend, which
keeps the conformant compiler code but disables the helpful warning.
-Wold-style-cast (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn if an old-style (C-style) cast to a non-void type is used within a C++ program. The new-style
casts (dynamic_cast, static_cast, reinterpret_cast, and const_cast) are less vulnerable to unintended
effects and much easier to search for.
-Woverloaded-virtual (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when a function declaration hides virtual functions from a base class. For example, in:
struct A {
virtual void f();
};
struct B: public A {
void f(int);
};
the "A" class version of "f" is hidden in "B", and code like:
B* b;
b->f();
fails to compile.
-Wno-pmf-conversions (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Disable the diagnostic for converting a bound pointer to member function to a plain pointer.
-Wsign-promo (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when overload resolution chooses a promotion from unsigned or enumerated type to a signed type,
over a conversion to an unsigned type of the same size. Previous versions of G++ tried to preserve
unsignedness, but the standard mandates the current behavior.
Options Controlling Objective-C and Objective-C++ Dialects
(NOTE: This manual does not describe the Objective-C and Objective-C++ languages themselves.
This section describes the command-line options that are only meaningful for Objective-C and
Objective-C++ programs. You can also use most of the language-independent GNU compiler options. For
example, you might compile a file "some_class.m" like this:
gcc -g -fgnu-runtime -O -c some_class.m
In this example, -fgnu-runtime is an option meant only for Objective-C and Objective-C++ programs; you
can use the other options with any language supported by GCC.
Note that since Objective-C is an extension of the C language, Objective-C compilations may also use
options specific to the C front-end (e.g., -Wtraditional). Similarly, Objective-C++ compilations may use
C++-specific options (e.g., -Wabi).
Here is a list of options that are only for compiling Objective-C and Objective-C++ programs:
-fconstant-string-class=class-name
Use class-name as the name of the class to instantiate for each literal string specified with the
syntax "@"..."". The default class name is "NXConstantString" if the GNU runtime is being used, and
"NSConstantString" if the NeXT runtime is being used (see below). The -fconstant-cfstrings option,
if also present, overrides the -fconstant-string-class setting and cause "@"..."" literals to be laid
out as constant CoreFoundation strings.
-fgnu-runtime
Generate object code compatible with the standard GNU Objective-C runtime. This is the default for
most types of systems.
-fnext-runtime
Generate output compatible with the NeXT runtime. This is the default for NeXT-based systems,
including Darwin and Mac OS X. The macro "__NEXT_RUNTIME__" is predefined if (and only if) this
option is used.
-fno-nil-receivers
Assume that all Objective-C message dispatches ("[receiver message:arg]") in this translation unit
ensure that the receiver is not "nil". This allows for more efficient entry points in the runtime to
be used. This option is only available in conjunction with the NeXT runtime and ABI version 0 or 1.
-fobjc-abi-version=n
Use version n of the Objective-C ABI for the selected runtime. This option is currently supported
only for the NeXT runtime. In that case, Version 0 is the traditional (32-bit) ABI without support
for properties and other Objective-C 2.0 additions. Version 1 is the traditional (32-bit) ABI with
support for properties and other Objective-C 2.0 additions. Version 2 is the modern (64-bit) ABI.
If nothing is specified, the default is Version 0 on 32-bit target machines, and Version 2 on 64-bit
target machines.
-fobjc-call-cxx-cdtors
For each Objective-C class, check if any of its instance variables is a C++ object with a non-trivial
default constructor. If so, synthesize a special "- (id) .cxx_construct" instance method which runs
non-trivial default constructors on any such instance variables, in order, and then return "self".
Similarly, check if any instance variable is a C++ object with a non-trivial destructor, and if so,
synthesize a special "- (void) .cxx_destruct" method which runs all such default destructors, in
reverse order.
The "- (id) .cxx_construct" and "- (void) .cxx_destruct" methods thusly generated only operate on
instance variables declared in the current Objective-C class, and not those inherited from
superclasses. It is the responsibility of the Objective-C runtime to invoke all such methods in an
object's inheritance hierarchy. The "- (id) .cxx_construct" methods are invoked by the runtime
immediately after a new object instance is allocated; the "- (void) .cxx_destruct" methods are
invoked immediately before the runtime deallocates an object instance.
As of this writing, only the NeXT runtime on Mac OS X 10.4 and later has support for invoking the "-
(id) .cxx_construct" and "- (void) .cxx_destruct" methods.
-fobjc-direct-dispatch
Allow fast jumps to the message dispatcher. On Darwin this is accomplished via the comm page.
-fobjc-exceptions
Enable syntactic support for structured exception handling in Objective-C, similar to what is offered
by C++ and Java. This option is required to use the Objective-C keywords @try, @throw, @catch,
@finally and @synchronized. This option is available with both the GNU runtime and the NeXT runtime
(but not available in conjunction with the NeXT runtime on Mac OS X 10.2 and earlier).
-fobjc-gc
Enable garbage collection (GC) in Objective-C and Objective-C++ programs. This option is only
available with the NeXT runtime; the GNU runtime has a different garbage collection implementation
that does not require special compiler flags.
-fobjc-nilcheck
For the NeXT runtime with version 2 of the ABI, check for a nil receiver in method invocations before
doing the actual method call. This is the default and can be disabled using -fno-objc-nilcheck.
Class methods and super calls are never checked for nil in this way no matter what this flag is set
to. Currently this flag does nothing when the GNU runtime, or an older version of the NeXT runtime
ABI, is used.
-fobjc-std=objc1
Conform to the language syntax of Objective-C 1.0, the language recognized by GCC 4.0. This only
affects the Objective-C additions to the C/C++ language; it does not affect conformance to C/C++
standards, which is controlled by the separate C/C++ dialect option flags. When this option is used
with the Objective-C or Objective-C++ compiler, any Objective-C syntax that is not recognized by GCC
4.0 is rejected. This is useful if you need to make sure that your Objective-C code can be compiled
with older versions of GCC.
-freplace-objc-classes
Emit a special marker instructing ld(1) not to statically link in the resulting object file, and
allow dyld(1) to load it in at run time instead. This is used in conjunction with the Fix-and-
Continue debugging mode, where the object file in question may be recompiled and dynamically reloaded
in the course of program execution, without the need to restart the program itself. Currently, Fix-
and-Continue functionality is only available in conjunction with the NeXT runtime on Mac OS X 10.3
and later.
-fzero-link
When compiling for the NeXT runtime, the compiler ordinarily replaces calls to "objc_getClass("...")"
(when the name of the class is known at compile time) with static class references that get
initialized at load time, which improves run-time performance. Specifying the -fzero-link flag
suppresses this behavior and causes calls to "objc_getClass("...")" to be retained. This is useful
in Zero-Link debugging mode, since it allows for individual class implementations to be modified
during program execution. The GNU runtime currently always retains calls to "objc_get_class("...")"
regardless of command-line options.
-gen-decls
Dump interface declarations for all classes seen in the source file to a file named sourcename.decl.
-Wassign-intercept (Objective-C and Objective-C++ only)
Warn whenever an Objective-C assignment is being intercepted by the garbage collector.
-Wno-protocol (Objective-C and Objective-C++ only)
If a class is declared to implement a protocol, a warning is issued for every method in the protocol
that is not implemented by the class. The default behavior is to issue a warning for every method
not explicitly implemented in the class, even if a method implementation is inherited from the
superclass. If you use the -Wno-protocol option, then methods inherited from the superclass are
considered to be implemented, and no warning is issued for them.
-Wselector (Objective-C and Objective-C++ only)
Warn if multiple methods of different types for the same selector are found during compilation. The
check is performed on the list of methods in the final stage of compilation. Additionally, a check
is performed for each selector appearing in a "@selector(...)" expression, and a corresponding
method for that selector has been found during compilation. Because these checks scan the method
table only at the end of compilation, these warnings are not produced if the final stage of
compilation is not reached, for example because an error is found during compilation, or because the
-fsyntax-only option is being used.
-Wstrict-selector-match (Objective-C and Objective-C++ only)
Warn if multiple methods with differing argument and/or return types are found for a given selector
when attempting to send a message using this selector to a receiver of type "id" or "Class". When
this flag is off (which is the default behavior), the compiler omits such warnings if any differences
found are confined to types that share the same size and alignment.
-Wundeclared-selector (Objective-C and Objective-C++ only)
Warn if a "@selector(...)" expression referring to an undeclared selector is found. A selector is
considered undeclared if no method with that name has been declared before the "@selector(...)"
expression, either explicitly in an @interface or @protocol declaration, or implicitly in an
@implementation section. This option always performs its checks as soon as a "@selector(...)"
expression is found, while -Wselector only performs its checks in the final stage of compilation.
This also enforces the coding style convention that methods and selectors must be declared before
being used.
-print-objc-runtime-info
Generate C header describing the largest structure that is passed by value, if any.
Options to Control Diagnostic Messages Formatting
Traditionally, diagnostic messages have been formatted irrespective of the output device's aspect (e.g.
its width, ...). You can use the options described below to control the formatting algorithm for
diagnostic messages, e.g. how many characters per line, how often source location information should be
reported. Note that some language front ends may not honor these options.
-fmessage-length=n
Try to format error messages so that they fit on lines of about n characters. The default is 72
characters for g++ and 0 for the rest of the front ends supported by GCC. If n is zero, then no
line-wrapping is done; each error message appears on a single line.
-fdiagnostics-show-location=once
Only meaningful in line-wrapping mode. Instructs the diagnostic messages reporter to emit source
location information once; that is, in case the message is too long to fit on a single physical line
and has to be wrapped, the source location won't be emitted (as prefix) again, over and over, in
subsequent continuation lines. This is the default behavior.
-fdiagnostics-show-location=every-line
Only meaningful in line-wrapping mode. Instructs the diagnostic messages reporter to emit the same
source location information (as prefix) for physical lines that result from the process of breaking a
message which is too long to fit on a single line.
-fno-diagnostics-show-option
By default, each diagnostic emitted includes text indicating the command-line option that directly
controls the diagnostic (if such an option is known to the diagnostic machinery). Specifying the
-fno-diagnostics-show-option flag suppresses that behavior.
-fno-diagnostics-show-caret
By default, each diagnostic emitted includes the original source line and a caret '^' indicating the
column. This option suppresses this information.
Options to Request or Suppress Warnings
Warnings are diagnostic messages that report constructions that are not inherently erroneous but that are
risky or suggest there may have been an error.
The following language-independent options do not enable specific warnings but control the kinds of
diagnostics produced by GCC.
-fsyntax-only
Check the code for syntax errors, but don't do anything beyond that.
-fmax-errors=n
Limits the maximum number of error messages to n, at which point GCC bails out rather than attempting
to continue processing the source code. If n is 0 (the default), there is no limit on the number of
error messages produced. If -Wfatal-errors is also specified, then -Wfatal-errors takes precedence
over this option.
-w Inhibit all warning messages.
-Werror
Make all warnings into errors.
-Werror=
Make the specified warning into an error. The specifier for a warning is appended; for example
-Werror=switch turns the warnings controlled by -Wswitch into errors. This switch takes a negative
form, to be used to negate -Werror for specific warnings; for example -Wno-error=switch makes
-Wswitch warnings not be errors, even when -Werror is in effect.
The warning message for each controllable warning includes the option that controls the warning.
That option can then be used with -Werror= and -Wno-error= as described above. (Printing of the
option in the warning message can be disabled using the -fno-diagnostics-show-option flag.)
Note that specifying -Werror=foo automatically implies -Wfoo. However, -Wno-error=foo does not imply
anything.
-Wfatal-errors
This option causes the compiler to abort compilation on the first error occurred rather than trying
to keep going and printing further error messages.
You can request many specific warnings with options beginning with -W, for example -Wimplicit to request
warnings on implicit declarations. Each of these specific warning options also has a negative form
beginning -Wno- to turn off warnings; for example, -Wno-implicit. This manual lists only one of the two
forms, whichever is not the default. For further language-specific options also refer to C++ Dialect
Options and Objective-C and Objective-C++ Dialect Options.
When an unrecognized warning option is requested (e.g., -Wunknown-warning), GCC emits a diagnostic
stating that the option is not recognized. However, if the -Wno- form is used, the behavior is slightly
different: no diagnostic is produced for -Wno-unknown-warning unless other diagnostics are being
produced. This allows the use of new -Wno- options with old compilers, but if something goes wrong, the
compiler warns that an unrecognized option is present.
-Wpedantic
-pedantic
Issue all the warnings demanded by strict ISO C and ISO C++; reject all programs that use forbidden
extensions, and some other programs that do not follow ISO C and ISO C++. For ISO C, follows the
version of the ISO C standard specified by any -std option used.
Valid ISO C and ISO C++ programs should compile properly with or without this option (though a rare
few require -ansi or a -std option specifying the required version of ISO C). However, without this
option, certain GNU extensions and traditional C and C++ features are supported as well. With this
option, they are rejected.
-Wpedantic does not cause warning messages for use of the alternate keywords whose names begin and
end with __. Pedantic warnings are also disabled in the expression that follows "__extension__".
However, only system header files should use these escape routes; application programs should avoid
them.
Some users try to use -Wpedantic to check programs for strict ISO C conformance. They soon find that
it does not do quite what they want: it finds some non-ISO practices, but not all---only those for
which ISO C requires a diagnostic, and some others for which diagnostics have been added.
A feature to report any failure to conform to ISO C might be useful in some instances, but would
require considerable additional work and would be quite different from -Wpedantic. We don't have
plans to support such a feature in the near future.
Where the standard specified with -std represents a GNU extended dialect of C, such as gnu90 or
gnu99, there is a corresponding base standard, the version of ISO C on which the GNU extended dialect
is based. Warnings from -Wpedantic are given where they are required by the base standard. (It does
not make sense for such warnings to be given only for features not in the specified GNU C dialect,
since by definition the GNU dialects of C include all features the compiler supports with the given
option, and there would be nothing to warn about.)
-pedantic-errors
Like -Wpedantic, except that errors are produced rather than warnings.
-Wall
This enables all the warnings about constructions that some users consider questionable, and that are
easy to avoid (or modify to prevent the warning), even in conjunction with macros. This also enables
some language-specific warnings described in C++ Dialect Options and Objective-C and Objective-C++
Dialect Options.
-Wall turns on the following warning flags:
-Waddress -Warray-bounds (only with -O2) -Wc++11-compat -Wchar-subscripts -Wenum-compare (in C/ObjC;
this is on by default in C++) -Wimplicit-int (C and Objective-C only) -Wimplicit-function-declaration
(C and Objective-C only) -Wcomment -Wformat -Wmain (only for C/ObjC and unless -ffreestanding)
-Wmaybe-uninitialized -Wmissing-braces (only for C/ObjC) -Wnonnull -Wparentheses -Wpointer-sign
-Wreorder -Wreturn-type -Wsequence-point -Wsign-compare (only in C++) -Wstrict-aliasing
-Wstrict-overflow=1 -Wswitch -Wtrigraphs -Wuninitialized -Wunknown-pragmas -Wunused-function
-Wunused-label -Wunused-value -Wunused-variable -Wvolatile-register-var
Note that some warning flags are not implied by -Wall. Some of them warn about constructions that
users generally do not consider questionable, but which occasionally you might wish to check for;
others warn about constructions that are necessary or hard to avoid in some cases, and there is no
simple way to modify the code to suppress the warning. Some of them are enabled by -Wextra but many
of them must be enabled individually.
-Wextra
This enables some extra warning flags that are not enabled by -Wall. (This option used to be called
-W. The older name is still supported, but the newer name is more descriptive.)
-Wclobbered -Wempty-body -Wignored-qualifiers -Wmissing-field-initializers -Wmissing-parameter-type
(C only) -Wold-style-declaration (C only) -Woverride-init -Wsign-compare -Wtype-limits
-Wuninitialized -Wunused-parameter (only with -Wunused or -Wall) -Wunused-but-set-parameter (only
with -Wunused or -Wall)
The option -Wextra also prints warning messages for the following cases:
• A pointer is compared against integer zero with <, <=, >, or >=.
• (C++ only) An enumerator and a non-enumerator both appear in a conditional expression.
• (C++ only) Ambiguous virtual bases.
• (C++ only) Subscripting an array that has been declared register.
• (C++ only) Taking the address of a variable that has been declared register.
• (C++ only) A base class is not initialized in a derived class's copy constructor.
-Wchar-subscripts
Warn if an array subscript has type "char". This is a common cause of error, as programmers often
forget that this type is signed on some machines. This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wcomment
Warn whenever a comment-start sequence /* appears in a /* comment, or whenever a Backslash-Newline
appears in a // comment. This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wno-coverage-mismatch
Warn if feedback profiles do not match when using the -fprofile-use option. If a source file is
changed between compiling with -fprofile-gen and with -fprofile-use, the files with the profile
feedback can fail to match the source file and GCC cannot use the profile feedback information. By
default, this warning is enabled and is treated as an error. -Wno-coverage-mismatch can be used to
disable the warning or -Wno-error=coverage-mismatch can be used to disable the error. Disabling the
error for this warning can result in poorly optimized code and is useful only in the case of very
minor changes such as bug fixes to an existing code-base. Completely disabling the warning is not
recommended.
-Wno-cpp
(C, Objective-C, C++, Objective-C++ and Fortran only)
Suppress warning messages emitted by "#warning" directives.
-Wdouble-promotion (C, C++, Objective-C and Objective-C++ only)
Give a warning when a value of type "float" is implicitly promoted to "double". CPUs with a 32-bit
"single-precision" floating-point unit implement "float" in hardware, but emulate "double" in
software. On such a machine, doing computations using "double" values is much more expensive because
of the overhead required for software emulation.
It is easy to accidentally do computations with "double" because floating-point literals are
implicitly of type "double". For example, in:
float area(float radius)
{
return 3.14159 * radius * radius;
}
the compiler performs the entire computation with "double" because the floating-point literal is a
"double".
-Wformat
-Wformat=n
Check calls to "printf" and "scanf", etc., to make sure that the arguments supplied have types
appropriate to the format string specified, and that the conversions specified in the format string
make sense. This includes standard functions, and others specified by format attributes, in the
"printf", "scanf", "strftime" and "strfmon" (an X/Open extension, not in the C standard) families (or
other target-specific families). Which functions are checked without format attributes having been
specified depends on the standard version selected, and such checks of functions without the
attribute specified are disabled by -ffreestanding or -fno-builtin.
The formats are checked against the format features supported by GNU libc version 2.2. These include
all ISO C90 and C99 features, as well as features from the Single Unix Specification and some BSD and
GNU extensions. Other library implementations may not support all these features; GCC does not
support warning about features that go beyond a particular library's limitations. However, if
-Wpedantic is used with -Wformat, warnings are given about format features not in the selected
standard version (but not for "strfmon" formats, since those are not in any version of the C
standard).
-Wformat=1
-Wformat
Option -Wformat is equivalent to -Wformat=1, and -Wno-format is equivalent to -Wformat=0. Since
-Wformat also checks for null format arguments for several functions, -Wformat also implies
-Wnonnull. Some aspects of this level of format checking can be disabled by the options:
-Wno-format-contains-nul, -Wno-format-extra-args, and -Wno-format-zero-length. -Wformat is
enabled by -Wall.
-Wno-format-contains-nul
If -Wformat is specified, do not warn about format strings that contain NUL bytes.
-Wno-format-extra-args
If -Wformat is specified, do not warn about excess arguments to a "printf" or "scanf" format
function. The C standard specifies that such arguments are ignored.
Where the unused arguments lie between used arguments that are specified with $ operand number
specifications, normally warnings are still given, since the implementation could not know what
type to pass to "va_arg" to skip the unused arguments. However, in the case of "scanf" formats,
this option suppresses the warning if the unused arguments are all pointers, since the Single
Unix Specification says that such unused arguments are allowed.
-Wno-format-zero-length
If -Wformat is specified, do not warn about zero-length formats. The C standard specifies that
zero-length formats are allowed.
-Wformat=2
Enable -Wformat plus additional format checks. Currently equivalent to -Wformat
-Wformat-nonliteral -Wformat-security -Wformat-y2k.
-Wformat-nonliteral
If -Wformat is specified, also warn if the format string is not a string literal and so cannot be
checked, unless the format function takes its format arguments as a "va_list".
-Wformat-security
If -Wformat is specified, also warn about uses of format functions that represent possible
security problems. At present, this warns about calls to "printf" and "scanf" functions where
the format string is not a string literal and there are no format arguments, as in "printf
(foo);". This may be a security hole if the format string came from untrusted input and contains
%n. (This is currently a subset of what -Wformat-nonliteral warns about, but in future warnings
may be added to -Wformat-security that are not included in -Wformat-nonliteral.)
NOTE: In Ubuntu 8.10 and later versions this option is enabled by default for C, C++, ObjC,
ObjC++. To disable, use -Wno-format-security, or disable all format warnings with -Wformat=0.
To make format security warnings fatal, specify -Werror=format-security.
-Wformat-y2k
If -Wformat is specified, also warn about "strftime" formats that may yield only a two-digit
year.
-Wnonnull
Warn about passing a null pointer for arguments marked as requiring a non-null value by the "nonnull"
function attribute.
-Wnonnull is included in -Wall and -Wformat. It can be disabled with the -Wno-nonnull option.
-Winit-self (C, C++, Objective-C and Objective-C++ only)
Warn about uninitialized variables that are initialized with themselves. Note this option can only
be used with the -Wuninitialized option.
For example, GCC warns about "i" being uninitialized in the following snippet only when -Winit-self
has been specified:
int f()
{
int i = i;
return i;
}
This warning is enabled by -Wall in C++.
-Wimplicit-int (C and Objective-C only)
Warn when a declaration does not specify a type. This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wimplicit-function-declaration (C and Objective-C only)
Give a warning whenever a function is used before being declared. In C99 mode (-std=c99 or
-std=gnu99), this warning is enabled by default and it is made into an error by -pedantic-errors.
This warning is also enabled by -Wall.
-Wimplicit (C and Objective-C only)
Same as -Wimplicit-int and -Wimplicit-function-declaration. This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wignored-qualifiers (C and C++ only)
Warn if the return type of a function has a type qualifier such as "const". For ISO C such a type
qualifier has no effect, since the value returned by a function is not an lvalue. For C++, the
warning is only emitted for scalar types or "void". ISO C prohibits qualified "void" return types on
function definitions, so such return types always receive a warning even without this option.
This warning is also enabled by -Wextra.
-Wmain
Warn if the type of main is suspicious. main should be a function with external linkage, returning
int, taking either zero arguments, two, or three arguments of appropriate types. This warning is
enabled by default in C++ and is enabled by either -Wall or -Wpedantic.
-Wmissing-braces
Warn if an aggregate or union initializer is not fully bracketed. In the following example, the
initializer for a is not fully bracketed, but that for b is fully bracketed. This warning is enabled
by -Wall in C.
int a[2][2] = { 0, 1, 2, 3 };
int b[2][2] = { { 0, 1 }, { 2, 3 } };
This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wmissing-include-dirs (C, C++, Objective-C and Objective-C++ only)
Warn if a user-supplied include directory does not exist.
-Wparentheses
Warn if parentheses are omitted in certain contexts, such as when there is an assignment in a context
where a truth value is expected, or when operators are nested whose precedence people often get
confused about.
Also warn if a comparison like x<=y<=z appears; this is equivalent to (x<=y ? 1 : 0) <= z, which is a
different interpretation from that of ordinary mathematical notation.
Also warn about constructions where there may be confusion to which "if" statement an "else" branch
belongs. Here is an example of such a case:
{
if (a)
if (b)
foo ();
else
bar ();
}
In C/C++, every "else" branch belongs to the innermost possible "if" statement, which in this example
is "if (b)". This is often not what the programmer expected, as illustrated in the above example by
indentation the programmer chose. When there is the potential for this confusion, GCC issues a
warning when this flag is specified. To eliminate the warning, add explicit braces around the
innermost "if" statement so there is no way the "else" can belong to the enclosing "if". The
resulting code looks like this:
{
if (a)
{
if (b)
foo ();
else
bar ();
}
}
Also warn for dangerous uses of the GNU extension to "?:" with omitted middle operand. When the
condition in the "?": operator is a boolean expression, the omitted value is always 1. Often
programmers expect it to be a value computed inside the conditional expression instead.
This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wsequence-point
Warn about code that may have undefined semantics because of violations of sequence point rules in
the C and C++ standards.
The C and C++ standards define the order in which expressions in a C/C++ program are evaluated in
terms of sequence points, which represent a partial ordering between the execution of parts of the
program: those executed before the sequence point, and those executed after it. These occur after
the evaluation of a full expression (one which is not part of a larger expression), after the
evaluation of the first operand of a "&&", "||", "? :" or "," (comma) operator, before a function is
called (but after the evaluation of its arguments and the expression denoting the called function),
and in certain other places. Other than as expressed by the sequence point rules, the order of
evaluation of subexpressions of an expression is not specified. All these rules describe only a
partial order rather than a total order, since, for example, if two functions are called within one
expression with no sequence point between them, the order in which the functions are called is not
specified. However, the standards committee have ruled that function calls do not overlap.
It is not specified when between sequence points modifications to the values of objects take effect.
Programs whose behavior depends on this have undefined behavior; the C and C++ standards specify that
"Between the previous and next sequence point an object shall have its stored value modified at most
once by the evaluation of an expression. Furthermore, the prior value shall be read only to
determine the value to be stored.". If a program breaks these rules, the results on any particular
implementation are entirely unpredictable.
Examples of code with undefined behavior are "a = a++;", "a[n] = b[n++]" and "a[i++] = i;". Some
more complicated cases are not diagnosed by this option, and it may give an occasional false positive
result, but in general it has been found fairly effective at detecting this sort of problem in
programs.
The standard is worded confusingly, therefore there is some debate over the precise meaning of the
sequence point rules in subtle cases. Links to discussions of the problem, including proposed formal
definitions, may be found on the GCC readings page, at <http://gcc.gnu.org/readings.html>.
This warning is enabled by -Wall for C and C++.
-Wno-return-local-addr
Do not warn about returning a pointer (or in C++, a reference) to a variable that goes out of scope
after the function returns.
-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" (falling off
the end of the function body is considered returning without a value), and about a "return" statement
with an expression in a function whose return type is "void".
For C++, a function without return type always produces a diagnostic message, even when
-Wno-return-type is specified. The only exceptions are main and functions defined in system headers.
This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wswitch
Warn whenever a "switch" statement has an index of enumerated 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 outside the enumeration range also provoke warnings when this option is used (even if
there is a "default" label). This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wswitch-default
Warn whenever a "switch" statement does not have a "default" case.
-Wswitch-enum
Warn whenever a "switch" statement has an index of enumerated type and lacks a "case" for one or more
of the named codes of that enumeration. "case" labels outside the enumeration range also provoke
warnings when this option is used. The only difference between -Wswitch and this option is that this
option gives a warning about an omitted enumeration code even if there is a "default" label.
-Wsync-nand (C and C++ only)
Warn when "__sync_fetch_and_nand" and "__sync_nand_and_fetch" built-in functions are used. These
functions changed semantics in GCC 4.4.
-Wtrigraphs
Warn if any trigraphs are encountered that might change the meaning of the program (trigraphs within
comments are not warned about). This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wunused-but-set-parameter
Warn whenever a function parameter is assigned to, but otherwise unused (aside from its declaration).
To suppress this warning use the unused attribute.
This warning is also enabled by -Wunused together with -Wextra.
-Wunused-but-set-variable
Warn whenever a local variable is assigned to, but otherwise unused (aside from its declaration).
This warning is enabled by -Wall.
To suppress this warning use the unused attribute.
This warning is also enabled by -Wunused, which is enabled by -Wall.
-Wunused-function
Warn whenever a static function is declared but not defined or a non-inline static function is
unused. This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wunused-label
Warn whenever a label is declared but not used. This warning is enabled by -Wall.
To suppress this warning use the unused attribute.
-Wunused-local-typedefs (C, Objective-C, C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when a typedef locally defined in a function is not used. This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wunused-parameter
Warn whenever a function parameter is unused aside from its declaration.
To suppress this warning use the unused attribute.
-Wno-unused-result
Do not warn if a caller of a function marked with attribute "warn_unused_result" does not use its
return value. The default is -Wunused-result.
-Wunused-variable
Warn whenever a local variable or non-constant static variable is unused aside from its declaration.
This warning is enabled by -Wall.
To suppress this warning use the unused attribute.
-Wunused-value
Warn whenever a statement computes a result that is explicitly not used. To suppress this warning
cast the unused expression to void. This includes an expression-statement or the left-hand side of a
comma expression that contains no side effects. For example, an expression such as x[i,j] causes a
warning, while x[(void)i,j] does not.
This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wunused
All the above -Wunused options combined.
In order to get a warning about an unused function parameter, you must either specify -Wextra
-Wunused (note that -Wall implies -Wunused), or separately specify -Wunused-parameter.
-Wuninitialized
Warn if an automatic variable is used without first being initialized or if a variable may be
clobbered by a "setjmp" call. In C++, warn if a non-static reference or non-static const member
appears in a class without constructors.
If you want to warn about code that uses the uninitialized value of the variable in its own
initializer, use the -Winit-self option.
These warnings occur for individual uninitialized or clobbered elements of structure, union or array
variables as well as for variables that are uninitialized or clobbered as a whole. They do not occur
for variables or elements declared "volatile". Because these warnings depend on optimization, the
exact variables or elements for which there are warnings depends on the precise optimization options
and version of GCC used.
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.
-Wmaybe-uninitialized
For an automatic variable, if there exists a path from the function entry to a use of the variable
that is initialized, but there exist some other paths for which the variable is not initialized, the
compiler emits a warning if it cannot prove the uninitialized paths are not executed at run time.
These warnings are made optional because GCC is not smart enough to see all the reasons why the code
might be correct in spite of 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 GCC doesn't know this.
To suppress the warning, you need to provide a default case with assert(0) or similar code.
This option also warns when a non-volatile automatic variable might be changed by a call to
"longjmp". These warnings as well 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 that
would cause a problem.
Some spurious warnings can be avoided if you declare all the functions you use that never return as
"noreturn".
This warning is enabled by -Wall or -Wextra.
-Wunknown-pragmas
Warn when a "#pragma" directive is encountered that is not understood by GCC. If this command-line
option is used, warnings are even issued for unknown pragmas in system header files. This is not the
case if the warnings are only enabled by the -Wall command-line option.
-Wno-pragmas
Do not warn about misuses of pragmas, such as incorrect parameters, invalid syntax, or conflicts
between pragmas. See also -Wunknown-pragmas.
-Wstrict-aliasing
This option is only active when -fstrict-aliasing is active. It warns about code that might break
the strict aliasing rules that the compiler is using for optimization. The warning does not catch
all cases, but does attempt to catch the more common pitfalls. It is included in -Wall. It is
equivalent to -Wstrict-aliasing=3
-Wstrict-aliasing=n
This option is only active when -fstrict-aliasing is active. It warns about code that might break
the strict aliasing rules that the compiler is using for optimization. Higher levels correspond to
higher accuracy (fewer false positives). Higher levels also correspond to more effort, similar to
the way -O works. -Wstrict-aliasing is equivalent to -Wstrict-aliasing=3.
Level 1: Most aggressive, quick, least accurate. Possibly useful when higher levels do not warn but
-fstrict-aliasing still breaks the code, as it has very few false negatives. However, it has many
false positives. Warns for all pointer conversions between possibly incompatible types, even if
never dereferenced. Runs in the front end only.
Level 2: Aggressive, quick, not too precise. May still have many false positives (not as many as
level 1 though), and few false negatives (but possibly more than level 1). Unlike level 1, it only
warns when an address is taken. Warns about incomplete types. Runs in the front end only.
Level 3 (default for -Wstrict-aliasing): Should have very few false positives and few false
negatives. Slightly slower than levels 1 or 2 when optimization is enabled. Takes care of the
common pun+dereference pattern in the front end: "*(int*)&some_float". If optimization is enabled,
it also runs in the back end, where it deals with multiple statement cases using flow-sensitive
points-to information. Only warns when the converted pointer is dereferenced. Does not warn about
incomplete types.
-Wstrict-overflow
-Wstrict-overflow=n
This option is only active when -fstrict-overflow is active. It warns about cases where the compiler
optimizes based on the assumption that signed overflow does not occur. Note that it does not warn
about all cases where the code might overflow: it only warns about cases where the compiler
implements some optimization. Thus this warning depends on the optimization level.
An optimization that assumes that signed overflow does not occur is perfectly safe if the values of
the variables involved are such that overflow never does, in fact, occur. Therefore this warning can
easily give a false positive: a warning about code that is not actually a problem. To help focus on
important issues, several warning levels are defined. No warnings are issued for the use of
undefined signed overflow when estimating how many iterations a loop requires, in particular when
determining whether a loop will be executed at all.
-Wstrict-overflow=1
Warn about cases that are both questionable and easy to avoid. For example, with
-fstrict-overflow, the compiler simplifies "x + 1 > x" to 1. This level of -Wstrict-overflow is
enabled by -Wall; higher levels are not, and must be explicitly requested.
-Wstrict-overflow=2
Also warn about other cases where a comparison is simplified to a constant. For example: "abs
(x) >= 0". This can only be simplified when -fstrict-overflow is in effect, because "abs
(INT_MIN)" overflows to "INT_MIN", which is less than zero. -Wstrict-overflow (with no level) is
the same as -Wstrict-overflow=2.
-Wstrict-overflow=3
Also warn about other cases where a comparison is simplified. For example: "x + 1 > 1" is
simplified to "x > 0".
-Wstrict-overflow=4
Also warn about other simplifications not covered by the above cases. For example: "(x * 10) /
5" is simplified to "x * 2".
-Wstrict-overflow=5
Also warn about cases where the compiler reduces the magnitude of a constant involved in a
comparison. For example: "x + 2 > y" is simplified to "x + 1 >= y". This is reported only at
the highest warning level because this simplification applies to many comparisons, so this
warning level gives a very large number of false positives.
-Wsuggest-attribute=[pure|const|noreturn|format]
Warn for cases where adding an attribute may be beneficial. The attributes currently supported are
listed below.
-Wsuggest-attribute=pure
-Wsuggest-attribute=const
-Wsuggest-attribute=noreturn
Warn about functions that might be candidates for attributes "pure", "const" or "noreturn". The
compiler only warns for functions visible in other compilation units or (in the case of "pure"
and "const") if it cannot prove that the function returns normally. A function returns normally
if it doesn't contain an infinite loop or return abnormally by throwing, calling "abort()" or
trapping. This analysis requires option -fipa-pure-const, which is enabled by default at -O and
higher. Higher optimization levels improve the accuracy of the analysis.
-Wsuggest-attribute=format
-Wmissing-format-attribute
Warn about function pointers that might be candidates for "format" attributes. Note these are
only possible candidates, not absolute ones. GCC guesses that function pointers with "format"
attributes that are used in assignment, initialization, parameter passing or return statements
should have a corresponding "format" attribute in the resulting type. I.e. the left-hand side of
the assignment or initialization, the type of the parameter variable, or the return type of the
containing function respectively should also have a "format" attribute to avoid the warning.
GCC also warns about function definitions that might be candidates for "format" attributes.
Again, these are only possible candidates. GCC guesses that "format" attributes might be
appropriate for any function that calls a function like "vprintf" or "vscanf", but this might not
always be the case, and some functions for which "format" attributes are appropriate may not be
detected.
-Warray-bounds
This option is only active when -ftree-vrp is active (default for -O2 and above). It warns about
subscripts to arrays that are always out of bounds. This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wno-div-by-zero
Do not warn about compile-time integer division by zero. Floating-point division by zero is not
warned about, as it can be a legitimate way of obtaining infinities and NaNs.
-Wsystem-headers
Print warning messages for constructs found in system header files. Warnings from system headers are
normally suppressed, on the assumption that they usually do not indicate real problems and would only
make the compiler output harder to read. Using this command-line option tells GCC to emit warnings
from system headers as if they occurred in user code. However, note that using -Wall in conjunction
with this option does not warn about unknown pragmas in system headers---for that, -Wunknown-pragmas
must also be used.
-Wtrampolines
Warn about trampolines generated for pointers to nested functions.
A trampoline is a small piece of data or code that is created at run
time on the stack when the address of a nested function is taken, and
is used to call the nested function indirectly. For some targets, it
is made up of data only and thus requires no special treatment. But,
for most targets, it is made up of code and thus requires the stack
to be made executable in order for the program to work properly.
-Wfloat-equal
Warn if floating-point values are used in equality comparisons.
The idea behind this is that sometimes it is convenient (for the programmer) to consider floating-
point values as approximations to infinitely precise real numbers. If you are doing this, then you
need to compute (by analyzing the code, or in some other way) the maximum or likely maximum error
that the computation introduces, and allow for it when performing comparisons (and when producing
output, but that's a different problem). In particular, instead of testing for equality, you should
check to see whether the two values have ranges that overlap; and this is done with the relational
operators, so equality comparisons are probably mistaken.
-Wtraditional (C and Objective-C only)
Warn about certain constructs that behave differently in traditional and ISO C. Also warn about ISO
C constructs that have no traditional C equivalent, and/or problematic constructs that should be
avoided.
• Macro parameters that appear within string literals in the macro body. In traditional C macro
replacement takes place within string literals, but in ISO C it does not.
• In traditional C, some preprocessor directives did not exist. Traditional preprocessors only
considered a line to be a directive if the # appeared in column 1 on the line. Therefore
-Wtraditional warns about directives that traditional C understands but ignores because the #
does not appear as the first character on the line. It also suggests you hide directives like
#pragma not understood by traditional C by indenting them. Some traditional implementations do
not recognize #elif, so this option suggests avoiding it altogether.
• A function-like macro that appears without arguments.
• The unary plus operator.
• The U integer constant suffix, or the F or L floating-point constant suffixes. (Traditional C
does support the L suffix on integer constants.) Note, these suffixes appear in macros defined
in the system headers of most modern systems, e.g. the _MIN/_MAX macros in "<limits.h>". Use of
these macros in user code might normally lead to spurious warnings, however GCC's integrated
preprocessor has enough context to avoid warning in these cases.
• A function declared external in one block and then used after the end of the block.
• A "switch" statement has an operand of type "long".
• A non-"static" function declaration follows a "static" one. This construct is not accepted by
some traditional C compilers.
• The ISO type of an integer constant has a different width or signedness from its traditional
type. This warning is only issued if the base of the constant is ten. I.e. hexadecimal or octal
values, which typically represent bit patterns, are not warned about.
• Usage of ISO string concatenation is detected.
• Initialization of automatic aggregates.
• Identifier conflicts with labels. Traditional C lacks a separate namespace for labels.
• Initialization of unions. If the initializer is zero, the warning is omitted. This is done
under the assumption that the zero initializer in user code appears conditioned on e.g.
"__STDC__" to avoid missing initializer warnings and relies on default initialization to zero in
the traditional C case.
• Conversions by prototypes between fixed/floating-point values and vice versa. The absence of
these prototypes when compiling with traditional C causes serious problems. This is a subset of
the possible conversion warnings; for the full set use -Wtraditional-conversion.
• Use of ISO C style function definitions. This warning intentionally is not issued for prototype
declarations or variadic functions because these ISO C features appear in your code when using
libiberty's traditional C compatibility macros, "PARAMS" and "VPARAMS". This warning is also
bypassed for nested functions because that feature is already a GCC extension and thus not
relevant to traditional C compatibility.
-Wtraditional-conversion (C and Objective-C only)
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 conversions 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 promotion.
-Wdeclaration-after-statement (C and Objective-C only)
Warn when a declaration is found after a statement in a block. This construct, known from C++, was
introduced with ISO C99 and is by default allowed in GCC. It is not supported by ISO C90 and was not
supported by GCC versions before GCC 3.0.
-Wundef
Warn if an undefined identifier is evaluated in an #if directive.
-Wno-endif-labels
Do not warn whenever an #else or an #endif are followed by text.
-Wshadow
Warn whenever a local variable or type declaration shadows another variable, parameter, type, or
class member (in C++), or whenever a built-in function is shadowed. Note that in C++, the compiler
warns if a local variable shadows an explicit typedef, but not if it shadows a struct/class/enum.
-Wlarger-than=len
Warn whenever an object of larger than len bytes is defined.
-Wframe-larger-than=len
Warn if the size of a function frame is larger than len bytes. The computation done to determine the
stack frame size is approximate and not conservative. The actual requirements may be somewhat
greater than len even if you do not get a warning. In addition, any space allocated via "alloca",
variable-length arrays, or related constructs is not included by the compiler when determining
whether or not to issue a warning.
-Wno-free-nonheap-object
Do not warn when attempting to free an object that was not allocated on the heap.
-Wstack-usage=len
Warn if the stack usage of a function might be larger than len bytes. The computation done to
determine the stack usage is conservative. Any space allocated via "alloca", variable-length arrays,
or related constructs is included by the compiler when determining whether or not to issue a warning.
The message is in keeping with the output of -fstack-usage.
• If the stack usage is fully static but exceeds the specified amount, it's:
warning: stack usage is 1120 bytes
• If the stack usage is (partly) dynamic but bounded, it's:
warning: stack usage might be 1648 bytes
• If the stack usage is (partly) dynamic and not bounded, it's:
warning: stack usage might be unbounded
-Wunsafe-loop-optimizations
Warn if the loop cannot be optimized because the compiler cannot assume anything on the bounds of the
loop indices. With -funsafe-loop-optimizations warn if the compiler makes such assumptions.
-Wno-pedantic-ms-format (MinGW targets only)
When used in combination with -Wformat and -pedantic without GNU extensions, this option disables the
warnings about non-ISO "printf" / "scanf" format width specifiers "I32", "I64", and "I" used on
Windows targets, which depend on the MS runtime.
-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.
In C++, warn also when an arithmetic operation involves "NULL". This warning is also enabled by
-Wpedantic.
-Wtype-limits
Warn if a comparison is always true or always false due to the limited range of the data type, but do
not warn for constant expressions. For example, warn if an unsigned variable is compared against
zero with < or >=. This warning is also enabled by -Wextra.
-Wbad-function-cast (C and Objective-C only)
Warn whenever a function call is cast to a non-matching type. For example, warn if "int malloc()" is
cast to "anything *".
-Wc++-compat (C and Objective-C only)
Warn about ISO C constructs that are outside of the common subset of ISO C and ISO C++, e.g. request
for implicit conversion from "void *" to a pointer to non-"void" type.
-Wc++11-compat (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn about C++ constructs whose meaning differs between ISO C++ 1998 and ISO C++ 2011, e.g.,
identifiers in ISO C++ 1998 that are keywords in ISO C++ 2011. This warning turns on -Wnarrowing and
is enabled by -Wall.
-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 *".
Also warn when making a cast that introduces a type qualifier in an unsafe way. For example, casting
"char **" to "const char **" is unsafe, as in this example:
/* p is char ** value. */
const char **q = (const char **) p;
/* Assignment of readonly string to const char * is OK. */
*q = "string";
/* Now char** pointer points to read-only memory. */
**p = 'b';
-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
When compiling C, give string constants the type "const char[length]" so that copying the address of
one into a non-"const" "char *" pointer produces a warning. These warnings 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 prototypes. Otherwise, it is just a nuisance. This is why we did
not make -Wall request these warnings.
When compiling C++, warn about the deprecated conversion from string literals to "char *". This
warning is enabled by default for C++ programs.
-Wclobbered
Warn for variables that might be changed by longjmp or vfork. This warning is also enabled by
-Wextra.
-Wconversion
Warn for implicit conversions that may alter a value. This includes conversions between real and
integer, like "abs (x)" when "x" is "double"; conversions between signed and unsigned, like "unsigned
ui = -1"; and conversions to smaller types, like "sqrtf (M_PI)". Do not warn for explicit casts like
"abs ((int) x)" and "ui = (unsigned) -1", or if the value is not changed by the conversion like in
"abs (2.0)". Warnings about conversions between signed and unsigned integers can be disabled by
using -Wno-sign-conversion.
For C++, also warn for confusing overload resolution for user-defined conversions; and conversions
that never use a type conversion operator: conversions to "void", the same type, a base class or a
reference to them. Warnings about conversions between signed and unsigned integers are disabled by
default in C++ unless -Wsign-conversion is explicitly enabled.
-Wno-conversion-null (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Do not warn for conversions between "NULL" and non-pointer types. -Wconversion-null is enabled by
default.
-Wzero-as-null-pointer-constant (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when a literal '0' is used as null pointer constant. This can be useful to facilitate the
conversion to "nullptr" in C++11.
-Wuseless-cast (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Warn when an expression is casted to its own type.
-Wempty-body
Warn if an empty body occurs in an if, else or do while statement. This warning is also enabled by
-Wextra.
-Wenum-compare
Warn about a comparison between values of different enumerated types. In C++ enumeral mismatches in
conditional expressions are also diagnosed and the warning is enabled by default. In C this warning
is enabled by -Wall.
-Wjump-misses-init (C, Objective-C only)
Warn if a "goto" statement or a "switch" statement jumps forward across the initialization of a
variable, or jumps backward to a label after the variable has been initialized. This only warns
about variables that are initialized when they are declared. This warning is only supported for C
and Objective-C; in C++ this sort of branch is an error in any case.
-Wjump-misses-init is included in -Wc++-compat. It can be disabled with the -Wno-jump-misses-init
option.
-Wsign-compare
Warn when a comparison between signed and unsigned values could produce an incorrect result when the
signed value is converted to unsigned. This warning is also enabled by -Wextra; to get the other
warnings of -Wextra without this warning, use -Wextra -Wno-sign-compare.
-Wsign-conversion
Warn for implicit conversions that may change the sign of an integer value, like assigning a signed
integer expression to an unsigned integer variable. An explicit cast silences the warning. In C, this
option is enabled also by -Wconversion.
-Wsizeof-pointer-memaccess
Warn for suspicious length parameters to certain string and memory built-in functions if the argument
uses "sizeof". This warning warns e.g. about "memset (ptr, 0, sizeof (ptr));" if "ptr" is not an
array, but a pointer, and suggests a possible fix, or about "memcpy (&foo, ptr, sizeof (&foo));".
This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Waddress
Warn about suspicious uses of memory addresses. These include using the address of a function in a
conditional expression, such as "void func(void); if (func)", and comparisons against the memory
address of a string literal, such as "if (x == "abc")". Such uses typically indicate a programmer
error: the address of a function always evaluates to true, so their use in a conditional usually
indicate that the programmer forgot the parentheses in a function call; and comparisons against
string literals result in unspecified behavior and are not portable in C, so they usually indicate
that the programmer intended to use "strcmp". This warning is enabled by -Wall.
-Wlogical-op
Warn about suspicious uses of logical operators in expressions. This includes using logical
operators in contexts where a bit-wise operator is likely to be expected.
-Waggregate-return
Warn if any functions that return structures or unions are defined or called. (In languages where
you can return an array, this also elicits a warning.)
-Wno-aggressive-loop-optimizations
Warn if in a loop with constant number of iterations the compiler detects undefined behavior in some
statement during one or more of the iterations.
-Wno-attributes
Do not warn if an unexpected "__attribute__" is used, such as unrecognized attributes, function
attributes applied to variables, etc. This does not stop errors for incorrect use of supported
attributes.
-Wno-builtin-macro-redefined
Do not warn if certain built-in macros are redefined. This suppresses warnings for redefinition of
"__TIMESTAMP__", "__TIME__", "__DATE__", "__FILE__", and "__BASE_FILE__".
-Wstrict-prototypes (C and Objective-C only)
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 that specifies the
argument types.)
-Wold-style-declaration (C and Objective-C only)
Warn for obsolescent usages, according to the C Standard, in a declaration. For example, warn if
storage-class specifiers like "static" are not the first things in a declaration. This warning is
also enabled by -Wextra.
-Wold-style-definition (C and Objective-C only)
Warn if an old-style function definition is used. A warning is given even if there is a previous
prototype.
-Wmissing-parameter-type (C and Objective-C only)
A function parameter is declared without a type specifier in K&R-style functions:
void foo(bar) { }
This warning is also enabled by -Wextra.
-Wmissing-prototypes (C and Objective-C only)
Warn if a global function is defined without a previous prototype declaration. This warning is
issued even if the definition itself provides a prototype. Use this option to detect global
functions that do not have a matching prototype declaration in a header file. This option is not
valid for C++ because all function declarations provide prototypes and a non-matching declaration
will declare an overload rather than conflict with an earlier declaration. Use
-Wmissing-declarations to detect missing declarations in C++.
-Wmissing-declarations
Warn if a global function is defined without a previous declaration. Do so even if the definition
itself provides a prototype. Use this option to detect global functions that are not declared in
header files. In C, no warnings are issued for functions with previous non-prototype declarations;
use -Wmissing-prototype to detect missing prototypes. In C++, no warnings are issued for function
templates, or for inline functions, or for functions in anonymous namespaces.
-Wmissing-field-initializers
Warn if a structure's initializer has some fields missing. For example, the following code causes
such a warning, because "x.h" is implicitly zero:
struct s { int f, g, h; };
struct s x = { 3, 4 };
This option does not warn about designated initializers, so the following modification does not
trigger a warning:
struct s { int f, g, h; };
struct s x = { .f = 3, .g = 4 };
This warning is included in -Wextra. To get other -Wextra warnings without this one, use -Wextra
-Wno-missing-field-initializers.
-Wno-multichar
Do not warn if a multicharacter constant ('FOOF') is used. Usually they indicate a typo in the
user's code, as they have implementation-defined values, and should not be used in portable code.
-Wnormalized=<none|id|nfc|nfkc>
In ISO C and ISO C++, two identifiers are different if they are different sequences of characters.
However, sometimes when characters outside the basic ASCII character set are used, you can have two
different character sequences that look the same. To avoid confusion, the ISO 10646 standard sets
out some normalization rules which when applied ensure that two sequences that look the same are
turned into the same sequence. GCC can warn you if you are using identifiers that have not been
normalized; this option controls that warning.
There are four levels of warning supported by GCC. The default is -Wnormalized=nfc, which warns
about any identifier that is not in the ISO 10646 "C" normalized form, NFC. NFC is the recommended
form for most uses.
Unfortunately, there are some characters allowed in identifiers by ISO C and ISO C++ that, when
turned into NFC, are not allowed in identifiers. That is, there's no way to use these symbols in
portable ISO C or C++ and have all your identifiers in NFC. -Wnormalized=id suppresses the warning
for these characters. It is hoped that future versions of the standards involved will correct this,
which is why this option is not the default.
You can switch the warning off for all characters by writing -Wnormalized=none. You should only do
this if you are using some other normalization scheme (like "D"), because otherwise you can easily
create bugs that are literally impossible to see.
Some characters in ISO 10646 have distinct meanings but look identical in some fonts or display
methodologies, especially once formatting has been applied. For instance "\u207F", "SUPERSCRIPT
LATIN SMALL LETTER N", displays just like a regular "n" that has been placed in a superscript. ISO
10646 defines the NFKC normalization scheme to convert all these into a standard form as well, and
GCC warns if your code is not in NFKC if you use -Wnormalized=nfkc. This warning is comparable to
warning about every identifier that contains the letter O because it might be confused with the digit
0, and so is not the default, but may be useful as a local coding convention if the programming
environment cannot be fixed to display these characters distinctly.
-Wno-deprecated
Do not warn about usage of deprecated features.
-Wno-deprecated-declarations
Do not warn about uses of functions, variables, and types marked as deprecated by using the
"deprecated" attribute.
-Wno-overflow
Do not warn about compile-time overflow in constant expressions.
-Woverride-init (C and Objective-C only)
Warn if an initialized field without side effects is overridden when using designated initializers.
This warning is included in -Wextra. To get other -Wextra warnings without this one, use -Wextra
-Wno-override-init.
-Wpacked
Warn if a structure is given the packed attribute, but the packed attribute has no effect on the
layout or size of the structure. Such structures may be mis-aligned for little benefit. For
instance, in this code, the variable "f.x" in "struct bar" is misaligned even though "struct bar"
does not itself have the packed attribute:
struct foo {
int x;
char a, b, c, d;
} __attribute__((packed));
struct bar {
char z;
struct foo f;
};
-Wpacked-bitfield-compat
The 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 series of GCC ignore the "packed" attribute on bit-fields of type "char". This
has been fixed in GCC 4.4 but the change can lead to differences in the structure layout. GCC
informs you when the offset of such a field has changed in GCC 4.4. For example there is no longer a
4-bit padding between field "a" and "b" in this structure:
struct foo
{
char a:4;
char b:8;
} __attribute__ ((packed));
This warning is enabled by default. Use -Wno-packed-bitfield-compat to disable this warning.
-Wpadded
Warn if padding is included in a structure, either to align an element of the structure or to align
the whole structure. Sometimes when this happens it is possible to rearrange the fields of the
structure to reduce the padding and so make the structure smaller.
-Wredundant-decls
Warn if anything is declared more than once in the same scope, even in cases where multiple
declaration is valid and changes nothing.
-Wnested-externs (C and Objective-C only)
Warn if an "extern" declaration is encountered within a function.
-Wno-inherited-variadic-ctor
Suppress warnings about use of C++11 inheriting constructors when the base class inherited from has a
C variadic constructor; the warning is on by default because the ellipsis is not inherited.
-Winline
Warn if a function that is declared as inline cannot be inlined. Even with this option, the compiler
does not warn about failures to inline functions declared in system headers.
The compiler uses a variety of heuristics to determine whether or not to inline a function. For
example, the compiler takes into account the size of the function being inlined and the amount of
inlining that has already been done in the current function. Therefore, seemingly insignificant
changes in the source program can cause the warnings produced by -Winline to appear or disappear.
-Wno-invalid-offsetof (C++ and Objective-C++ only)
Suppress warnings from applying the offsetof macro to a non-POD type. According to the 1998 ISO C++
standard, applying offsetof to a non-POD type is undefined. In existing C++ implementations,
however, offsetof typically gives meaningful results even when applied to certain kinds of non-POD
types (such as a simple struct that fails to be a POD type only by virtue of having a constructor).
This flag is for users who are aware that they are writing nonportable code and who have deliberately
chosen to ignore the warning about it.
The restrictions on offsetof may be relaxed in a future version of the C++ standard.
-Wno-int-to-pointer-cast
Suppress warnings from casts to pointer type of an integer of a different size. In C++, casting to a
pointer type of smaller size is an error. Wint-to-pointer-cast is enabled by default.
-Wno-pointer-to-int-cast (C and Objective-C only)
Suppress warnings from casts from a pointer to an integer type of a different size.
-Winvalid-pch
Warn if a precompiled header is found in the search path but can't be used.
-Wlong-long
Warn if long long type is used. This is enabled by either -Wpedantic or -Wtraditional in ISO C90 and
C++98 modes. To inhibit the warning messages, use -Wno-long-long.
-Wvariadic-macros
Warn if variadic macros are used in pedantic ISO C90 mode, or the GNU alternate syntax when in
pedantic ISO C99 mode. This is default. To inhibit the warning messages, use -Wno-variadic-macros.
-Wvarargs
Warn upon questionable usage of the macros used to handle variable arguments like va_start. This is
default. To inhibit the warning messages, use -Wno-varargs.
-Wvector-operation-performance
Warn if vector operation is not implemented via SIMD capabilities of the architecture. Mainly useful
for the performance tuning. Vector operation can be implemented "piecewise", which means that the
scalar operation is performed on every vector element; "in parallel", which means that the vector
operation is implemented using scalars of wider type, which normally is more performance efficient;
and "as a single scalar", which means that vector fits into a scalar type.
-Wno-virtual-move-assign
Suppress warnings about inheriting from a virtual base with a non-trivial C++11 move assignment
operator. This is dangerous because if the virtual base is reachable along more than one path, it
will be moved multiple times, which can mean both objects end up in the moved-from state. If the
move assignment operator is written to avoid moving from a moved-from object, this warning can be
disabled.
-Wvla
Warn if variable length array is used in the code. -Wno-vla prevents the -Wpedantic warning of the
variable length array.
-Wvolatile-register-var
Warn if a register variable is declared volatile. The volatile modifier does not inhibit all
optimizations that may eliminate reads and/or writes to register variables. This warning is enabled
by -Wall.
-Wdisabled-optimization
Warn if a requested optimization pass is disabled. This warning does not generally indicate that
there is anything wrong with your code; it merely indicates that GCC's optimizers are unable to
handle the code effectively. Often, the problem is that your code is too big or too complex; GCC
refuses to optimize programs when the optimization itself is likely to take inordinate amounts of
time.
-Wpointer-sign (C and Objective-C only)
Warn for pointer argument passing or assignment with different signedness. This option is only
supported for C and Objective-C. It is implied by -Wall and by -Wpedantic, which can be disabled
with -Wno-pointer-sign.
-Wstack-protector
This option is only active when -fstack-protector is active. It warns about functions that are not
protected against stack smashing.
-Wno-mudflap
Suppress warnings about constructs that cannot be instrumented by -fmudflap.
-Woverlength-strings
Warn about string constants that are longer than the "minimum maximum" length specified in the C
standard. Modern compilers generally allow string constants that are much longer than the standard's
minimum limit, but very portable programs should avoid using longer strings.
The limit applies after string constant concatenation, and does not count the trailing NUL. In C90,
the limit was 509 characters; in C99, it was raised to 4095. C++98 does not specify a normative
minimum maximum, so we do not diagnose overlength strings in C++.
This option is implied by -Wpedantic, and can be disabled with -Wno-overlength-strings.
-Wunsuffixed-float-constants (C and Objective-C only)
Issue a warning for any floating constant that does not have a suffix. When used together with
-Wsystem-headers it warns about such constants in system header files. This can be useful when
preparing code to use with the "FLOAT_CONST_DECIMAL64" pragma from the decimal floating-point
extension to C99.
Options for Debugging Your Program or GCC
GCC has various special options that are used for debugging either your program or GCC:
-g Produce debugging information in the operating system's native format (stabs, COFF, XCOFF, or DWARF
2). GDB can work with this debugging information.
On most systems that use stabs format, -g enables use of extra debugging information that only GDB
can use; this extra information makes debugging work better in GDB but probably makes other debuggers
crash or refuse to read the program. If you want to control for certain whether to generate the
extra information, use -gstabs+, -gstabs, -gxcoff+, -gxcoff, or -gvms (see below).
GCC allows you to use -g with -O. The shortcuts taken by optimized code may occasionally produce
surprising results: some variables you declared may not exist at all; flow of control may briefly
move where you did not expect it; some statements may not be executed because they compute constant
results or their values are already at hand; some statements may execute in different places because
they have been moved out of loops.
Nevertheless it proves possible to debug optimized output. This makes it reasonable to use the
optimizer for programs that might have bugs.
The following options are useful when GCC is generated with the capability for more than one
debugging format.
-gsplit-dwarf
Separate as much dwarf debugging information as possible into a separate output file with the
extension .dwo. This option allows the build system to avoid linking files with debug information.
To be useful, this option requires a debugger capable of reading .dwo files.
-ggdb
Produce debugging information for use by GDB. This means to use the most expressive format available
(DWARF 2, stabs, or the native format if neither of those are supported), including GDB extensions if
at all possible.
-gpubnames
Generate dwarf .debug_pubnames and .debug_pubtypes sections.
-gstabs
Produce debugging information in stabs format (if that is supported), without GDB extensions. This
is the format used by DBX on most BSD systems. On MIPS, Alpha and System V Release 4 systems this
option produces stabs debugging output that is not understood by DBX or SDB. On System V Release 4
systems this option requires the GNU assembler.
-feliminate-unused-debug-symbols
Produce debugging information in stabs format (if that is supported), for only symbols that are
actually used.
-femit-class-debug-always
Instead of emitting debugging information for a C++ class in only one object file, emit it in all
object files using the class. This option should be used only with debuggers that are unable to
handle the way GCC normally emits debugging information for classes because using this option
increases the size of debugging information by as much as a factor of two.
-fdebug-types-section
When using DWARF Version 4 or higher, type DIEs can be put into their own ".debug_types" section
instead of making them part of the ".debug_info" section. It is more efficient to put them in a
separate comdat sections since the linker can then remove duplicates. But not all DWARF consumers
support ".debug_types" sections yet and on some objects ".debug_types" produces larger instead of
smaller debugging information.
-gstabs+
Produce debugging information in stabs format (if that is supported), using GNU extensions understood
only by the GNU debugger (GDB). The use of these extensions is likely to make other debuggers crash
or refuse to read the program.
-gcoff
Produce debugging information in COFF format (if that is supported). This is the format used by SDB
on most System V systems prior to System V Release 4.
-gxcoff
Produce debugging information in XCOFF format (if that is supported). This is the format used by the
DBX debugger on IBM RS/6000 systems.
-gxcoff+
Produce debugging information in XCOFF format (if that is supported), using GNU extensions understood
only by the GNU debugger (GDB). The use of these extensions is likely to make other debuggers crash
or refuse to read the program, and may cause assemblers other than the GNU assembler (GAS) to fail
with an error.
-gdwarf-version
Produce debugging information in DWARF format (if that is supported). The value of version may be
either 2, 3 or 4; the default version for most targets is 4.
Note that with DWARF Version 2, some ports require and always use some non-conflicting DWARF 3
extensions in the unwind tables.
Version 4 may require GDB 7.0 and -fvar-tracking-assignments for maximum benefit.
-grecord-gcc-switches
This switch causes the command-line options used to invoke the compiler that may affect code
generation to be appended to the DW_AT_producer attribute in DWARF debugging information. The
options are concatenated with spaces separating them from each other and from the compiler version.
See also -frecord-gcc-switches for another way of storing compiler options into the object file.
This is the default.
-gno-record-gcc-switches
Disallow appending command-line options to the DW_AT_producer attribute in DWARF debugging
information.
-gstrict-dwarf
Disallow using extensions of later DWARF standard version than selected with -gdwarf-version. On
most targets using non-conflicting DWARF extensions from later standard versions is allowed.
-gno-strict-dwarf
Allow using extensions of later DWARF standard version than selected with -gdwarf-version.
-gvms
Produce debugging information in Alpha/VMS debug format (if that is supported). This is the format
used by DEBUG on Alpha/VMS systems.
-glevel
-ggdblevel
-gstabslevel
-gcofflevel
-gxcofflevel
-gvmslevel
Request debugging information and also use level to specify how much information. The default level
is 2.
Level 0 produces no debug information at all. Thus, -g0 negates -g.
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.
Level 3 includes extra information, such as all the macro definitions present in the program. Some
debuggers support macro expansion when you use -g3.
-gdwarf-2 does not accept a concatenated debug level, because GCC used to support an option -gdwarf
that meant to generate debug information in version 1 of the DWARF format (which is very different
from version 2), and it would have been too confusing. That debug format is long obsolete, but the
option cannot be changed now. Instead use an additional -glevel option to change the debug level for
DWARF.
-gtoggle
Turn off generation of debug info, if leaving out this option generates it, or turn it on at level 2
otherwise. The position of this argument in the command line does not matter; it takes effect after
all other options are processed, and it does so only once, no matter how many times it is given.
This is mainly intended to be used with -fcompare-debug.
-fsanitize=address
Enable AddressSanitizer, a fast memory error detector. Memory access instructions will be
instrumented to detect out-of-bounds and use-after-free bugs. See
<http://code.google.com/p/address-sanitizer/> for more details.
-fsanitize=thread
Enable ThreadSanitizer, a fast data race detector. Memory access instructions will be instrumented
to detect data race bugs. See <http://code.google.com/p/data-race-test/wiki/ThreadSanitizer> for
more details.
-fdump-final-insns[=file]
Dump the final internal representation (RTL) to file. If the optional argument is omitted (or if
file is "."), the name of the dump file is determined by appending ".gkd" to the compilation output
file name.
-fcompare-debug[=opts]
If no error occurs during compilation, run the compiler a second time, adding opts and
-fcompare-debug-second to the arguments passed to the second compilation. Dump the final internal
representation in both compilations, and print an error if they differ.
If the equal sign is omitted, the default -gtoggle is used.
The environment variable GCC_COMPARE_DEBUG, if defined, non-empty and nonzero, implicitly enables
-fcompare-debug. If GCC_COMPARE_DEBUG is defined to a string starting with a dash, then it is used
for opts, otherwise the default -gtoggle is used.
-fcompare-debug=, with the equal sign but without opts, is equivalent to -fno-compare-debug, which
disables the dumping of the final representation and the second compilation, preventing even
GCC_COMPARE_DEBUG from taking effect.
To verify full coverage during -fcompare-debug testing, set GCC_COMPARE_DEBUG to say
-fcompare-debug-not-overridden, which GCC rejects as an invalid option in any actual compilation
(rather than preprocessing, assembly or linking). To get just a warning, setting GCC_COMPARE_DEBUG
to -w%n-fcompare-debug not overridden will do.
-fcompare-debug-second
This option is implicitly passed to the compiler for the second compilation requested by
-fcompare-debug, along with options to silence warnings, and omitting other options that would cause
side-effect compiler outputs to files or to the standard output. Dump files and preserved temporary
files are renamed so as to contain the ".gk" additional extension during the second compilation, to
avoid overwriting those generated by the first.
When this option is passed to the compiler driver, it causes the first compilation to be skipped,
which makes it useful for little other than debugging the compiler proper.
-feliminate-dwarf2-dups
Compress DWARF 2 debugging information by eliminating duplicated information about each symbol. This
option only makes sense when generating DWARF 2 debugging information with -gdwarf-2.
-femit-struct-debug-baseonly
Emit debug information for struct-like types only when the base name of the compilation source file
matches the base name of file in which the struct is defined.
This option substantially reduces the size of debugging information, but at significant potential
loss in type information to the debugger. See -femit-struct-debug-reduced for a less aggressive
option. See -femit-struct-debug-detailed for more detailed control.
This option works only with DWARF 2.
-femit-struct-debug-reduced
Emit debug information for struct-like types only when the base name of the compilation source file
matches the base name of file in which the type is defined, unless the struct is a template or
defined in a system header.
This option significantly reduces the size of debugging information, with some potential loss in type
information to the debugger. See -femit-struct-debug-baseonly for a more aggressive option. See
-femit-struct-debug-detailed for more detailed control.
This option works only with DWARF 2.
-femit-struct-debug-detailed[=spec-list]
Specify the struct-like types for which the compiler generates debug information. The intent is to
reduce duplicate struct debug information between different object files within the same program.
This option is a detailed version of -femit-struct-debug-reduced and -femit-struct-debug-baseonly,
which serves for most needs.
A specification has the syntax[dir:|ind:][ord:|gen:](any|sys|base|none)
The optional first word limits the specification to structs that are used directly (dir:) or used
indirectly (ind:). A struct type is used directly when it is the type of a variable, member.
Indirect uses arise through pointers to structs. That is, when use of an incomplete struct is valid,
the use is indirect. An example is struct one direct; struct two * indirect;.
The optional second word limits the specification to ordinary structs (ord:) or generic structs
(gen:). Generic structs are a bit complicated to explain. For C++, these are non-explicit
specializations of template classes, or non-template classes within the above. Other programming
languages have generics, but -femit-struct-debug-detailed does not yet implement them.
The third word specifies the source files for those structs for which the compiler should emit debug
information. The values none and any have the normal meaning. The value base means that the base of
name of the file in which the type declaration appears must match the base of the name of the main
compilation file. In practice, this means that when compiling foo.c, debug information is generated
for types declared in that file and foo.h, but not other header files. The value sys means those
types satisfying base or declared in system or compiler headers.
You may need to experiment to determine the best settings for your application.
The default is -femit-struct-debug-detailed=all.
This option works only with DWARF 2.
-fno-merge-debug-strings
Direct the linker to not merge together strings in the debugging information that are identical in
different object files. Merging is not supported by all assemblers or linkers. Merging decreases
the size of the debug information in the output file at the cost of increasing link processing time.
Merging is enabled by default.
-fdebug-prefix-map=old=new
When compiling files in directory old, record debugging information describing them as in new
instead.
-fno-dwarf2-cfi-asm
Emit DWARF 2 unwind info as compiler generated ".eh_frame" section instead of using GAS ".cfi_*"
directives.
-p Generate extra code to write profile information suitable for the analysis program prof. You must
use this option when compiling the source files you want data about, and you must also use it when
linking.
-pg Generate extra code to write profile information suitable for the analysis program gprof. You must
use this option when compiling the source files you want data about, and you must also use it when
linking.
-Q Makes the compiler print out each function name as it is compiled, and print some statistics about
each pass when it finishes.
-ftime-report
Makes the compiler print some statistics about the time consumed by each pass when it finishes.
-fmem-report
Makes the compiler print some statistics about permanent memory allocation when it finishes.
-fmem-report-wpa
Makes the compiler print some statistics about permanent memory allocation for the WPA phase only.
-fpre-ipa-mem-report
-fpost-ipa-mem-report
Makes the compiler print some statistics about permanent memory allocation before or after
interprocedural optimization.
-fprofile-report
Makes the compiler print some statistics about consistency of the (estimated) profile and effect of
individual passes.
-fstack-usage
Makes the compiler output stack usage information for the program, on a per-function basis. The
filename for the dump is made by appending .su to the auxname. auxname is generated from the name of
the output file, if explicitly specified and it is not an executable, otherwise it is the basename of
the source file. An entry is made up of three fields:
• The name of the function.
• A number of bytes.
• One or more qualifiers: "static", "dynamic", "bounded".
The qualifier "static" means that the function manipulates the stack statically: a fixed number of
bytes are allocated for the frame on function entry and released on function exit; no stack
adjustments are otherwise made in the function. The second field is this fixed number of bytes.
The qualifier "dynamic" means that the function manipulates the stack dynamically: in addition to the
static allocation described above, stack adjustments are made in the body of the function, for
example to push/pop arguments around function calls. If the qualifier "bounded" is also present, the
amount of these adjustments is bounded at compile time and the second field is an upper bound of the
total amount of stack used by the function. If it is not present, the amount of these adjustments is
not bounded at compile time and the second field only represents the bounded part.
-fprofile-arcs
Add code so that program flow arcs are instrumented. During execution the program records how many
times each branch and call is executed and how many times it is taken or returns. When the compiled
program exits it saves this data to a file called auxname.gcda for each source file. The data may be
used for profile-directed optimizations (-fbranch-probabilities), or for test coverage analysis
(-ftest-coverage). Each object file's auxname is generated from the name of the output file, if
explicitly specified and it is not the final executable, otherwise it is the basename of the source
file. In both cases any suffix is removed (e.g. foo.gcda for input file dir/foo.c, or dir/foo.gcda
for output file specified as -o dir/foo.o).
--coverage
This option is used to compile and link code instrumented for coverage analysis. The option is a
synonym for -fprofile-arcs -ftest-coverage (when compiling) and -lgcov (when linking). See the
documentation for those options for more details.
• Compile the source files with -fprofile-arcs plus optimization and code generation options. For
test coverage analysis, use the additional -ftest-coverage option. You do not need to profile
every source file in a program.
• Link your object files with -lgcov or -fprofile-arcs (the latter implies the former).
• Run the program on a representative workload to generate the arc profile information. This may
be repeated any number of times. You can run concurrent instances of your program, and provided
that the file system supports locking, the data files will be correctly updated. Also "fork"
calls are detected and correctly handled (double counting will not happen).
• For profile-directed optimizations, compile the source files again with the same optimization and
code generation options plus -fbranch-probabilities.
• For test coverage analysis, use gcov to produce human readable information from the .gcno and
.gcda files. Refer to the gcov documentation for further information.
With -fprofile-arcs, for each function of your program GCC creates a program flow graph, then finds a
spanning tree for the graph. Only arcs that are not on the spanning tree have to be instrumented:
the compiler adds code to count the number of times that these arcs are executed. When an arc is the
only exit or only entrance to a block, the instrumentation code can be added to the block; otherwise,
a new basic block must be created to hold the instrumentation code.
-ftest-coverage
Produce a notes file that the gcov code-coverage utility can use to show program coverage. Each
source file's note file is called auxname.gcno. Refer to the -fprofile-arcs option above for a
description of auxname and instructions on how to generate test coverage data. Coverage data matches
the source files more closely if you do not optimize.
-fdbg-cnt-list
Print the name and the counter upper bound for all debug counters.
-fdbg-cnt=counter-value-list
Set the internal debug counter upper bound. counter-value-list is a comma-separated list of
name:value pairs which sets the upper bound of each debug counter name to value. All debug counters
have the initial upper bound of "UINT_MAX"; thus "dbg_cnt()" returns true always unless the upper
bound is set by this option. For example, with -fdbg-cnt=dce:10,tail_call:0, "dbg_cnt(dce)" returns
true only for first 10 invocations.
-fenable-kind-pass
-fdisable-kind-pass=range-list
This is a set of options that are used to explicitly disable/enable optimization passes. These
options are intended for use for debugging GCC. Compiler users should use regular options for
enabling/disabling passes instead.
-fdisable-ipa-pass
Disable IPA pass pass. pass is the pass name. If the same pass is statically invoked in the
compiler multiple times, the pass name should be appended with a sequential number starting from
1.
-fdisable-rtl-pass
-fdisable-rtl-pass=range-list
Disable RTL pass pass. pass is the pass name. If the same pass is statically invoked in the
compiler multiple times, the pass name should be appended with a sequential number starting from
1. range-list is a comma-separated list of function ranges or assembler names. Each range is a
number pair separated by a colon. The range is inclusive in both ends. If the range is trivial,
the number pair can be simplified as a single number. If the function's call graph node's uid
falls within one of the specified ranges, the pass is disabled for that function. The uid is
shown in the function header of a dump file, and the pass names can be dumped by using option
-fdump-passes.
-fdisable-tree-pass
-fdisable-tree-pass=range-list
Disable tree pass pass. See -fdisable-rtl for the description of option arguments.
-fenable-ipa-pass
Enable IPA pass pass. pass is the pass name. If the same pass is statically invoked in the
compiler multiple times, the pass name should be appended with a sequential number starting from
1.
-fenable-rtl-pass
-fenable-rtl-pass=range-list
Enable RTL pass pass. See -fdisable-rtl for option argument description and examples.
-fenable-tree-pass
-fenable-tree-pass=range-list
Enable tree pass pass. See -fdisable-rtl for the description of option arguments.
Here are some examples showing uses of these options.
# disable ccp1 for all functions
-fdisable-tree-ccp1
# disable complete unroll for function whose cgraph node uid is 1
-fenable-tree-cunroll=1
# disable gcse2 for functions at the following ranges [1,1],
# [300,400], and [400,1000]
# disable gcse2 for functions foo and foo2
-fdisable-rtl-gcse2=foo,foo2
# disable early inlining
-fdisable-tree-einline
# disable ipa inlining
-fdisable-ipa-inline
# enable tree full unroll
-fenable-tree-unroll
-dletters
-fdump-rtl-pass
-fdump-rtl-pass=filename
Says to make debugging dumps during compilation at times specified by letters. This is used for
debugging the RTL-based passes of the compiler. The file names for most of the dumps are made by
appending a pass number and a word to the dumpname, and the files are created in the directory of the
output file. In case of =filename option, the dump is output on the given file instead of the pass
numbered dump files. Note that the pass number is computed statically as passes get registered into
the pass manager. Thus the numbering is not related to the dynamic order of execution of passes. In
particular, a pass installed by a plugin could have a number over 200 even if it executed quite
early. dumpname is generated from the name of the output file, if explicitly specified and it is not
an executable, otherwise it is the basename of the source file. These switches may have different
effects when -E is used for preprocessing.
Debug dumps can be enabled with a -fdump-rtl switch or some -d option letters. Here are the possible
letters for use in pass and letters, and their meanings:
-fdump-rtl-alignments
Dump after branch alignments have been computed.
-fdump-rtl-asmcons
Dump after fixing rtl statements that have unsatisfied in/out constraints.
-fdump-rtl-auto_inc_dec
Dump after auto-inc-dec discovery. This pass is only run on architectures that have auto inc or
auto dec instructions.
-fdump-rtl-barriers
Dump after cleaning up the barrier instructions.
-fdump-rtl-bbpart
Dump after partitioning hot and cold basic blocks.
-fdump-rtl-bbro
Dump after block reordering.
-fdump-rtl-btl1
-fdump-rtl-btl2
-fdump-rtl-btl1 and -fdump-rtl-btl2 enable dumping after the two branch target load optimization
passes.
-fdump-rtl-bypass
Dump after jump bypassing and control flow optimizations.
-fdump-rtl-combine
Dump after the RTL instruction combination pass.
-fdump-rtl-compgotos
Dump after duplicating the computed gotos.
-fdump-rtl-ce1
-fdump-rtl-ce2
-fdump-rtl-ce3
-fdump-rtl-ce1, -fdump-rtl-ce2, and -fdump-rtl-ce3 enable dumping after the three if conversion
passes.
-fdump-rtl-cprop_hardreg
Dump after hard register copy propagation.
-fdump-rtl-csa
Dump after combining stack adjustments.
-fdump-rtl-cse1
-fdump-rtl-cse2
-fdump-rtl-cse1 and -fdump-rtl-cse2 enable dumping after the two common subexpression elimination
passes.
-fdump-rtl-dce
Dump after the standalone dead code elimination passes.
-fdump-rtl-dbr
Dump after delayed branch scheduling.
-fdump-rtl-dce1
-fdump-rtl-dce2
-fdump-rtl-dce1 and -fdump-rtl-dce2 enable dumping after the two dead store elimination passes.
-fdump-rtl-eh
Dump after finalization of EH handling code.
-fdump-rtl-eh_ranges
Dump after conversion of EH handling range regions.
-fdump-rtl-expand
Dump after RTL generation.
-fdump-rtl-fwprop1
-fdump-rtl-fwprop2
-fdump-rtl-fwprop1 and -fdump-rtl-fwprop2 enable dumping after the two forward propagation
passes.
-fdump-rtl-gcse1
-fdump-rtl-gcse2
-fdump-rtl-gcse1 and -fdump-rtl-gcse2 enable dumping after global common subexpression
elimination.
-fdump-rtl-init-regs
Dump after the initialization of the registers.
-fdump-rtl-initvals
Dump after the computation of the initial value sets.
-fdump-rtl-into_cfglayout
Dump after converting to cfglayout mode.
-fdump-rtl-ira
Dump after iterated register allocation.
-fdump-rtl-jump
Dump after the second jump optimization.
-fdump-rtl-loop2
-fdump-rtl-loop2 enables dumping after the rtl loop optimization passes.
-fdump-rtl-mach
Dump after performing the machine dependent reorganization pass, if that pass exists.
-fdump-rtl-mode_sw
Dump after removing redundant mode switches.
-fdump-rtl-rnreg
Dump after register renumbering.
-fdump-rtl-outof_cfglayout
Dump after converting from cfglayout mode.
-fdump-rtl-peephole2
Dump after the peephole pass.
-fdump-rtl-postreload
Dump after post-reload optimizations.
-fdump-rtl-pro_and_epilogue
Dump after generating the function prologues and epilogues.
-fdump-rtl-regmove
Dump after the register move pass.
-fdump-rtl-sched1
-fdump-rtl-sched2
-fdump-rtl-sched1 and -fdump-rtl-sched2 enable dumping after the basic block scheduling passes.
-fdump-rtl-see
Dump after sign extension elimination.
-fdump-rtl-seqabstr
Dump after common sequence discovery.
-fdump-rtl-shorten
Dump after shortening branches.
-fdump-rtl-sibling
Dump after sibling call optimizations.
-fdump-rtl-split1
-fdump-rtl-split2
-fdump-rtl-split3
-fdump-rtl-split4
-fdump-rtl-split5
-fdump-rtl-split1, -fdump-rtl-split2, -fdump-rtl-split3, -fdump-rtl-split4 and -fdump-rtl-split5
enable dumping after five rounds of instruction splitting.
-fdump-rtl-sms
Dump after modulo scheduling. This pass is only run on some architectures.
-fdump-rtl-stack
Dump after conversion from GCC's "flat register file" registers to the x87's stack-like
registers. This pass is only run on x86 variants.
-fdump-rtl-subreg1
-fdump-rtl-subreg2
-fdump-rtl-subreg1 and -fdump-rtl-subreg2 enable dumping after the two subreg expansion passes.
-fdump-rtl-unshare
Dump after all rtl has been unshared.
-fdump-rtl-vartrack
Dump after variable tracking.
-fdump-rtl-vregs
Dump after converting virtual registers to hard registers.
-fdump-rtl-web
Dump after live range splitting.
-fdump-rtl-regclass
-fdump-rtl-subregs_of_mode_init
-fdump-rtl-subregs_of_mode_finish
-fdump-rtl-dfinit
-fdump-rtl-dfinish
These dumps are defined but always produce empty files.
-da
-fdump-rtl-all
Produce all the dumps listed above.
-dA Annotate the assembler output with miscellaneous debugging information.
-dD Dump all macro definitions, at the end of preprocessing, in addition to normal output.
-dH Produce a core dump whenever an error occurs.
-dp Annotate the assembler output with a comment indicating which pattern and alternative is used.
The length of each instruction is also printed.
-dP Dump the RTL in the assembler output as a comment before each instruction. Also turns on -dp
annotation.
-dx Just generate RTL for a function instead of compiling it. Usually used with -fdump-rtl-expand.
-fdump-noaddr
When doing debugging dumps, suppress address output. This makes it more feasible to use diff on
debugging dumps for compiler invocations with different compiler binaries and/or different text / bss
/ data / heap / stack / dso start locations.
-fdump-unnumbered
When doing debugging dumps, suppress instruction numbers and address output. This makes it more
feasible to use diff on debugging dumps for compiler invocations with different options, in
particular with and without -g.
-fdump-unnumbered-links
When doing debugging dumps (see -d option above), suppress instruction numbers for the links to the
previous and next instructions in a sequence.
-fdump-translation-unit (C++ only)
-fdump-translation-unit-options (C++ only)
Dump a representation of the tree structure for the entire translation unit to a file. The file name
is made by appending .tu to the source file name, and the file is created in the same directory as
the output file. If the -options form is used, options controls the details of the dump as described
for the -fdump-tree options.
-fdump-class-hierarchy (C++ only)
-fdump-class-hierarchy-options (C++ only)
Dump a representation of each class's hierarchy and virtual function table layout to a file. The
file name is made by appending .class to the source file name, and the file is created in the same
directory as the output file. If the -options form is used, options controls the details of the dump
as described for the -fdump-tree options.
-fdump-ipa-switch
Control the dumping at various stages of inter-procedural analysis language tree to a file. The file
name is generated by appending a switch specific suffix to the source file name, and the file is
created in the same directory as the output file. The following dumps are possible:
all Enables all inter-procedural analysis dumps.
cgraph
Dumps information about call-graph optimization, unused function removal, and inlining decisions.
inline
Dump after function inlining.
-fdump-passes
Dump the list of optimization passes that are turned on and off by the current command-line options.
-fdump-statistics-option
Enable and control dumping of pass statistics in a separate file. The file name is generated by
appending a suffix ending in .statistics to the source file name, and the file is created in the same
directory as the output file. If the -option form is used, -stats causes counters to be summed over
the whole compilation unit while -details dumps every event as the passes generate them. The default
with no option is to sum counters for each function compiled.
-fdump-tree-switch
-fdump-tree-switch-options
-fdump-tree-switch-options=filename
Control the dumping at various stages of processing the intermediate language tree to a file. The
file name is generated by appending a switch-specific suffix to the source file name, and the file is
created in the same directory as the output file. In case of =filename option, the dump is output on
the given file instead of the auto named dump files. If the -options form is used, options is a list
of - separated options which control the details of the dump. Not all options are applicable to all
dumps; those that are not meaningful are ignored. The following options are available
address
Print the address of each node. Usually this is not meaningful as it changes according to the
environment and source file. Its primary use is for tying up a dump file with a debug
environment.
asmname
If "DECL_ASSEMBLER_NAME" has been set for a given decl, use that in the dump instead of
"DECL_NAME". Its primary use is ease of use working backward from mangled names in the assembly
file.
slim
When dumping front-end intermediate representations, inhibit dumping of members of a scope or
body of a function merely because that scope has been reached. Only dump such items when they
are directly reachable by some other path.
When dumping pretty-printed trees, this option inhibits dumping the bodies of control structures.
When dumping RTL, print the RTL in slim (condensed) form instead of the default LISP-like
representation.
raw Print a raw representation of the tree. By default, trees are pretty-printed into a C-like
representation.
details
Enable more detailed dumps (not honored by every dump option). Also include information from the
optimization passes.
stats
Enable dumping various statistics about the pass (not honored by every dump option).
blocks
Enable showing basic block boundaries (disabled in raw dumps).
graph
For each of the other indicated dump files (-fdump-rtl-pass), dump a representation of the
control flow graph suitable for viewing with GraphViz to file.passid.pass.dot. Each function in
the file is pretty-printed as a subgraph, so that GraphViz can render them all in a single plot.
This option currently only works for RTL dumps, and the RTL is always dumped in slim form.
vops
Enable showing virtual operands for every statement.
lineno
Enable showing line numbers for statements.
uid Enable showing the unique ID ("DECL_UID") for each variable.
verbose
Enable showing the tree dump for each statement.
eh Enable showing the EH region number holding each statement.
scev
Enable showing scalar evolution analysis details.
optimized
Enable showing optimization information (only available in certain passes).
missed
Enable showing missed optimization information (only available in certain passes).
notes
Enable other detailed optimization information (only available in certain passes).
=filename
Instead of an auto named dump file, output into the given file name. The file names stdout and
stderr are treated specially and are considered already open standard streams. For example,
gcc -O2 -ftree-vectorize -fdump-tree-vect-blocks=foo.dump
-fdump-tree-pre=stderr file.c
outputs vectorizer dump into foo.dump, while the PRE dump is output on to stderr. If two
conflicting dump filenames are given for the same pass, then the latter option overrides the
earlier one.
all Turn on all options, except raw, slim, verbose and lineno.
optall
Turn on all optimization options, i.e., optimized, missed, and note.
The following tree dumps are possible:
original
Dump before any tree based optimization, to file.original.
optimized
Dump after all tree based optimization, to file.optimized.
gimple
Dump each function before and after the gimplification pass to a file. The file name is made by
appending .gimple to the source file name.
cfg Dump the control flow graph of each function to a file. The file name is made by appending .cfg
to the source file name.
ch Dump each function after copying loop headers. The file name is made by appending .ch to the
source file name.
ssa Dump SSA related information to a file. The file name is made by appending .ssa to the source
file name.
alias
Dump aliasing information for each function. The file name is made by appending .alias to the
source file name.
ccp Dump each function after CCP. The file name is made by appending .ccp to the source file name.
storeccp
Dump each function after STORE-CCP. The file name is made by appending .storeccp to the source
file name.
pre Dump trees after partial redundancy elimination. The file name is made by appending .pre to the
source file name.
fre Dump trees after full redundancy elimination. The file name is made by appending .fre to the
source file name.
copyprop
Dump trees after copy propagation. The file name is made by appending .copyprop to the source
file name.
store_copyprop
Dump trees after store copy-propagation. The file name is made by appending .store_copyprop to
the source file name.
dce Dump each function after dead code elimination. The file name is made by appending .dce to the
source file name.
mudflap
Dump each function after adding mudflap instrumentation. The file name is made by appending
.mudflap to the source file name.
sra Dump each function after performing scalar replacement of aggregates. The file name is made by
appending .sra to the source file name.
sink
Dump each function after performing code sinking. The file name is made by appending .sink to
the source file name.
dom Dump each function after applying dominator tree optimizations. The file name is made by
appending .dom to the source file name.
dse Dump each function after applying dead store elimination. The file name is made by appending
.dse to the source file name.
phiopt
Dump each function after optimizing PHI nodes into straightline code. The file name is made by
appending .phiopt to the source file name.
forwprop
Dump each function after forward propagating single use variables. The file name is made by
appending .forwprop to the source file name.
copyrename
Dump each function after applying the copy rename optimization. The file name is made by
appending .copyrename to the source file name.
nrv Dump each function after applying the named return value optimization on generic trees. The file
name is made by appending .nrv to the source file name.
vect
Dump each function after applying vectorization of loops. The file name is made by appending
.vect to the source file name.
slp Dump each function after applying vectorization of basic blocks. The file name is made by
appending .slp to the source file name.
vrp Dump each function after Value Range Propagation (VRP). The file name is made by appending .vrp
to the source file name.
all Enable all the available tree dumps with the flags provided in this option.
-fopt-info
-fopt-info-options
-fopt-info-options=filename
Controls optimization dumps from various optimization passes. If the -options form is used, options
is a list of - separated options to select the dump details and optimizations. If options is not
specified, it defaults to all for details and optall for optimization groups. If the filename is not
specified, it defaults to stderr. Note that the output filename will be overwritten in case of
multiple translation units. If a combined output from multiple translation units is desired, stderr
should be used instead.
The options can be divided into two groups, 1) options describing the verbosity of the dump, and 2)
options describing which optimizations should be included. The options from both the groups can be
freely mixed as they are non-overlapping. However, in case of any conflicts, the latter options
override the earlier options on the command line. Though multiple -fopt-info options are accepted,
only one of them can have =filename. If other filenames are provided then all but the first one are
ignored.
The dump verbosity has the following options
optimized
Print information when an optimization is successfully applied. It is up to a pass to decide
which information is relevant. For example, the vectorizer passes print the source location of
loops which got successfully vectorized.
missed
Print information about missed optimizations. Individual passes control which information to
include in the output. For example,
gcc -O2 -ftree-vectorize -fopt-info-vec-missed
will print information about missed optimization opportunities from vectorization passes on
stderr.
note
Print verbose information about optimizations, such as certain transformations, more detailed
messages about decisions etc.
all Print detailed optimization information. This includes optimized, missed, and note.
The second set of options describes a group of optimizations and may include one or more of the
following.
ipa Enable dumps from all interprocedural optimizations.
loop
Enable dumps from all loop optimizations.
inline
Enable dumps from all inlining optimizations.
vec Enable dumps from all vectorization optimizations.
For example,
gcc -O3 -fopt-info-missed=missed.all
outputs missed optimization report from all the passes into missed.all.
As another example,
gcc -O3 -fopt-info-inline-optimized-missed=inline.txt
will output information about missed optimizations as well as optimized locations from all the
inlining passes into inline.txt.
If the filename is provided, then the dumps from all the applicable optimizations are concatenated
into the filename. Otherwise the dump is output onto stderr. If options is omitted, it defaults to
all-optall, which means dump all available optimization info from all the passes. In the following
example, all optimization info is output on to stderr.
gcc -O3 -fopt-info
Note that -fopt-info-vec-missed behaves the same as -fopt-info-missed-vec.
As another example, consider
gcc -fopt-info-vec-missed=vec.miss -fopt-info-loop-optimized=loop.opt
Here the two output filenames vec.miss and loop.opt are in conflict since only one output file is
allowed. In this case, only the first option takes effect and the subsequent options are ignored.
Thus only the vec.miss is produced which cotaints dumps from the vectorizer about missed
opportunities.
-ftree-vectorizer-verbose=n
This option is deprecated and is implemented in terms of -fopt-info. Please use -fopt-info-kind form
instead, where kind is one of the valid opt-info options. It prints additional optimization
information. For n=0 no diagnostic information is reported. If n=1 the vectorizer reports each loop
that got vectorized, and the total number of loops that got vectorized. If n=2 the vectorizer
reports locations which could not be vectorized and the reasons for those. For any higher verbosity
levels all the analysis and transformation information from the vectorizer is reported.
Note that the information output by -ftree-vectorizer-verbose option is sent to stderr. If the
equivalent form -fopt-info-options=filename is used then the output is sent into filename instead.
-frandom-seed=string
This option provides a seed that GCC uses in place of random numbers in generating certain symbol
names that have to be different in every compiled file. It is also used to place unique stamps in
coverage data files and the object files that produce them. You can use the -frandom-seed option to
produce reproducibly identical object files.
The string should be different for every file you compile.
-fsched-verbose=n
On targets that use instruction scheduling, this option controls the amount of debugging output the
scheduler prints. This information is written to standard error, unless -fdump-rtl-sched1 or
-fdump-rtl-sched2 is specified, in which case it is output to the usual dump listing file, .sched1 or
.sched2 respectively. However for n greater than nine, the output is always printed to standard
error.
For n greater than zero, -fsched-verbose outputs the same information as -fdump-rtl-sched1 and
-fdump-rtl-sched2. For n greater than one, it also output basic block probabilities, detailed ready
list information and unit/insn info. For n greater than two, it includes RTL at abort point,
control-flow and regions info. And for n over four, -fsched-verbose also includes dependence info.
-save-temps
-save-temps=cwd
Store the usual "temporary" intermediate files permanently; place them in the current directory and
name them based on the source file. Thus, compiling foo.c with -c -save-temps produces files foo.i
and foo.s, as well as foo.o. This creates a preprocessed foo.i output file even though the compiler
now normally uses an integrated preprocessor.
When used in combination with the -x command-line option, -save-temps is sensible enough to avoid
over writing an input source file with the same extension as an intermediate file. The corresponding
intermediate file may be obtained by renaming the source file before using -save-temps.
If you invoke GCC in parallel, compiling several different source files that share a common base name
in different subdirectories or the same source file compiled for multiple output destinations, it is
likely that the different parallel compilers will interfere with each other, and overwrite the
temporary files. For instance:
gcc -save-temps -o outdir1/foo.o indir1/foo.c&
gcc -save-temps -o outdir2/foo.o indir2/foo.c&
may result in foo.i and foo.o being written to simultaneously by both compilers.
-save-temps=obj
Store the usual "temporary" intermediate files permanently. If the -o option is used, the temporary
files are based on the object file. If the -o option is not used, the -save-temps=obj switch behaves
like -save-temps.
For example:
gcc -save-temps=obj -c foo.c
gcc -save-temps=obj -c bar.c -o dir/xbar.o
gcc -save-temps=obj foobar.c -o dir2/yfoobar
creates foo.i, foo.s, dir/xbar.i, dir/xbar.s, dir2/yfoobar.i, dir2/yfoobar.s, and dir2/yfoobar.o.
-time[=file]
Report the CPU time taken by each subprocess in the compilation sequence. For C source files, this
is the compiler proper and assembler (plus the linker if linking is done).
Without the specification of an output file, the output looks like this:
# cc1 0.12 0.01
# as 0.00 0.01
The first number on each line is the "user time", that is time spent executing the program itself.
The second number is "system time", time spent executing operating system routines on behalf of the
program. Both numbers are in seconds.
With the specification of an output file, the output is appended to the named file, and it looks like
this:
0.12 0.01 cc1 <options>
0.00 0.01 as <options>
The "user time" and the "system time" are moved before the program name, and the options passed to
the program are displayed, so that one can later tell what file was being compiled, and with which
options.
-fvar-tracking
Run variable tracking pass. It computes where variables are stored at each position in code. Better
debugging information is then generated (if the debugging information format supports this
information).
It is enabled by default when compiling with optimization (-Os, -O, -O2, ...), debugging information
(-g) and the debug info format supports it.
-fvar-tracking-assignments
Annotate assignments to user variables early in the compilation and attempt to carry the annotations
over throughout the compilation all the way to the end, in an attempt to improve debug information
while optimizing. Use of -gdwarf-4 is recommended along with it.
It can be enabled even if var-tracking is disabled, in which case annotations are created and
maintained, but discarded at the end.
-fvar-tracking-assignments-toggle
Toggle -fvar-tracking-assignments, in the same way that -gtoggle toggles -g.
-print-file-name=library
Print the full absolute name of the library file library that would be used when linking---and don't
do anything else. With this option, GCC does not compile or link anything; it just prints the file
name.
-print-multi-directory
Print the directory name corresponding to the multilib selected by any other switches present in the
command line. This directory is supposed to exist in GCC_EXEC_PREFIX.
-print-multi-lib
Print the mapping from multilib directory names to compiler switches that enable them. The directory
name is separated from the switches by ;, and each switch starts with an @ instead of the -, without
spaces between multiple switches. This is supposed to ease shell processing.
-print-multi-os-directory
Print the path to OS libraries for the selected multilib, relative to some lib subdirectory. If OS
libraries are present in the lib subdirectory and no multilibs are used, this is usually just ., if
OS libraries are present in libsuffix sibling directories this prints e.g. ../lib64, ../lib or
../lib32, or if OS libraries are present in lib/subdir subdirectories it prints e.g. amd64, sparcv9
or ev6.
-print-multiarch
Print the path to OS libraries for the selected multiarch, relative to some lib subdirectory.
-print-prog-name=program
Like -print-file-name, but searches for a program such as cpp.
-print-libgcc-file-name
Same as -print-file-name=libgcc.a.
This is useful when you use -nostdlib or -nodefaultlibs but you do want to link with libgcc.a. You
can do:
gcc -nostdlib <files>... `gcc -print-libgcc-file-name`
-print-search-dirs
Print the name of the configured installation directory and a list of program and library directories
gcc searches---and don't do anything else.
This is useful when gcc prints the error message installation problem, cannot exec cpp0: No such file
or directory. To resolve this you either need to put cpp0 and the other compiler components where
gcc expects to find them, or you can set the environment variable GCC_EXEC_PREFIX to the directory
where you installed them. Don't forget the trailing /.
-print-sysroot
Print the target sysroot directory that is used during compilation. This is the target sysroot
specified either at configure time or using the --sysroot option, possibly with an extra suffix that
depends on compilation options. If no target sysroot is specified, the option prints nothing.
-print-sysroot-headers-suffix
Print the suffix added to the target sysroot when searching for headers, or give an error if the
compiler is not configured with such a suffix---and don't do anything else.
-dumpmachine
Print the compiler's target machine (for example, i686-pc-linux-gnu)---and don't do anything else.
-dumpversion
Print the compiler version (for example, 3.0)---and don't do anything else.
-dumpspecs
Print the compiler's built-in specs---and don't do anything else. (This is used when GCC itself is
being built.)
-fno-eliminate-unused-debug-types
Normally, when producing DWARF 2 output, GCC avoids producing debug symbol output for types that are
nowhere used in the source file being compiled. Sometimes it is useful to have GCC emit debugging
information for all types declared in a compilation unit, regardless of whether or not they are
actually used in that compilation unit, for example if, in the debugger, you want to cast a value to
a type that is not actually used in your program (but is declared). More often, however, this
results in a significant amount of wasted space.
Options That Control Optimization
These options control various sorts of optimizations.
Without any optimization option, the compiler's goal is to reduce the cost of compilation and to make
debugging produce the expected 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 expect from the source
code.
Turning on optimization flags makes the compiler attempt to improve the performance and/or code size at
the expense of compilation time and possibly the ability to debug the program.
The compiler performs optimization based on the knowledge it has of the program. Compiling multiple
files at once to a single output file mode allows the compiler to use information gained from all of the
files when compiling each of them.
Not all optimizations are controlled directly by a flag. Only optimizations that have a flag are listed
in this section.
Most optimizations are only enabled if an -O level is set on the command line. Otherwise they are
disabled, even if individual optimization flags are specified.
Depending on the target and how GCC was configured, a slightly different set of optimizations may be
enabled at each -O level than those listed here. You can invoke GCC with -Q --help=optimizers to find
out the exact set of optimizations that are enabled at each level.
-O
-O1 Optimize. Optimizing compilation takes somewhat more time, and a lot more memory for a large
function.
With -O, the compiler tries to reduce code size and execution time, without performing any
optimizations that take a great deal of compilation time.
-O turns on the following optimization flags:
-fauto-inc-dec -fcompare-elim -fcprop-registers -fdce -fdefer-pop -fdelayed-branch -fdse
-fguess-branch-probability -fif-conversion2 -fif-conversion -fipa-pure-const -fipa-profile
-fipa-reference -fmerge-constants -fsplit-wide-types -ftree-bit-ccp -ftree-builtin-call-dce
-ftree-ccp -ftree-ch -ftree-copyrename -ftree-dce -ftree-dominator-opts -ftree-dse -ftree-forwprop
-ftree-fre -ftree-phiprop -ftree-slsr -ftree-sra -ftree-pta -ftree-ter -funit-at-a-time
-O also turns on -fomit-frame-pointer on machines where doing so does not interfere with debugging.
-O2 Optimize even more. GCC performs nearly all supported optimizations that do not involve a space-
speed tradeoff. As compared to -O, this option increases both compilation time and the performance
of the generated code.
-O2 turns on all optimization flags specified by -O. It also turns on the following optimization
flags: -fthread-jumps -falign-functions -falign-jumps -falign-loops -falign-labels -fcaller-saves
-fcrossjumping -fcse-follow-jumps -fcse-skip-blocks -fdelete-null-pointer-checks -fdevirtualize
-fexpensive-optimizations -fgcse -fgcse-lm -fhoist-adjacent-loads -finline-small-functions
-findirect-inlining -fipa-sra -foptimize-sibling-calls -fpartial-inlining -fpeephole2 -fregmove
-freorder-blocks -freorder-functions -frerun-cse-after-loop -fsched-interblock -fsched-spec
-fschedule-insns -fschedule-insns2 -fstrict-aliasing -fstrict-overflow -ftree-switch-conversion
-ftree-tail-merge -ftree-pre -ftree-vrp
Please note the warning under -fgcse about invoking -O2 on programs that use computed gotos.
NOTE: In Ubuntu 8.10 and later versions, -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 is set by default, and is activated when
-O is set to 2 or higher. This enables additional compile-time and run-time checks for several libc
functions. To disable, specify either -U_FORTIFY_SOURCE or -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=0.
-O3 Optimize yet more. -O3 turns on all optimizations specified by -O2 and also turns on the
-finline-functions, -funswitch-loops, -fpredictive-commoning, -fgcse-after-reload, -ftree-vectorize,
-fvect-cost-model, -ftree-partial-pre and -fipa-cp-clone options.
-O0 Reduce compilation time and make debugging produce the expected results. This is the default.
-Os Optimize for size. -Os enables all -O2 optimizations that do not typically increase code size. It
also performs further optimizations designed to reduce code size.
-Os disables the following optimization flags: -falign-functions -falign-jumps -falign-loops
-falign-labels -freorder-blocks -freorder-blocks-and-partition -fprefetch-loop-arrays
-ftree-vect-loop-version
-Ofast
Disregard strict standards compliance. -Ofast enables all -O3 optimizations. It also enables
optimizations that are not valid for all standard-compliant programs. It turns on -ffast-math and
the Fortran-specific -fno-protect-parens and -fstack-arrays.
-Og Optimize debugging experience. -Og enables optimizations that do not interfere with debugging. It
should be the optimization level of choice for the standard edit-compile-debug cycle, offering a
reasonable level of optimization while maintaining fast compilation and a good debugging experience.
If you use multiple -O options, with or without level numbers, the last such option is the one that
is effective.
Options of the form -fflag specify machine-independent flags. Most flags have both positive and negative
forms; the negative form of -ffoo is -fno-foo. In the table below, only one of the forms is listed---the
one you typically use. You can figure out the other form by either removing no- or adding it.
The following options control specific optimizations. They are either activated by -O options or are
related to ones that are. You can use the following flags in the rare cases when "fine-tuning" of
optimizations to be performed is desired.
-fno-default-inline
Do not make member functions inline by default merely because they are defined inside the class scope
(C++ only). Otherwise, when you specify -O, member functions defined inside class scope are compiled
inline by default; i.e., you don't need to add inline in front of the member function name.
-fno-defer-pop
Always pop the arguments to each function call as soon as that function returns. For machines that
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.
Disabled at levels -O, -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fforward-propagate
Perform a forward propagation pass on RTL. The pass tries to combine two instructions and checks if
the result can be simplified. If loop unrolling is active, two passes are performed and the second
is scheduled after loop unrolling.
This option is enabled by default at optimization levels -O, -O2, -O3, -Os.
-ffp-contract=style
-ffp-contract=off disables floating-point expression contraction. -ffp-contract=fast enables
floating-point expression contraction such as forming of fused multiply-add operations if the target
has native support for them. -ffp-contract=on enables floating-point expression contraction if
allowed by the language standard. This is currently not implemented and treated equal to
-ffp-contract=off.
The default is -ffp-contract=fast.
-fomit-frame-pointer
Don't keep the frame pointer in a register for functions that don't need one. This avoids the
instructions to save, set up and restore frame pointers; it also makes an extra register available in
many functions. It also makes debugging impossible on some machines.
On some machines, such as the VAX, this flag has no effect, because the standard calling sequence
automatically 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.
Starting with GCC version 4.6, the default setting (when not optimizing for size) for 32-bit
GNU/Linux x86 and 32-bit Darwin x86 targets has been changed to -fomit-frame-pointer. The default
can be reverted to -fno-omit-frame-pointer by configuring GCC with the --enable-frame-pointer
configure option.
Enabled at levels -O, -O2, -O3, -Os.
-foptimize-sibling-calls
Optimize sibling and tail recursive calls.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fno-inline
Do not expand any functions inline apart from those marked with the "always_inline" attribute. This
is the default when not optimizing.
Single functions can be exempted from inlining by marking them with the "noinline" attribute.
-finline-small-functions
Integrate functions into their callers when their body is smaller than expected function call code
(so overall size of program gets smaller). The compiler heuristically decides which functions are
simple enough to be worth integrating in this way. This inlining applies to all functions, even
those not declared inline.
Enabled at level -O2.
-findirect-inlining
Inline also indirect calls that are discovered to be known at compile time thanks to previous
inlining. This option has any effect only when inlining itself is turned on by the
-finline-functions or -finline-small-functions options.
Enabled at level -O2.
-finline-functions
Consider all functions for inlining, even if they are not declared inline. The compiler
heuristically decides which functions are worth integrating in this way.
If all calls to a given function are integrated, and the function is declared "static", then the
function is normally not output as assembler code in its own right.
Enabled at level -O3.
-finline-functions-called-once
Consider all "static" functions called once for inlining into their caller even if they are not
marked "inline". If a call to a given function is integrated, then the function is not output as
assembler code in its own right.
Enabled at levels -O1, -O2, -O3 and -Os.
-fearly-inlining
Inline functions marked by "always_inline" and functions whose body seems smaller than the function
call overhead early before doing -fprofile-generate instrumentation and real inlining pass. Doing so
makes profiling significantly cheaper and usually inlining faster on programs having large chains of
nested wrapper functions.
Enabled by default.
-fipa-sra
Perform interprocedural scalar replacement of aggregates, removal of unused parameters and
replacement of parameters passed by reference by parameters passed by value.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3 and -Os.
-finline-limit=n
By default, GCC limits the size of functions that can be inlined. This flag allows coarse control of
this limit. n is the size of functions that can be inlined in number of pseudo instructions.
Inlining is actually controlled by a number of parameters, which may be specified individually by
using --param name=value. The -finline-limit=n option sets some of these parameters as follows:
max-inline-insns-single
is set to n/2.
max-inline-insns-auto
is set to n/2.
See below for a documentation of the individual parameters controlling inlining and for the defaults
of these parameters.
Note: there may be no value to -finline-limit that results in default behavior.
Note: pseudo instruction represents, in this particular context, an abstract measurement of
function's size. In no way does it represent a count of assembly instructions and as such its exact
meaning might change from one release to an another.
-fno-keep-inline-dllexport
This is a more fine-grained version of -fkeep-inline-functions, which applies only to functions that
are declared using the "dllexport" attribute or declspec
-fkeep-inline-functions
In C, emit "static" functions that are declared "inline" into the object file, even if the function
has been inlined into all of its callers. This switch does not affect functions using the "extern
inline" extension in GNU C90. In C++, emit any and all inline functions into the object file.
-fkeep-static-consts
Emit variables declared "static const" when optimization isn't turned on, even if the variables
aren't referenced.
GCC enables this option by default. If you want to force the compiler to check if a variable is
referenced, regardless of whether or not optimization is turned on, use the -fno-keep-static-consts
option.
-fmerge-constants
Attempt to merge identical constants (string constants and floating-point constants) across
compilation units.
This option is the default for optimized compilation if the assembler and linker support it. Use
-fno-merge-constants to inhibit this behavior.
Enabled at levels -O, -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fmerge-all-constants
Attempt to merge identical constants and identical variables.
This option implies -fmerge-constants. In addition to -fmerge-constants this considers e.g. even
constant initialized arrays or initialized constant variables with integral or floating-point types.
Languages like C or C++ require each variable, including multiple instances of the same variable in
recursive calls, to have distinct locations, so using this option results in non-conforming behavior.
-fmodulo-sched
Perform swing modulo scheduling immediately before the first scheduling pass. This pass looks at
innermost loops and reorders their instructions by overlapping different iterations.
-fmodulo-sched-allow-regmoves
Perform more aggressive SMS-based modulo scheduling with register moves allowed. By setting this
flag certain anti-dependences edges are deleted, which triggers the generation of reg-moves based on
the life-range analysis. This option is effective only with -fmodulo-sched enabled.
-fno-branch-count-reg
Do not use "decrement and branch" instructions on a count register, but instead generate a sequence
of instructions that decrement a register, compare it against zero, then branch based upon the
result. This option is only meaningful on architectures that support such instructions, which
include x86, PowerPC, IA-64 and S/390.
The default is -fbranch-count-reg.
-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 option is not used.
The default is -ffunction-cse
-fno-zero-initialized-in-bss
If the target supports a BSS section, GCC by default puts variables that are initialized to zero into
BSS. This can save space in the resulting code.
This option turns off this behavior because some programs explicitly rely on variables going to the
data section---e.g., so that the resulting executable can find the beginning of that section and/or
make assumptions based on that.
The default is -fzero-initialized-in-bss.
-fmudflap -fmudflapth -fmudflapir
For front-ends that support it (C and C++), instrument all risky pointer/array dereferencing
operations, some standard library string/heap functions, and some other associated constructs with
range/validity tests. Modules so instrumented should be immune to buffer overflows, invalid heap
use, and some other classes of C/C++ programming errors. The instrumentation relies on a separate
runtime library (libmudflap), which is linked into a program if -fmudflap is given at link time.
Run-time behavior of the instrumented program is controlled by the MUDFLAP_OPTIONS environment
variable. See "env MUDFLAP_OPTIONS=-help a.out" for its options.
Use -fmudflapth instead of -fmudflap to compile and to link if your program is multi-threaded. Use
-fmudflapir, in addition to -fmudflap or -fmudflapth, if instrumentation should ignore pointer reads.
This produces less instrumentation (and therefore faster execution) and still provides some
protection against outright memory corrupting writes, but allows erroneously read data to propagate
within a program.
-fthread-jumps
Perform optimizations that check to see if a jump branches to a location where another comparison
subsumed by the first is found. If so, the first branch is redirected to either the destination of
the second branch or a point immediately following it, depending on whether the condition is known to
be true or false.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fsplit-wide-types
When using a type that occupies multiple registers, such as "long long" on a 32-bit system, split the
registers apart and allocate them independently. This normally generates better code for those
types, but may make debugging more difficult.
Enabled at levels -O, -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fcse-follow-jumps
In common subexpression elimination (CSE), scan through jump instructions when the target of the jump
is not reached by any other path. For example, when CSE encounters an "if" statement with an "else"
clause, CSE follows the jump when the condition tested is false.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fcse-skip-blocks
This is similar to -fcse-follow-jumps, but causes CSE to follow jumps that conditionally skip over
blocks. When CSE encounters a simple "if" statement with no else clause, -fcse-skip-blocks causes
CSE to follow the jump around the body of the "if".
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-frerun-cse-after-loop
Re-run common subexpression elimination after loop optimizations are performed.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fgcse
Perform a global common subexpression elimination pass. This pass also performs global constant and
copy propagation.
Note: When compiling a program using computed gotos, a GCC extension, you may get better run-time
performance if you disable the global common subexpression elimination pass by adding -fno-gcse to
the command line.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fgcse-lm
When -fgcse-lm is enabled, global common subexpression elimination attempts to move loads that are
only killed by stores into themselves. This allows a loop containing a load/store sequence to be
changed to a load outside the loop, and a copy/store within the loop.
Enabled by default when -fgcse is enabled.
-fgcse-sm
When -fgcse-sm is enabled, a store motion pass is run after global common subexpression elimination.
This pass attempts to move stores out of loops. When used in conjunction with -fgcse-lm, loops
containing a load/store sequence can be changed to a load before the loop and a store after the loop.
Not enabled at any optimization level.
-fgcse-las
When -fgcse-las is enabled, the global common subexpression elimination pass eliminates redundant
loads that come after stores to the same memory location (both partial and full redundancies).
Not enabled at any optimization level.
-fgcse-after-reload
When -fgcse-after-reload is enabled, a redundant load elimination pass is performed after reload.
The purpose of this pass is to clean up redundant spilling.
-faggressive-loop-optimizations
This option tells the loop optimizer to use language constraints to derive bounds for the number of
iterations of a loop. This assumes that loop code does not invoke undefined behavior by for example
causing signed integer overflows or out-of-bound array accesses. The bounds for the number of
iterations of a loop are used to guide loop unrolling and peeling and loop exit test optimizations.
This option is enabled by default.
-funsafe-loop-optimizations
This option tells the loop optimizer to assume that loop indices do not overflow, and that loops with
nontrivial exit condition are not infinite. This enables a wider range of loop optimizations even if
the loop optimizer itself cannot prove that these assumptions are valid. If you use
-Wunsafe-loop-optimizations, the compiler warns you if it finds this kind of loop.
-fcrossjumping
Perform cross-jumping transformation. This transformation unifies equivalent code and saves code
size. The resulting code may or may not perform better than without cross-jumping.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fauto-inc-dec
Combine increments or decrements of addresses with memory accesses. This pass is always skipped on
architectures that do not have instructions to support this. Enabled by default at -O and higher on
architectures that support this.
-fdce
Perform dead code elimination (DCE) on RTL. Enabled by default at -O and higher.
-fdse
Perform dead store elimination (DSE) on RTL. Enabled by default at -O and higher.
-fif-conversion
Attempt to transform conditional jumps into branch-less equivalents. This includes use of
conditional moves, min, max, set flags and abs instructions, and some tricks doable by standard
arithmetics. The use of conditional execution on chips where it is available is controlled by
"if-conversion2".
Enabled at levels -O, -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fif-conversion2
Use conditional execution (where available) to transform conditional jumps into branch-less
equivalents.
Enabled at levels -O, -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fdelete-null-pointer-checks
Assume that programs cannot safely dereference null pointers, and that no code or data element
resides there. This enables simple constant folding optimizations at all optimization levels. In
addition, other optimization passes in GCC use this flag to control global dataflow analyses that
eliminate useless checks for null pointers; these assume that if a pointer is checked after it has
already been dereferenced, it cannot be null.
Note however that in some environments this assumption is not true. Use
-fno-delete-null-pointer-checks to disable this optimization for programs that depend on that
behavior.
Some targets, especially embedded ones, disable this option at all levels. Otherwise it is enabled
at all levels: -O0, -O1, -O2, -O3, -Os. Passes that use the information are enabled independently at
different optimization levels.
-fdevirtualize
Attempt to convert calls to virtual functions to direct calls. This is done both within a procedure
and interprocedurally as part of indirect inlining ("-findirect-inlining") and interprocedural
constant propagation (-fipa-cp). Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fexpensive-optimizations
Perform a number of minor optimizations that are relatively expensive.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-free
Attempt to remove redundant extension instructions. This is especially helpful for the x86-64
architecture, which implicitly zero-extends in 64-bit registers after writing to their lower 32-bit
half.
Enabled for x86 at levels -O2, -O3.
-foptimize-register-move
-fregmove
Attempt to reassign register numbers in move instructions and as operands of other simple
instructions in order to maximize the amount of register tying. This is especially helpful on
machines with two-operand instructions.
Note -fregmove and -foptimize-register-move are the same optimization.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fira-algorithm=algorithm
Use the specified coloring algorithm for the integrated register allocator. The algorithm argument
can be priority, which specifies Chow's priority coloring, or CB, which specifies Chaitin-Briggs
coloring. Chaitin-Briggs coloring is not implemented for all architectures, but for those targets
that do support it, it is the default because it generates better code.
-fira-region=region
Use specified regions for the integrated register allocator. The region argument should be one of
the following:
all Use all loops as register allocation regions. This can give the best results for machines with a
small and/or irregular register set.
mixed
Use all loops except for loops with small register pressure as the regions. This value usually
gives the best results in most cases and for most architectures, and is enabled by default when
compiling with optimization for speed (-O, -O2, ...).
one Use all functions as a single region. This typically results in the smallest code size, and is
enabled by default for -Os or -O0.
-fira-hoist-pressure
Use IRA to evaluate register pressure in the code hoisting pass for decisions to hoist expressions.
This option usually results in smaller code, but it can slow the compiler down.
This option is enabled at level -Os for all targets.
-fira-loop-pressure
Use IRA to evaluate register pressure in loops for decisions to move loop invariants. This option
usually results in generation of faster and smaller code on machines with large register files (>= 32
registers), but it can slow the compiler down.
This option is enabled at level -O3 for some targets.
-fno-ira-share-save-slots
Disable sharing of stack slots used for saving call-used hard registers living through a call. Each
hard register gets a separate stack slot, and as a result function stack frames are larger.
-fno-ira-share-spill-slots
Disable sharing of stack slots allocated for pseudo-registers. Each pseudo-register that does not
get a hard register gets a separate stack slot, and as a result function stack frames are larger.
-fira-verbose=n
Control the verbosity of the dump file for the integrated register allocator. The default value is
5. If the value n is greater or equal to 10, the dump output is sent to stderr using the same format
as n minus 10.
-fdelayed-branch
If supported for the target machine, attempt to reorder instructions to exploit instruction slots
available after delayed branch instructions.
Enabled at levels -O, -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fschedule-insns
If supported for the target machine, attempt to reorder instructions to eliminate execution stalls
due to required data being unavailable. This helps machines that have slow floating point or memory
load instructions by allowing other instructions to be issued until the result of the load or
floating-point instruction is required.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3.
-fschedule-insns2
Similar to -fschedule-insns, but requests an additional 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.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fno-sched-interblock
Don't schedule instructions across basic blocks. This is normally enabled by default when scheduling
before register allocation, i.e. with -fschedule-insns or at -O2 or higher.
-fno-sched-spec
Don't allow speculative motion of non-load instructions. This is normally enabled by default when
scheduling before register allocation, i.e. with -fschedule-insns or at -O2 or higher.
-fsched-pressure
Enable register pressure sensitive insn scheduling before register allocation. This only makes sense
when scheduling before register allocation is enabled, i.e. with -fschedule-insns or at -O2 or
higher. Usage of this option can improve the generated code and decrease its size by preventing
register pressure increase above the number of available hard registers and subsequent spills in
register allocation.
-fsched-spec-load
Allow speculative motion of some load instructions. This only makes sense when scheduling before
register allocation, i.e. with -fschedule-insns or at -O2 or higher.
-fsched-spec-load-dangerous
Allow speculative motion of more load instructions. This only makes sense when scheduling before
register allocation, i.e. with -fschedule-insns or at -O2 or higher.
-fsched-stalled-insns
-fsched-stalled-insns=n
Define how many insns (if any) can be moved prematurely from the queue of stalled insns into the
ready list during the second scheduling pass. -fno-sched-stalled-insns means that no insns are moved
prematurely, -fsched-stalled-insns=0 means there is no limit on how many queued insns can be moved
prematurely. -fsched-stalled-insns without a value is equivalent to -fsched-stalled-insns=1.
-fsched-stalled-insns-dep
-fsched-stalled-insns-dep=n
Define how many insn groups (cycles) are examined for a dependency on a stalled insn that is a
candidate for premature removal from the queue of stalled insns. This has an effect only during the
second scheduling pass, and only if -fsched-stalled-insns is used. -fno-sched-stalled-insns-dep is
equivalent to -fsched-stalled-insns-dep=0. -fsched-stalled-insns-dep without a value is equivalent
to -fsched-stalled-insns-dep=1.
-fsched2-use-superblocks
When scheduling after register allocation, use superblock scheduling. This allows motion across
basic block boundaries, resulting in faster schedules. This option is experimental, as not all
machine descriptions used by GCC model the CPU closely enough to avoid unreliable results from the
algorithm.
This only makes sense when scheduling after register allocation, i.e. with -fschedule-insns2 or at
-O2 or higher.
-fsched-group-heuristic
Enable the group heuristic in the scheduler. This heuristic favors the instruction that belongs to a
schedule group. This is enabled by default when scheduling is enabled, i.e. with -fschedule-insns or
-fschedule-insns2 or at -O2 or higher.
-fsched-critical-path-heuristic
Enable the critical-path heuristic in the scheduler. This heuristic favors instructions on the
critical path. This is enabled by default when scheduling is enabled, i.e. with -fschedule-insns or
-fschedule-insns2 or at -O2 or higher.
-fsched-spec-insn-heuristic
Enable the speculative instruction heuristic in the scheduler. This heuristic favors speculative
instructions with greater dependency weakness. This is enabled by default when scheduling is
enabled, i.e. with -fschedule-insns or -fschedule-insns2 or at -O2 or higher.
-fsched-rank-heuristic
Enable the rank heuristic in the scheduler. This heuristic favors the instruction belonging to a
basic block with greater size or frequency. This is enabled by default when scheduling is enabled,
i.e. with -fschedule-insns or -fschedule-insns2 or at -O2 or higher.
-fsched-last-insn-heuristic
Enable the last-instruction heuristic in the scheduler. This heuristic favors the instruction that
is less dependent on the last instruction scheduled. This is enabled by default when scheduling is
enabled, i.e. with -fschedule-insns or -fschedule-insns2 or at -O2 or higher.
-fsched-dep-count-heuristic
Enable the dependent-count heuristic in the scheduler. This heuristic favors the instruction that
has more instructions depending on it. This is enabled by default when scheduling is enabled, i.e.
with -fschedule-insns or -fschedule-insns2 or at -O2 or higher.
-freschedule-modulo-scheduled-loops
Modulo scheduling is performed before traditional scheduling. If a loop is modulo scheduled, later
scheduling passes may change its schedule. Use this option to control that behavior.
-fselective-scheduling
Schedule instructions using selective scheduling algorithm. Selective scheduling runs instead of the
first scheduler pass.
-fselective-scheduling2
Schedule instructions using selective scheduling algorithm. Selective scheduling runs instead of the
second scheduler pass.
-fsel-sched-pipelining
Enable software pipelining of innermost loops during selective scheduling. This option has no effect
unless one of -fselective-scheduling or -fselective-scheduling2 is turned on.
-fsel-sched-pipelining-outer-loops
When pipelining loops during selective scheduling, also pipeline outer loops. This option has no
effect unless -fsel-sched-pipelining is turned on.
-fshrink-wrap
Emit function prologues only before parts of the function that need it, rather than at the top of the
function. This flag is enabled by default at -O and higher.
-fcaller-saves
Enable allocation of values to registers that are clobbered by function calls, by emitting extra
instructions to save and restore the registers around such calls. Such allocation is done only when
it seems to result in better code.
This option is always enabled by default on certain machines, usually those which have no call-
preserved registers to use instead.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fcombine-stack-adjustments
Tracks stack adjustments (pushes and pops) and stack memory references and then tries to find ways to
combine them.
Enabled by default at -O1 and higher.
-fconserve-stack
Attempt to minimize stack usage. The compiler attempts to use less stack space, even if that makes
the program slower. This option implies setting the large-stack-frame parameter to 100 and the
large-stack-frame-growth parameter to 400.
-ftree-reassoc
Perform reassociation on trees. This flag is enabled by default at -O and higher.
-ftree-pre
Perform partial redundancy elimination (PRE) on trees. This flag is enabled by default at -O2 and
-O3.
-ftree-partial-pre
Make partial redundancy elimination (PRE) more aggressive. This flag is enabled by default at -O3.
-ftree-forwprop
Perform forward propagation on trees. This flag is enabled by default at -O and higher.
-ftree-fre
Perform full redundancy elimination (FRE) on trees. The difference between FRE and PRE is that FRE
only considers expressions that are computed on all paths leading to the redundant computation. This
analysis is faster than PRE, though it exposes fewer redundancies. This flag is enabled by default
at -O and higher.
-ftree-phiprop
Perform hoisting of loads from conditional pointers on trees. This pass is enabled by default at -O
and higher.
-fhoist-adjacent-loads
Speculatively hoist loads from both branches of an if-then-else if the loads are from adjacent
locations in the same structure and the target architecture has a conditional move instruction. This
flag is enabled by default at -O2 and higher.
-ftree-copy-prop
Perform copy propagation on trees. This pass eliminates unnecessary copy operations. This flag is
enabled by default at -O and higher.
-fipa-pure-const
Discover which functions are pure or constant. Enabled by default at -O and higher.
-fipa-reference
Discover which static variables do not escape the compilation unit. Enabled by default at -O and
higher.
-fipa-pta
Perform interprocedural pointer analysis and interprocedural modification and reference analysis.
This option can cause excessive memory and compile-time usage on large compilation units. It is not
enabled by default at any optimization level.
-fipa-profile
Perform interprocedural profile propagation. The functions called only from cold functions are
marked as cold. Also functions executed once (such as "cold", "noreturn", static constructors or
destructors) are identified. Cold functions and loop less parts of functions executed once are then
optimized for size. Enabled by default at -O and higher.
-fipa-cp
Perform interprocedural constant propagation. This optimization analyzes the program to determine
when values passed to functions are constants and then optimizes accordingly. This optimization can
substantially increase performance if the application has constants passed to functions. This flag
is enabled by default at -O2, -Os and -O3.
-fipa-cp-clone
Perform function cloning to make interprocedural constant propagation stronger. When enabled,
interprocedural constant propagation performs function cloning when externally visible function can
be called with constant arguments. Because this optimization can create multiple copies of
functions, it may significantly increase code size (see --param ipcp-unit-growth=value). This flag
is enabled by default at -O3.
-ftree-sink
Perform forward store motion on trees. This flag is enabled by default at -O and higher.
-ftree-bit-ccp
Perform sparse conditional bit constant propagation on trees and propagate pointer alignment
information. This pass only operates on local scalar variables and is enabled by default at -O and
higher. It requires that -ftree-ccp is enabled.
-ftree-ccp
Perform sparse conditional constant propagation (CCP) on trees. This pass only operates on local
scalar variables and is enabled by default at -O and higher.
-ftree-switch-conversion
Perform conversion of simple initializations in a switch to initializations from a scalar array.
This flag is enabled by default at -O2 and higher.
-ftree-tail-merge
Look for identical code sequences. When found, replace one with a jump to the other. This
optimization is known as tail merging or cross jumping. This flag is enabled by default at -O2 and
higher. The compilation time in this pass can be limited using max-tail-merge-comparisons parameter
and max-tail-merge-iterations parameter.
-ftree-dce
Perform dead code elimination (DCE) on trees. This flag is enabled by default at -O and higher.
-ftree-builtin-call-dce
Perform conditional dead code elimination (DCE) for calls to built-in functions that may set "errno"
but are otherwise side-effect free. This flag is enabled by default at -O2 and higher if -Os is not
also specified.
-ftree-dominator-opts
Perform a variety of simple scalar cleanups (constant/copy propagation, redundancy elimination, range
propagation and expression simplification) based on a dominator tree traversal. This also performs
jump threading (to reduce jumps to jumps). This flag is enabled by default at -O and higher.
-ftree-dse
Perform dead store elimination (DSE) on trees. A dead store is a store into a memory location that
is later overwritten by another store without any intervening loads. In this case the earlier store
can be deleted. This flag is enabled by default at -O and higher.
-ftree-ch
Perform loop header copying on trees. This is beneficial since it increases effectiveness of code
motion optimizations. It also saves one jump. This flag is enabled by default at -O and higher. It
is not enabled for -Os, since it usually increases code size.
-ftree-loop-optimize
Perform loop optimizations on trees. This flag is enabled by default at -O and higher.
-ftree-loop-linear
Perform loop interchange transformations on tree. Same as -floop-interchange. To use this code
transformation, GCC has to be configured with --with-ppl and --with-cloog to enable the Graphite loop
transformation infrastructure.
-floop-interchange
Perform loop interchange transformations on loops. Interchanging two nested loops switches the inner
and outer loops. For example, given a loop like:
DO J = 1, M
DO I = 1, N
A(J, I) = A(J, I) * C
ENDDO
ENDDO
loop interchange transforms the loop as if it were written:
DO I = 1, N
DO J = 1, M
A(J, I) = A(J, I) * C
ENDDO
ENDDO
which can be beneficial when "N" is larger than the caches, because in Fortran, the elements of an
array are stored in memory contiguously by column, and the original loop iterates over rows,
potentially creating at each access a cache miss. This optimization applies to all the languages
supported by GCC and is not limited to Fortran. To use this code transformation, GCC has to be
configured with --with-ppl and --with-cloog to enable the Graphite loop transformation
infrastructure.
-floop-strip-mine
Perform loop strip mining transformations on loops. Strip mining splits a loop into two nested
loops. The outer loop has strides equal to the strip size and the inner loop has strides of the
original loop within a strip. The strip length can be changed using the loop-block-tile-size
parameter. For example, given a loop like:
DO I = 1, N
A(I) = A(I) + C
ENDDO
loop strip mining transforms the loop as if it were written:
DO II = 1, N, 51
DO I = II, min (II + 50, N)
A(I) = A(I) + C
ENDDO
ENDDO
This optimization applies to all the languages supported by GCC and is not limited to Fortran. To
use this code transformation, GCC has to be configured with --with-ppl and --with-cloog to enable the
Graphite loop transformation infrastructure.
-floop-block
Perform loop blocking transformations on loops. Blocking strip mines each loop in the loop nest such
that the memory accesses of the element loops fit inside caches. The strip length can be changed
using the loop-block-tile-size parameter. For example, given a loop like:
DO I = 1, N
DO J = 1, M
A(J, I) = B(I) + C(J)
ENDDO
ENDDO
loop blocking transforms the loop as if it were written:
DO II = 1, N, 51
DO JJ = 1, M, 51
DO I = II, min (II + 50, N)
DO J = JJ, min (JJ + 50, M)
A(J, I) = B(I) + C(J)
ENDDO
ENDDO
ENDDO
ENDDO
which can be beneficial when "M" is larger than the caches, because the innermost loop iterates over
a smaller amount of data which can be kept in the caches. This optimization applies to all the
languages supported by GCC and is not limited to Fortran. To use this code transformation, GCC has
to be configured with --with-ppl and --with-cloog to enable the Graphite loop transformation
infrastructure.
-fgraphite-identity
Enable the identity transformation for graphite. For every SCoP we generate the polyhedral
representation and transform it back to gimple. Using -fgraphite-identity we can check the costs or
benefits of the GIMPLE -> GRAPHITE -> GIMPLE transformation. Some minimal optimizations are also
performed by the code generator CLooG, like index splitting and dead code elimination in loops.
-floop-nest-optimize
Enable the ISL based loop nest optimizer. This is a generic loop nest optimizer based on the Pluto
optimization algorithms. It calculates a loop structure optimized for data-locality and parallelism.
This option is experimental.
-floop-parallelize-all
Use the Graphite data dependence analysis to identify loops that can be parallelized. Parallelize
all the loops that can be analyzed to not contain loop carried dependences without checking that it
is profitable to parallelize the loops.
-fcheck-data-deps
Compare the results of several data dependence analyzers. This option is used for debugging the data
dependence analyzers.
-ftree-loop-if-convert
Attempt to transform conditional jumps in the innermost loops to branch-less equivalents. The intent
is to remove control-flow from the innermost loops in order to improve the ability of the
vectorization pass to handle these loops. This is enabled by default if vectorization is enabled.
-ftree-loop-if-convert-stores
Attempt to also if-convert conditional jumps containing memory writes. This transformation can be
unsafe for multi-threaded programs as it transforms conditional memory writes into unconditional
memory writes. For example,
for (i = 0; i < N; i++)
if (cond)
A[i] = expr;
is transformed to
for (i = 0; i < N; i++)
A[i] = cond ? expr : A[i];
potentially producing data races.
-ftree-loop-distribution
Perform loop distribution. This flag can improve cache performance on big loop bodies and allow
further loop optimizations, like parallelization or vectorization, to take place. For example, the
loop
DO I = 1, N
A(I) = B(I) + C
D(I) = E(I) * F
ENDDO
is transformed to
DO I = 1, N
A(I) = B(I) + C
ENDDO
DO I = 1, N
D(I) = E(I) * F
ENDDO
-ftree-loop-distribute-patterns
Perform loop distribution of patterns that can be code generated with calls to a library. This flag
is enabled by default at -O3.
This pass distributes the initialization loops and generates a call to memset zero. For example, the
loop
DO I = 1, N
A(I) = 0
B(I) = A(I) + I
ENDDO
is transformed to
DO I = 1, N
A(I) = 0
ENDDO
DO I = 1, N
B(I) = A(I) + I
ENDDO
and the initialization loop is transformed into a call to memset zero.
-ftree-loop-im
Perform loop invariant motion on trees. This pass moves only invariants that are hard to handle at
RTL level (function calls, operations that expand to nontrivial sequences of insns). With
-funswitch-loops it also moves operands of conditions that are invariant out of the loop, so that we
can use just trivial invariantness analysis in loop unswitching. The pass also includes store
motion.
-ftree-loop-ivcanon
Create a canonical counter for number of iterations in loops for which determining number of
iterations requires complicated analysis. Later optimizations then may determine the number easily.
Useful especially in connection with unrolling.
-fivopts
Perform induction variable optimizations (strength reduction, induction variable merging and
induction variable elimination) on trees.
-ftree-parallelize-loops=n
Parallelize loops, i.e., split their iteration space to run in n threads. This is only possible for
loops whose iterations are independent and can be arbitrarily reordered. The optimization is only
profitable on multiprocessor machines, for loops that are CPU-intensive, rather than constrained e.g.
by memory bandwidth. This option implies -pthread, and thus is only supported on targets that have
support for -pthread.
-ftree-pta
Perform function-local points-to analysis on trees. This flag is enabled by default at -O and
higher.
-ftree-sra
Perform scalar replacement of aggregates. This pass replaces structure references with scalars to
prevent committing structures to memory too early. This flag is enabled by default at -O and higher.
-ftree-copyrename
Perform copy renaming on trees. This pass attempts to rename compiler temporaries to other variables
at copy locations, usually resulting in variable names which more closely resemble the original
variables. This flag is enabled by default at -O and higher.
-ftree-coalesce-inlined-vars
Tell the copyrename pass (see -ftree-copyrename) to attempt to combine small user-defined variables
too, but only if they were inlined from other functions. It is a more limited form of
-ftree-coalesce-vars. This may harm debug information of such inlined variables, but it will keep
variables of the inlined-into function apart from each other, such that they are more likely to
contain the expected values in a debugging session. This was the default in GCC versions older than
4.7.
-ftree-coalesce-vars
Tell the copyrename pass (see -ftree-copyrename) to attempt to combine small user-defined variables
too, instead of just compiler temporaries. This may severely limit the ability to debug an optimized
program compiled with -fno-var-tracking-assignments. In the negated form, this flag prevents SSA
coalescing of user variables, including inlined ones. This option is enabled by default.
-ftree-ter
Perform temporary expression replacement during the SSA->normal phase. Single use/single def
temporaries are replaced at their use location with their defining expression. This results in non-
GIMPLE code, but gives the expanders much more complex trees to work on resulting in better RTL
generation. This is enabled by default at -O and higher.
-ftree-slsr
Perform straight-line strength reduction on trees. This recognizes related expressions involving
multiplications and replaces them by less expensive calculations when possible. This is enabled by
default at -O and higher.
-ftree-vectorize
Perform loop vectorization on trees. This flag is enabled by default at -O3.
-ftree-slp-vectorize
Perform basic block vectorization on trees. This flag is enabled by default at -O3 and when
-ftree-vectorize is enabled.
-ftree-vect-loop-version
Perform loop versioning when doing loop vectorization on trees. When a loop appears to be
vectorizable except that data alignment or data dependence cannot be determined at compile time, then
vectorized and non-vectorized versions of the loop are generated along with run-time checks for
alignment or dependence to control which version is executed. This option is enabled by default
except at level -Os where it is disabled.
-fvect-cost-model
Enable cost model for vectorization. This option is enabled by default at -O3.
-ftree-vrp
Perform Value Range Propagation on trees. This is similar to the constant propagation pass, but
instead of values, ranges of values are propagated. This allows the optimizers to remove unnecessary
range checks like array bound checks and null pointer checks. This is enabled by default at -O2 and
higher. Null pointer check elimination is only done if -fdelete-null-pointer-checks is enabled.
-ftracer
Perform tail duplication to enlarge superblock size. This transformation simplifies the control flow
of the function allowing other optimizations to do a better job.
-funroll-loops
Unroll loops whose number of iterations can be determined at compile time or upon entry to the loop.
-funroll-loops implies -frerun-cse-after-loop. This option makes code larger, and may or may not
make it run faster.
-funroll-all-loops
Unroll all loops, even if their number of iterations is uncertain when the loop is entered. This
usually makes programs run more slowly. -funroll-all-loops implies the same options as
-funroll-loops,
-fsplit-ivs-in-unroller
Enables expression of values of induction variables in later iterations of the unrolled loop using
the value in the first iteration. This breaks long dependency chains, thus improving efficiency of
the scheduling passes.
A combination of -fweb and CSE is often sufficient to obtain the same effect. However, that is not
reliable in cases where the loop body is more complicated than a single basic block. It also does
not work at all on some architectures due to restrictions in the CSE pass.
This optimization is enabled by default.
-fvariable-expansion-in-unroller
With this option, the compiler creates multiple copies of some local variables when unrolling a loop,
which can result in superior code.
-fpartial-inlining
Inline parts of functions. This option has any effect only when inlining itself is turned on by the
-finline-functions or -finline-small-functions options.
Enabled at level -O2.
-fpredictive-commoning
Perform predictive commoning optimization, i.e., reusing computations (especially memory loads and
stores) performed in previous iterations of loops.
This option is enabled at level -O3.
-fprefetch-loop-arrays
If supported by the target machine, generate instructions to prefetch memory to improve the
performance of loops that access large arrays.
This option may generate better or worse code; results are highly dependent on the structure of loops
within the source code.
Disabled at level -Os.
-fno-peephole
-fno-peephole2
Disable any machine-specific peephole optimizations. The difference between -fno-peephole and
-fno-peephole2 is in how they are implemented in the compiler; some targets use one, some use the
other, a few use both.
-fpeephole is enabled by default. -fpeephole2 enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fno-guess-branch-probability
Do not guess branch probabilities using heuristics.
GCC uses heuristics to guess branch probabilities if they are not provided by profiling feedback
(-fprofile-arcs). These heuristics are based on the control flow graph. If some branch
probabilities are specified by __builtin_expect, then the heuristics are used to guess branch
probabilities for the rest of the control flow graph, taking the __builtin_expect info into account.
The interactions between the heuristics and __builtin_expect can be complex, and in some cases, it
may be useful to disable the heuristics so that the effects of __builtin_expect are easier to
understand.
The default is -fguess-branch-probability at levels -O, -O2, -O3, -Os.
-freorder-blocks
Reorder basic blocks in the compiled function in order to reduce number of taken branches and improve
code locality.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3.
-freorder-blocks-and-partition
In addition to reordering basic blocks in the compiled function, in order to reduce number of taken
branches, partitions hot and cold basic blocks into separate sections of the assembly and .o files,
to improve paging and cache locality performance.
This optimization is automatically turned off in the presence of exception handling, for linkonce
sections, for functions with a user-defined section attribute and on any architecture that does not
support named sections.
-freorder-functions
Reorder functions in the object file in order to improve code locality. This is implemented by using
special subsections ".text.hot" for most frequently executed functions and ".text.unlikely" for
unlikely executed functions. Reordering is done by the linker so object file format must support
named sections and linker must place them in a reasonable way.
Also profile feedback must be available to make this option effective. See -fprofile-arcs for
details.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fstrict-aliasing
Allow the compiler to assume the strictest aliasing rules applicable to the language being compiled.
For C (and C++), this activates optimizations based on the type of expressions. In particular, an
object of one type is assumed never to reside at the same address as an object of a different type,
unless the types are almost the same. For example, an "unsigned int" can alias an "int", but not a
"void*" or a "double". A character type may alias any other type.
Pay special attention to code like this:
union a_union {
int i;
double d;
};
int f() {
union a_union t;
t.d = 3.0;
return t.i;
}
The practice of reading from a different union member than the one most recently written to (called
"type-punning") is common. Even with -fstrict-aliasing, type-punning is allowed, provided the memory
is accessed through the union type. So, the code above works as expected. However, this code
might not:
int f() {
union a_union t;
int* ip;
t.d = 3.0;
ip = &t.i;
return *ip;
}
Similarly, access by taking the address, casting the resulting pointer and dereferencing the result
has undefined behavior, even if the cast uses a union type, e.g.:
int f() {
double d = 3.0;
return ((union a_union *) &d)->i;
}
The -fstrict-aliasing option is enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fstrict-overflow
Allow the compiler to assume strict signed overflow rules, depending on the language being compiled.
For C (and C++) this means that overflow when doing arithmetic with signed numbers is undefined,
which means that the compiler may assume that it does not happen. This permits various
optimizations. For example, the compiler assumes that an expression like "i + 10 > i" is always true
for signed "i". This assumption is only valid if signed overflow is undefined, as the expression is
false if "i + 10" overflows when using twos complement arithmetic. When this option is in effect any
attempt to determine whether an operation on signed numbers overflows must be written carefully to
not actually involve overflow.
This option also allows the compiler to assume strict pointer semantics: given a pointer to an
object, if adding an offset to that pointer does not produce a pointer to the same object, the
addition is undefined. This permits the compiler to conclude that "p + u > p" is always true for a
pointer "p" and unsigned integer "u". This assumption is only valid because pointer wraparound is
undefined, as the expression is false if "p + u" overflows using twos complement arithmetic.
See also the -fwrapv option. Using -fwrapv means that integer signed overflow is fully defined: it
wraps. When -fwrapv is used, there is no difference between -fstrict-overflow and
-fno-strict-overflow for integers. With -fwrapv certain types of overflow are permitted. For
example, if the compiler gets an overflow when doing arithmetic on constants, the overflowed value
can still be used with -fwrapv, but not otherwise.
The -fstrict-overflow option is enabled at levels -O2, -O3, -Os.
-falign-functions
-falign-functions=n
Align the start of functions to the next power-of-two greater than n, skipping up to n bytes. For
instance, -falign-functions=32 aligns functions to the next 32-byte boundary, but
-falign-functions=24 aligns to the next 32-byte boundary only if this can be done by skipping 23
bytes or less.
-fno-align-functions and -falign-functions=1 are equivalent and mean that functions are not aligned.
Some assemblers only support this flag when n is a power of two; in that case, it is rounded up.
If n is not specified or is zero, use a machine-dependent default.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3.
-falign-labels
-falign-labels=n
Align all branch targets to a power-of-two boundary, skipping up to n bytes like -falign-functions.
This option can easily make code slower, because it must insert dummy operations for when the branch
target is reached in the usual flow of the code.
-fno-align-labels and -falign-labels=1 are equivalent and mean that labels are not aligned.
If -falign-loops or -falign-jumps are applicable and are greater than this value, then their values
are used instead.
If n is not specified or is zero, use a machine-dependent default which is very likely to be 1,
meaning no alignment.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3.
-falign-loops
-falign-loops=n
Align loops to a power-of-two boundary, skipping up to n bytes like -falign-functions. If the loops
are executed many times, this makes up for any execution of the dummy operations.
-fno-align-loops and -falign-loops=1 are equivalent and mean that loops are not aligned.
If n is not specified or is zero, use a machine-dependent default.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3.
-falign-jumps
-falign-jumps=n
Align branch targets to a power-of-two boundary, for branch targets where the targets can only be
reached by jumping, skipping up to n bytes like -falign-functions. In this case, no dummy operations
need be executed.
-fno-align-jumps and -falign-jumps=1 are equivalent and mean that loops are not aligned.
If n is not specified or is zero, use a machine-dependent default.
Enabled at levels -O2, -O3.
-funit-at-a-time
This option is left for compatibility reasons. -funit-at-a-time has no effect, while
-fno-unit-at-a-time implies -fno-toplevel-reorder and -fno-section-anchors.
Enabled by default.
-fno-toplevel-reorder
Do not reorder top-level functions, variables, and "asm" statements. Output them in the same order
that they appear in the input file. When this option is used, unreferenced static variables are not
removed. This option is intended to support existing code that relies on a particular ordering. For
new code, it is better to use attributes.
Enabled at level -O0. When disabled explicitly, it also implies -fno-section-anchors, which is
otherwise enabled at -O0 on some targets.
-fweb
Constructs webs as commonly used for register allocation purposes and assign each web individual
pseudo register. This allows the register allocation pass to operate on pseudos directly, but also
strengthens several other optimization passes, such as CSE, loop optimizer and trivial dead code
remover. It can, however, make debugging impossible, since variables no longer stay in a "home
register".
Enabled by default with -funroll-loops.
-fwhole-program
Assume that the current compilation unit represents the whole program being compiled. All public
functions and variables with the exception of "main" and those merged by attribute
"externally_visible" become static functions and in effect are optimized more aggressively by
interprocedural optimizers.
This option should not be used in combination with "-flto". Instead relying on a linker plugin
should provide safer and more precise information.
-flto[=n]
This option runs the standard link-time optimizer. When invoked with source code, it generates
GIMPLE (one of GCC's internal representations) and writes it to special ELF sections in the object
file. When the object files are linked together, all the function bodies are read from these ELF
sections and instantiated as if they had been part of the same translation unit.
To use the link-time optimizer, -flto needs to be specified at compile time and during the final
link. For example:
gcc -c -O2 -flto foo.c
gcc -c -O2 -flto bar.c
gcc -o myprog -flto -O2 foo.o bar.o
The first two invocations to GCC save a bytecode representation of GIMPLE into special ELF sections
inside foo.o and bar.o. The final invocation reads the GIMPLE bytecode from foo.o and bar.o, merges
the two files into a single internal image, and compiles the result as usual. Since both foo.o and
bar.o are merged into a single image, this causes all the interprocedural analyses and optimizations
in GCC to work across the two files as if they were a single one. This means, for example, that the
inliner is able to inline functions in bar.o into functions in foo.o and vice-versa.
Another (simpler) way to enable link-time optimization is:
gcc -o myprog -flto -O2 foo.c bar.c
The above generates bytecode for foo.c and bar.c, merges them together into a single GIMPLE
representation and optimizes them as usual to produce myprog.
The only important thing to keep in mind is that to enable link-time optimizations the -flto flag
needs to be passed to both the compile and the link commands.
To make whole program optimization effective, it is necessary to make certain whole program
assumptions. The compiler needs to know what functions and variables can be accessed by libraries
and runtime outside of the link-time optimized unit. When supported by the linker, the linker plugin
(see -fuse-linker-plugin) passes information to the compiler about used and externally visible
symbols. When the linker plugin is not available, -fwhole-program should be used to allow the
compiler to make these assumptions, which leads to more aggressive optimization decisions.
Note that when a file is compiled with -flto, the generated object file is larger than a regular
object file because it contains GIMPLE bytecodes and the usual final code. This means that object
files with LTO information can be linked as normal object files; if -flto is not passed to the
linker, no interprocedural optimizations are applied.
Additionally, the optimization flags used to compile individual files are not necessarily related to
those used at link time. For instance,
gcc -c -O0 -flto foo.c
gcc -c -O0 -flto bar.c
gcc -o myprog -flto -O3 foo.o bar.o
This produces individual object files with unoptimized assembler code, but the resulting binary
myprog is optimized at -O3. If, instead, the final binary is generated without -flto, then myprog is
not optimized.
When producing the final binary with -flto, GCC only applies link-time optimizations to those files
that contain bytecode. Therefore, you can mix and match object files and libraries with GIMPLE
bytecodes and final object code. GCC automatically selects which files to optimize in LTO mode and
which files to link without further processing.
There are some code generation flags preserved by GCC when generating bytecodes, as they need to be
used during the final link stage. Currently, the following options are saved into the GIMPLE
bytecode files: -fPIC, -fcommon and all the -m target flags.
At link time, these options are read in and reapplied. Note that the current implementation makes no
attempt to recognize conflicting values for these options. If different files have conflicting
option values (e.g., one file is compiled with -fPIC and another isn't), the compiler simply uses the
last value read from the bytecode files. It is recommended, then, that you compile all the files
participating in the same link with the same options.
If LTO encounters objects with C linkage declared with incompatible types in separate translation
units to be linked together (undefined behavior according to ISO C99 6.2.7), a non-fatal diagnostic
may be issued. The behavior is still undefined at run time.
Another feature of LTO is that it is possible to apply interprocedural optimizations on files written
in different languages. This requires support in the language front end. Currently, the C, C++ and
Fortran front ends are capable of emitting GIMPLE bytecodes, so something like this should work:
gcc -c -flto foo.c
g++ -c -flto bar.cc
gfortran -c -flto baz.f90
g++ -o myprog -flto -O3 foo.o bar.o baz.o -lgfortran
Notice that the final link is done with g++ to get the C++ runtime libraries and -lgfortran is added
to get the Fortran runtime libraries. In general, when mixing languages in LTO mode, you should use
the same link command options as when mixing languages in a regular (non-LTO) compilation; all you
need to add is -flto to all the compile and link commands.
If object files containing GIMPLE bytecode are stored in a library archive, say libfoo.a, it is
possible to extract and use them in an LTO link if you are using a linker with plugin support. To
enable this feature, use the flag -fuse-linker-plugin at link time:
gcc -o myprog -O2 -flto -fuse-linker-plugin a.o b.o -lfoo
With the linker plugin enabled, the linker extracts the needed GIMPLE files from libfoo.a and passes
them on to the running GCC to make them part of the aggregated GIMPLE image to be optimized.
If you are not using a linker with plugin support and/or do not enable the linker plugin, then the
objects inside libfoo.a are extracted and linked as usual, but they do not participate in the LTO
optimization process.
Link-time optimizations do not require the presence of the whole program to operate. If the program
does not require any symbols to be exported, it is possible to combine -flto and -fwhole-program to
allow the interprocedural optimizers to use more aggressive assumptions which may lead to improved
optimization opportunities. Use of -fwhole-program is not needed when linker plugin is active (see
-fuse-linker-plugin).
The current implementation of LTO makes no attempt to generate bytecode that is portable between
different types of hosts. The bytecode files are versioned and there is a strict version check, so
bytecode files generated in one version of GCC will not work with an older/newer version of GCC.
Link-time optimization does not work well with generation of debugging information. Combining -flto
with -g is currently experimental and expected to produce wrong results.
If you specify the optional n, the optimization and code generation done at link time is executed in
parallel using n parallel jobs by utilizing an installed make program. The environment variable MAKE
may be used to override the program used. The default value for n is 1.
You can also specify -flto=jobserver to use GNU make's job server mode to determine the number of
parallel jobs. This is useful when the Makefile calling GCC is already executing in parallel. You
must prepend a + to the command recipe in the parent Makefile for this to work. This option likely
only works if MAKE is GNU make.
This option is disabled by default.
-flto-partition=alg
Specify the partitioning algorithm used by the link-time optimizer. The value is either "1to1" to
specify a partitioning mirroring the original source files or "balanced" to specify partitioning into
equally sized chunks (whenever possible) or "max" to create new partition for every symbol where
possible. Specifying "none" as an algorithm disables partitioning and streaming completely. The
default value is "balanced". While "1to1" can be used as an workaround for various code ordering
issues, the "max" partitioning is intended for internal testing only.
-flto-compression-level=n
This option specifies the level of compression used for intermediate language written to LTO object
files, and is only meaningful in conjunction with LTO mode (-flto). Valid values are 0 (no
compression) to 9 (maximum compression). Values outside this range are clamped to either 0 or 9. If
the option is not given, a default balanced compression setting is used.
-flto-report
Prints a report with internal details on the workings of the link-time optimizer. The contents of
this report vary from version to version. It is meant to be useful to GCC developers when processing
object files in LTO mode (via -flto).
Disabled by default.
-fuse-linker-plugin
Enables the use of a linker plugin during link-time optimization. This option relies on plugin
support in the linker, which is available in gold or in GNU ld 2.21 or newer.
This option enables the extraction of object files with GIMPLE bytecode out of library archives. This
improves the quality of optimization by exposing more code to the link-time optimizer. This
information specifies what symbols can be accessed externally (by non-LTO object or during dynamic
linking). Resulting code quality improvements on binaries (and shared libraries that use hidden
visibility) are similar to "-fwhole-program". See -flto for a description of the effect of this flag
and how to use it.
This option is enabled by default when LTO support in GCC is enabled and GCC was configured for use
with a linker supporting plugins (GNU ld 2.21 or newer or gold).
-ffat-lto-objects
Fat LTO objects are object files that contain both the intermediate language and the object code.
This makes them usable for both LTO linking and normal linking. This option is effective only when
compiling with -flto and is ignored at link time.
-fno-fat-lto-objects improves compilation time over plain LTO, but requires the complete toolchain to
be aware of LTO. It requires a linker with linker plugin support for basic functionality.
Additionally, nm, ar and ranlib need to support linker plugins to allow a full-featured build
environment (capable of building static libraries etc). GCC provides the gcc-ar, gcc-nm, gcc-ranlib
wrappers to pass the right options to these tools. With non fat LTO makefiles need to be modified to
use them.
The default is -ffat-lto-objects but this default is intended to change in future releases when
linker plugin enabled environments become more common.
-fcompare-elim
After register allocation and post-register allocation instruction splitting, identify arithmetic
instructions that compute processor flags similar to a comparison operation based on that arithmetic.
If possible, eliminate the explicit comparison operation.
This pass only applies to certain targets that cannot explicitly represent the comparison operation
before register allocation is complete.
Enabled at levels -O, -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fuse-ld=bfd
Use the bfd linker instead of the default linker.
-fuse-ld=gold
Use the gold linker instead of the default linker.
-fcprop-registers
After register allocation and post-register allocation instruction splitting, perform a copy-
propagation pass to try to reduce scheduling dependencies and occasionally eliminate the copy.
Enabled at levels -O, -O2, -O3, -Os.
-fprofile-correction
Profiles collected using an instrumented binary for multi-threaded programs may be inconsistent due
to missed counter updates. When this option is specified, GCC uses heuristics to correct or smooth
out such inconsistencies. By default, GCC emits an error message when an inconsistent profile is
detected.
-fprofile-dir=path
Set the directory to search for the profile data files in to path. This option affects only the
profile data generated by -fprofile-generate, -ftest-coverage, -fprofile-arcs and used by
-fprofile-use and -fbranch-probabilities and its related options. Both absolute and relative paths
can be used. By default, GCC uses the current directory as path, thus the profile data file appears
in the same directory as the object file.
-fprofile-generate
-fprofile-generate=path
Enable options usually used for instrumenting application to produce profile useful for later
recompilation with profile feedback based optimization. You must use -fprofile-generate both when
compiling and when linking your program.
The following options are enabled: "-fprofile-arcs", "-fprofile-values", "-fvpt".
If path is specified, GCC looks at the path to find the profile feedback data files. See
-fprofile-dir.
-fprofile-use
-fprofile-use=path
Enable profile feedback directed optimizations, and optimizations generally profitable only with
profile feedback available.
The following options are enabled: "-fbranch-probabilities", "-fvpt", "-funroll-loops",
"-fpeel-loops", "-ftracer", "-ftree-vectorize", "ftree-loop-distribute-patterns"
By default, GCC emits an error message if the feedback profiles do not match the source code. This
error can be turned into a warning by using -Wcoverage-mismatch. Note this may result in poorly
optimized code.
If path is specified, GCC looks at the path to find the profile feedback data files. See
-fprofile-dir.
The following options control compiler behavior regarding floating-point arithmetic. These options trade
off between speed and correctness. All must be specifically enabled.
-ffloat-store
Do not store floating-point variables in registers, and inhibit other options that might change
whether a floating-point value is taken from a register or memory.
This option 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. Similarly for the
x86 architecture. 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 programs, after modifying
them to store all pertinent intermediate computations into variables.
-fexcess-precision=style
This option allows further control over excess precision on machines where floating-point registers
have more precision than the IEEE "float" and "double" types and the processor does not support
operations rounding to those types. By default, -fexcess-precision=fast is in effect; this means
that operations are carried out in the precision of the registers and that it is unpredictable when
rounding to the types specified in the source code takes place. When compiling C, if
-fexcess-precision=standard is specified then excess precision follows the rules specified in ISO
C99; in particular, both casts and assignments cause values to be rounded to their semantic types
(whereas -ffloat-store only affects assignments). This option is enabled by default for C if a
strict conformance option such as -std=c99 is used.
-fexcess-precision=standard is not implemented for languages other than C, and has no effect if
-funsafe-math-optimizations or -ffast-math is specified. On the x86, it also has no effect if
-mfpmath=sse or -mfpmath=sse+387 is specified; in the former case, IEEE semantics apply without
excess precision, and in the latter, rounding is unpredictable.
-ffast-math
Sets -fno-math-errno, -funsafe-math-optimizations, -ffinite-math-only, -fno-rounding-math,
-fno-signaling-nans and -fcx-limited-range.
This option causes the preprocessor macro "__FAST_MATH__" to be defined.
This option is not turned on by any -O option besides -Ofast since it can result in incorrect output
for programs that depend on an exact implementation of IEEE or ISO rules/specifications for math
functions. It may, however, yield faster code for programs that do not require the guarantees of
these specifications.
-fno-math-errno
Do not set "errno" after calling math functions that are executed with a single instruction, e.g.,
"sqrt". A program that relies on IEEE exceptions for math error handling may want to use this flag
for speed while maintaining IEEE arithmetic compatibility.
This option is not turned on by any -O option since it can result in incorrect output for programs
that depend on an exact implementation of IEEE or ISO rules/specifications for math functions. It
may, however, yield faster code for programs that do not require the guarantees of these
specifications.
The default is -fmath-errno.
On Darwin systems, the math library never sets "errno". There is therefore no reason for the
compiler to consider the possibility that it might, and -fno-math-errno is the default.
-funsafe-math-optimizations
Allow optimizations for floating-point arithmetic that (a) assume that arguments and results are
valid and (b) may violate IEEE or ANSI standards. When used at link-time, it may include libraries
or startup files that change the default FPU control word or other similar optimizations.
This option is not turned on by any -O option since it can result in incorrect output for programs
that depend on an exact implementation of IEEE or ISO rules/specifications for math functions. It
may, however, yield faster code for programs that do not require the guarantees of these
specifications. Enables -fno-signed-zeros, -fno-trapping-math, -fassociative-math and
-freciprocal-math.
The default is -fno-unsafe-math-optimizations.
-fassociative-math
Allow re-association of operands in series of floating-point operations. This violates the ISO C and
C++ language standard by possibly changing computation result. NOTE: re-ordering may change the sign
of zero as well as ignore NaNs and inhibit or create underflow or overflow (and thus cannot be used
on code that relies on rounding behavior like "(x + 2**52) - 2**52". May also reorder floating-point
comparisons and thus may not be used when ordered comparisons are required. This option requires
that both -fno-signed-zeros and -fno-trapping-math be in effect. Moreover, it doesn't make much
sense with -frounding-math. For Fortran the option is automatically enabled when both
-fno-signed-zeros and -fno-trapping-math are in effect.
The default is -fno-associative-math.
-freciprocal-math
Allow the reciprocal of a value to be used instead of dividing by the value if this enables
optimizations. For example "x / y" can be replaced with "x * (1/y)", which is useful if "(1/y)" is
subject to common subexpression elimination. Note that this loses precision and increases the number
of flops operating on the value.
The default is -fno-reciprocal-math.
-ffinite-math-only
Allow optimizations for floating-point arithmetic that assume that arguments and results are not NaNs
or +-Infs.
This option is not turned on by any -O option since it can result in incorrect output for programs
that depend on an exact implementation of IEEE or ISO rules/specifications for math functions. It
may, however, yield faster code for programs that do not require the guarantees of these
specifications.
The default is -fno-finite-math-only.
-fno-signed-zeros
Allow optimizations for floating-point arithmetic that ignore the signedness of zero. IEEE
arithmetic specifies the behavior of distinct +0.0 and -0.0 values, which then prohibits
simplification of expressions such as x+0.0 or 0.0*x (even with -ffinite-math-only). This option
implies that the sign of a zero result isn't significant.
The default is -fsigned-zeros.
-fno-trapping-math
Compile code assuming that floating-point operations cannot generate user-visible traps. These traps
include division by zero, overflow, underflow, inexact result and invalid operation. This option
requires that -fno-signaling-nans be in effect. Setting this option may allow faster code if one
relies on "non-stop" IEEE arithmetic, for example.
This option should never be turned on by any -O option since it can result in incorrect output for
programs that depend on an exact implementation of IEEE or ISO rules/specifications for math
functions.
The default is -ftrapping-math.
-frounding-math
Disable transformations and optimizations that assume default floating-point rounding behavior. This
is round-to-zero for all floating point to integer conversions, and round-to-nearest for all other
arithmetic truncations. This option should be specified for programs that change the FP rounding
mode dynamically, or that may be executed with a non-default rounding mode. This option disables
constant folding of floating-point expressions at compile time (which may be affected by rounding
mode) and arithmetic transformations that are unsafe in the presence of sign-dependent rounding
modes.
The default is -fno-rounding-math.
This option is experimental and does not currently guarantee to disable all GCC optimizations that
are affected by rounding mode. Future versions of GCC may provide finer control of this setting
using C99's "FENV_ACCESS" pragma. This command-line option will be used to specify the default state
for "FENV_ACCESS".
-fsignaling-nans
Compile code assuming that IEEE signaling NaNs may generate user-visible traps during floating-point
operations. Setting this option disables optimizations that may change the number of exceptions
visible with signaling NaNs. This option implies -ftrapping-math.
This option causes the preprocessor macro "__SUPPORT_SNAN__" to be defined.
The default is -fno-signaling-nans.
This option is experimental and does not currently guarantee to disable all GCC optimizations that
affect signaling NaN behavior.
-fsingle-precision-constant
Treat floating-point constants as single precision instead of implicitly converting them to double-
precision constants.
-fcx-limited-range
When enabled, this option states that a range reduction step is not needed when performing complex
division. Also, there is no checking whether the result of a complex multiplication or division is
"NaN + I*NaN", with an attempt to rescue the situation in that case. The default is
-fno-cx-limited-range, but is enabled by -ffast-math.
This option controls the default setting of the ISO C99 "CX_LIMITED_RANGE" pragma. Nevertheless, the
option applies to all languages.
-fcx-fortran-rules
Complex multiplication and division follow Fortran rules. Range reduction is done as part of complex
division, but there is no checking whether the result of a complex multiplication or division is "NaN
+ I*NaN", with an attempt to rescue the situation in that case.
The default is -fno-cx-fortran-rules.
The following options control optimizations that may improve performance, but are not enabled by any -O
options. This section includes experimental options that may produce broken code.
-fbranch-probabilities
After running a program compiled with -fprofile-arcs, you can compile it a second time using
-fbranch-probabilities, to improve optimizations based on the number of times each branch was taken.
When a program compiled with -fprofile-arcs exits, it saves arc execution counts to a file called
sourcename.gcda for each source file. The information in this data file is very dependent on the
structure of the generated code, so you must use the same source code and the same optimization
options for both compilations.
With -fbranch-probabilities, GCC puts a REG_BR_PROB note on each JUMP_INSN and CALL_INSN. These can
be used to improve optimization. Currently, they are only used in one place: in reorg.c, instead of
guessing which path a branch is most likely to take, the REG_BR_PROB values are used to exactly
determine which path is taken more often.
-fprofile-values
If combined with -fprofile-arcs, it adds code so that some data about values of expressions in the
program is gathered.
With -fbranch-probabilities, it reads back the data gathered from profiling values of expressions for
usage in optimizations.
Enabled with -fprofile-generate and -fprofile-use.
-fvpt
If combined with -fprofile-arcs, this option instructs the compiler to add code to gather information
about values of expressions.
With -fbranch-probabilities, it reads back the data gathered and actually performs the optimizations
based on them. Currently the optimizations include specialization of division operations using the
knowledge about the value of the denominator.
-frename-registers
Attempt to avoid false dependencies in scheduled code by making use of registers left over after
register allocation. This optimization most benefits processors with lots of registers. Depending
on the debug information format adopted by the target, however, it can make debugging impossible,
since variables no longer stay in a "home register".
Enabled by default with -funroll-loops and -fpeel-loops.
-ftracer
Perform tail duplication to enlarge superblock size. This transformation simplifies the control flow
of the function allowing other optimizations to do a better job.
Enabled with -fprofile-use.
-funroll-loops
Unroll loops whose number of iterations can be determined at compile time or upon entry to the loop.
-funroll-loops implies -frerun-cse-after-loop, -fweb and -frename-registers. It also turns on
complete loop peeling (i.e. complete removal of loops with a small constant number of iterations).
This option makes code larger, and may or may not make it run faster.
Enabled with -fprofile-use.
-funroll-all-loops
Unroll all loops, even if their number of iterations is uncertain when the loop is entered. This
usually makes programs run more slowly. -funroll-all-loops implies the same options as
-funroll-loops.
-fpeel-loops
Peels loops for which there is enough information that they do not roll much (from profile feedback).
It also turns on complete loop peeling (i.e. complete removal of loops with small constant number of
iterations).
Enabled with -fprofile-use.
-fmove-loop-invariants
Enables the loop invariant motion pass in the RTL loop optimizer. Enabled at level -O1
-funswitch-loops
Move branches with loop invariant conditions out of the loop, with duplicates of the loop on both
branches (modified according to result of the condition).
-ffunction-sections
-fdata-sections
Place each function or data item into its own section in the output file if the target supports
arbitrary sections. The name of the function or the name of the data item determines the section's
name in the output file.
Use these options on systems where the linker can perform optimizations to improve locality of
reference in the instruction space. Most systems using the ELF object format and SPARC processors
running Solaris 2 have linkers with such optimizations. AIX may have these optimizations in the
future.
Only use these options when there are significant benefits from doing so. When you specify these
options, the assembler and linker create larger object and executable files and are also slower. You
cannot use "gprof" on all systems if you specify this option, and you may have problems with
debugging if you specify both this option and -g.
-fbranch-target-load-optimize
Perform branch target register load optimization before prologue / epilogue threading. The use of
target registers can typically be exposed only during reload, thus hoisting loads out of loops and
doing inter-block scheduling needs a separate optimization pass.
-fbranch-target-load-optimize2
Perform branch target register load optimization after prologue / epilogue threading.
-fbtr-bb-exclusive
When performing branch target register load optimization, don't reuse branch target registers within
any basic block.
-fstack-protector
Emit extra code to check for buffer overflows, such as stack smashing attacks. This is done by
adding a guard variable to functions with vulnerable objects. This includes functions that call
"alloca", and functions with buffers larger than 8 bytes. The guards are initialized when a function
is entered and then checked when the function exits. If a guard check fails, an error message is
printed and the program exits.
NOTE: In Ubuntu 6.10 and later versions this option is enabled by default for C, C++, ObjC, ObjC++,
if none of -fno-stack-protector, -nostdlib, nor -ffreestanding are found.
-fstack-protector-all
Like -fstack-protector except that all functions are protected.
-fsection-anchors
Try to reduce the number of symbolic address calculations by using shared "anchor" symbols to address
nearby objects. This transformation can help to reduce the number of GOT entries and GOT accesses on
some targets.
For example, the implementation of the following function "foo":
static int a, b, c;
int foo (void) { return a + b + c; }
usually calculates the addresses of all three variables, but if you compile it with
-fsection-anchors, it accesses the variables from a common anchor point instead. The effect is
similar to the following pseudocode (which isn't valid C):
int foo (void)
{
register int *xr = &x;
return xr[&a - &x] + xr[&b - &x] + xr[&c - &x];
}
Not all targets support this option.
--param name=value
In some places, GCC uses various constants to control the amount of optimization that is done. For
example, GCC does not inline functions that contain more than a certain number of instructions. You
can control some of these constants on the command line using the --param option.
The names of specific parameters, and the meaning of the values, are tied to the internals of the
compiler, and are subject to change without notice in future releases.
In each case, the value is an integer. The allowable choices for name are:
predictable-branch-outcome
When branch is predicted to be taken with probability lower than this threshold (in percent),
then it is considered well predictable. The default is 10.
max-crossjump-edges
The maximum number of incoming edges to consider for cross-jumping. The algorithm used by
-fcrossjumping is O(N^2) in the number of edges incoming to each block. Increasing values mean
more aggressive optimization, making the compilation time increase with probably small
improvement in executable size.
min-crossjump-insns
The minimum number of instructions that must be matched at the end of two blocks before cross-
jumping is performed on them. This value is ignored in the case where all instructions in the
block being cross-jumped from are matched. The default value is 5.
max-grow-copy-bb-insns
The maximum code size expansion factor when copying basic blocks instead of jumping. The
expansion is relative to a jump instruction. The default value is 8.
max-goto-duplication-insns
The maximum number of instructions to duplicate to a block that jumps to a computed goto. To
avoid O(N^2) behavior in a number of passes, GCC factors computed gotos early in the compilation
process, and unfactors them as late as possible. Only computed jumps at the end of a basic
blocks with no more than max-goto-duplication-insns are unfactored. The default value is 8.
max-delay-slot-insn-search
The maximum number of instructions to consider when looking for an instruction to fill a delay
slot. If more than this arbitrary number of instructions are searched, the time savings from
filling the delay slot are minimal, so stop searching. Increasing values mean more aggressive
optimization, making the compilation time increase with probably small improvement in execution
time.
max-delay-slot-live-search
When trying to fill delay slots, the maximum number of instructions to consider when searching
for a block with valid live register information. Increasing this arbitrarily chosen value means
more aggressive optimization, increasing the compilation time. This parameter should be removed
when the delay slot code is rewritten to maintain the control-flow graph.
max-gcse-memory
The approximate maximum amount of memory that can be allocated in order to perform the global
common subexpression elimination optimization. If more memory than specified is required, the
optimization is not done.
max-gcse-insertion-ratio
If the ratio of expression insertions to deletions is larger than this value for any expression,
then RTL PRE inserts or removes the expression and thus leaves partially redundant computations
in the instruction stream. The default value is 20.
max-pending-list-length
The maximum number of pending dependencies scheduling allows before flushing the current state
and starting over. Large functions with few branches or calls can create excessively large lists
which needlessly consume memory and resources.
max-modulo-backtrack-attempts
The maximum number of backtrack attempts the scheduler should make when modulo scheduling a loop.
Larger values can exponentially increase compilation time.
max-inline-insns-single
Several parameters control the tree inliner used in GCC. This number sets the maximum number of
instructions (counted in GCC's internal representation) in a single function that the tree
inliner considers for inlining. This only affects functions declared inline and methods
implemented in a class declaration (C++). The default value is 400.
max-inline-insns-auto
When you use -finline-functions (included in -O3), a lot of functions that would otherwise not be
considered for inlining by the compiler are investigated. To those functions, a different (more
restrictive) limit compared to functions declared inline can be applied. The default value is
40.
inline-min-speedup
When estimated performance improvement of caller + callee runtime exceeds this threshold (in
precent), the function can be inlined regardless the limit on --param max-inline-insns-single and
--param max-inline-insns-auto.
large-function-insns
The limit specifying really large functions. For functions larger than this limit after
inlining, inlining is constrained by --param large-function-growth. This parameter is useful
primarily to avoid extreme compilation time caused by non-linear algorithms used by the back end.
The default value is 2700.
large-function-growth
Specifies maximal growth of large function caused by inlining in percents. The default value is
100 which limits large function growth to 2.0 times the original size.
large-unit-insns
The limit specifying large translation unit. Growth caused by inlining of units larger than this
limit is limited by --param inline-unit-growth. For small units this might be too tight. For
example, consider a unit consisting of function A that is inline and B that just calls A three
times. If B is small relative to A, the growth of unit is 300\% and yet such inlining is very
sane. For very large units consisting of small inlineable functions, however, the overall unit
growth limit is needed to avoid exponential explosion of code size. Thus for smaller units, the
size is increased to --param large-unit-insns before applying --param inline-unit-growth. The
default is 10000.
inline-unit-growth
Specifies maximal overall growth of the compilation unit caused by inlining. The default value
is 30 which limits unit growth to 1.3 times the original size.
ipcp-unit-growth
Specifies maximal overall growth of the compilation unit caused by interprocedural constant
propagation. The default value is 10 which limits unit growth to 1.1 times the original size.
large-stack-frame
The limit specifying large stack frames. While inlining the algorithm is trying to not grow past
this limit too much. The default value is 256 bytes.
large-stack-frame-growth
Specifies maximal growth of large stack frames caused by inlining in percents. The default value
is 1000 which limits large stack frame growth to 11 times the original size.
max-inline-insns-recursive
max-inline-insns-recursive-auto
Specifies the maximum number of instructions an out-of-line copy of a self-recursive inline
function can grow into by performing recursive inlining.
For functions declared inline, --param max-inline-insns-recursive is taken into account. For
functions not declared inline, recursive inlining happens only when -finline-functions (included
in -O3) is enabled and --param max-inline-insns-recursive-auto is used. The default value is
450.
max-inline-recursive-depth
max-inline-recursive-depth-auto
Specifies the maximum recursion depth used for recursive inlining.
For functions declared inline, --param max-inline-recursive-depth is taken into account. For
functions not declared inline, recursive inlining happens only when -finline-functions (included
in -O3) is enabled and --param max-inline-recursive-depth-auto is used. The default value is 8.
min-inline-recursive-probability
Recursive inlining is profitable only for function having deep recursion in average and can hurt
for function having little recursion depth by increasing the prologue size or complexity of
function body to other optimizers.
When profile feedback is available (see -fprofile-generate) the actual recursion depth can be
guessed from probability that function recurses via a given call expression. This parameter
limits inlining only to call expressions whose probability exceeds the given threshold (in
percents). The default value is 10.
early-inlining-insns
Specify growth that the early inliner can make. In effect it increases the amount of inlining
for code having a large abstraction penalty. The default value is 10.
max-early-inliner-iterations
max-early-inliner-iterations
Limit of iterations of the early inliner. This basically bounds the number of nested indirect
calls the early inliner can resolve. Deeper chains are still handled by late inlining.
comdat-sharing-probability
comdat-sharing-probability
Probability (in percent) that C++ inline function with comdat visibility are shared across
multiple compilation units. The default value is 20.
min-vect-loop-bound
The minimum number of iterations under which loops are not vectorized when -ftree-vectorize is
used. The number of iterations after vectorization needs to be greater than the value specified
by this option to allow vectorization. The default value is 0.
gcse-cost-distance-ratio
Scaling factor in calculation of maximum distance an expression can be moved by GCSE
optimizations. This is currently supported only in the code hoisting pass. The bigger the
ratio, the more aggressive code hoisting is with simple expressions, i.e., the expressions that
have cost less than gcse-unrestricted-cost. Specifying 0 disables hoisting of simple
expressions. The default value is 10.
gcse-unrestricted-cost
Cost, roughly measured as the cost of a single typical machine instruction, at which GCSE
optimizations do not constrain the distance an expression can travel. This is currently
supported only in the code hoisting pass. The lesser the cost, the more aggressive code hoisting
is. Specifying 0 allows all expressions to travel unrestricted distances. The default value is
3.
max-hoist-depth
The depth of search in the dominator tree for expressions to hoist. This is used to avoid
quadratic behavior in hoisting algorithm. The value of 0 does not limit on the search, but may
slow down compilation of huge functions. The default value is 30.
max-tail-merge-comparisons
The maximum amount of similar bbs to compare a bb with. This is used to avoid quadratic behavior
in tree tail merging. The default value is 10.
max-tail-merge-iterations
The maximum amount of iterations of the pass over the function. This is used to limit
compilation time in tree tail merging. The default value is 2.
max-unrolled-insns
The maximum number of instructions that a loop may have to be unrolled. If a loop is unrolled,
this parameter also determines how many times the loop code is unrolled.
max-average-unrolled-insns
The maximum number of instructions biased by probabilities of their execution that a loop may
have to be unrolled. If a loop is unrolled, this parameter also determines how many times the
loop code is unrolled.
max-unroll-times
The maximum number of unrollings of a single loop.
max-peeled-insns
The maximum number of instructions that a loop may have to be peeled. If a loop is peeled, this
parameter also determines how many times the loop code is peeled.
max-peel-times
The maximum number of peelings of a single loop.
max-peel-branches
The maximum number of branches on the hot path through the peeled sequence.
max-completely-peeled-insns
The maximum number of insns of a completely peeled loop.
max-completely-peel-times
The maximum number of iterations of a loop to be suitable for complete peeling.
max-completely-peel-loop-nest-depth
The maximum depth of a loop nest suitable for complete peeling.
max-unswitch-insns
The maximum number of insns of an unswitched loop.
max-unswitch-level
The maximum number of branches unswitched in a single loop.
lim-expensive
The minimum cost of an expensive expression in the loop invariant motion.
iv-consider-all-candidates-bound
Bound on number of candidates for induction variables, below which all candidates are considered
for each use in induction variable optimizations. If there are more candidates than this, only
the most relevant ones are considered to avoid quadratic time complexity.
iv-max-considered-uses
The induction variable optimizations give up on loops that contain more induction variable uses.
iv-always-prune-cand-set-bound
If the number of candidates in the set is smaller than this value, always try to remove
unnecessary ivs from the set when adding a new one.
scev-max-expr-size
Bound on size of expressions used in the scalar evolutions analyzer. Large expressions slow the
analyzer.
scev-max-expr-complexity
Bound on the complexity of the expressions in the scalar evolutions analyzer. Complex
expressions slow the analyzer.
omega-max-vars
The maximum number of variables in an Omega constraint system. The default value is 128.
omega-max-geqs
The maximum number of inequalities in an Omega constraint system. The default value is 256.
omega-max-eqs
The maximum number of equalities in an Omega constraint system. The default value is 128.
omega-max-wild-cards
The maximum number of wildcard variables that the Omega solver is able to insert. The default
value is 18.
omega-hash-table-size
The size of the hash table in the Omega solver. The default value is 550.
omega-max-keys
The maximal number of keys used by the Omega solver. The default value is 500.
omega-eliminate-redundant-constraints
When set to 1, use expensive methods to eliminate all redundant constraints. The default value
is 0.
vect-max-version-for-alignment-checks
The maximum number of run-time checks that can be performed when doing loop versioning for
alignment in the vectorizer. See option -ftree-vect-loop-version for more information.
vect-max-version-for-alias-checks
The maximum number of run-time checks that can be performed when doing loop versioning for alias
in the vectorizer. See option -ftree-vect-loop-version for more information.
max-iterations-to-track
The maximum number of iterations of a loop the brute-force algorithm for analysis of the number
of iterations of the loop tries to evaluate.
hot-bb-count-ws-permille
A basic block profile count is considered hot if it contributes to the given permillage (i.e.
0...1000) of the entire profiled execution.
hot-bb-frequency-fraction
Select fraction of the entry block frequency of executions of basic block in function given basic
block needs to have to be considered hot.
max-predicted-iterations
The maximum number of loop iterations we predict statically. This is useful in cases where a
function contains a single loop with known bound and another loop with unknown bound. The known
number of iterations is predicted correctly, while the unknown number of iterations average to
roughly 10. This means that the loop without bounds appears artificially cold relative to the
other one.
align-threshold
Select fraction of the maximal frequency of executions of a basic block in a function to align
the basic block.
align-loop-iterations
A loop expected to iterate at least the selected number of iterations is aligned.
tracer-dynamic-coverage
tracer-dynamic-coverage-feedback
This value is used to limit superblock formation once the given percentage of executed
instructions is covered. This limits unnecessary code size expansion.
The tracer-dynamic-coverage-feedback is used only when profile feedback is available. The real
profiles (as opposed to statically estimated ones) are much less balanced allowing the threshold
to be larger value.
tracer-max-code-growth
Stop tail duplication once code growth has reached given percentage. This is a rather artificial
limit, as most of the duplicates are eliminated later in cross jumping, so it may be set to much
higher values than is the desired code growth.
tracer-min-branch-ratio
Stop reverse growth when the reverse probability of best edge is less than this threshold (in
percent).
tracer-min-branch-ratio
tracer-min-branch-ratio-feedback
Stop forward growth if the best edge has probability lower than this threshold.
Similarly to tracer-dynamic-coverage two values are present, one for compilation for profile
feedback and one for compilation without. The value for compilation with profile feedback needs
to be more conservative (higher) in order to make tracer effective.
max-cse-path-length
The maximum number of basic blocks on path that CSE considers. The default is 10.
max-cse-insns
The maximum number of instructions CSE processes before flushing. The default is 1000.
ggc-min-expand
GCC uses a garbage collector to manage its own memory allocation. This parameter specifies the
minimum percentage by which the garbage collector's heap should be allowed to expand between
collections. Tuning this may improve compilation speed; it has no effect on code generation.
The default is 30% + 70% * (RAM/1GB) with an upper bound of 100% when RAM >= 1GB. If "getrlimit"
is available, the notion of "RAM" is the smallest of actual RAM and "RLIMIT_DATA" or "RLIMIT_AS".
If GCC is not able to calculate RAM on a particular platform, the lower bound of 30% is used.
Setting this parameter and ggc-min-heapsize to zero causes a full collection to occur at every
opportunity. This is extremely slow, but can be useful for debugging.
ggc-min-heapsize
Minimum size of the garbage collector's heap before it begins bothering to collect garbage. The
first collection occurs after the heap expands by ggc-min-expand% beyond ggc-min-heapsize.
Again, tuning this may improve compilation speed, and has no effect on code generation.
The default is the smaller of RAM/8, RLIMIT_RSS, or a limit that tries to ensure that RLIMIT_DATA
or RLIMIT_AS are not exceeded, but with a lower bound of 4096 (four megabytes) and an upper bound
of 131072 (128 megabytes). If GCC is not able to calculate RAM on a particular platform, the
lower bound is used. Setting this parameter very large effectively disables garbage collection.
Setting this parameter and ggc-min-expand to zero causes a full collection to occur at every
opportunity.
max-reload-search-insns
The maximum number of instruction reload should look backward for equivalent register.
Increasing values mean more aggressive optimization, making the compilation time increase with
probably slightly better performance. The default value is 100.
max-cselib-memory-locations
The maximum number of memory locations cselib should take into account. Increasing values mean
more aggressive optimization, making the compilation time increase with probably slightly better
performance. The default value is 500.
reorder-blocks-duplicate
reorder-blocks-duplicate-feedback
Used by the basic block reordering pass to decide whether to use unconditional branch or
duplicate the code on its destination. Code is duplicated when its estimated size is smaller
than this value multiplied by the estimated size of unconditional jump in the hot spots of the
program.
The reorder-block-duplicate-feedback is used only when profile feedback is available. It may be
set to higher values than reorder-block-duplicate since information about the hot spots is more
accurate.
max-sched-ready-insns
The maximum number of instructions ready to be issued the scheduler should consider at any given
time during the first scheduling pass. Increasing values mean more thorough searches, making the
compilation time increase with probably little benefit. The default value is 100.
max-sched-region-blocks
The maximum number of blocks in a region to be considered for interblock scheduling. The default
value is 10.
max-pipeline-region-blocks
The maximum number of blocks in a region to be considered for pipelining in the selective
scheduler. The default value is 15.
max-sched-region-insns
The maximum number of insns in a region to be considered for interblock scheduling. The default
value is 100.
max-pipeline-region-insns
The maximum number of insns in a region to be considered for pipelining in the selective
scheduler. The default value is 200.
min-spec-prob
The minimum probability (in percents) of reaching a source block for interblock speculative
scheduling. The default value is 40.
max-sched-extend-regions-iters
The maximum number of iterations through CFG to extend regions. A value of 0 (the default)
disables region extensions.
max-sched-insn-conflict-delay
The maximum conflict delay for an insn to be considered for speculative motion. The default
value is 3.
sched-spec-prob-cutoff
The minimal probability of speculation success (in percents), so that speculative insns are
scheduled. The default value is 40.
sched-spec-state-edge-prob-cutoff
The minimum probability an edge must have for the scheduler to save its state across it. The
default value is 10.
sched-mem-true-dep-cost
Minimal distance (in CPU cycles) between store and load targeting same memory locations. The
default value is 1.
selsched-max-lookahead
The maximum size of the lookahead window of selective scheduling. It is a depth of search for
available instructions. The default value is 50.
selsched-max-sched-times
The maximum number of times that an instruction is scheduled during selective scheduling. This
is the limit on the number of iterations through which the instruction may be pipelined. The
default value is 2.
selsched-max-insns-to-rename
The maximum number of best instructions in the ready list that are considered for renaming in the
selective scheduler. The default value is 2.
sms-min-sc
The minimum value of stage count that swing modulo scheduler generates. The default value is 2.
max-last-value-rtl
The maximum size measured as number of RTLs that can be recorded in an expression in combiner for
a pseudo register as last known value of that register. The default is 10000.
integer-share-limit
Small integer constants can use a shared data structure, reducing the compiler's memory usage and
increasing its speed. This sets the maximum value of a shared integer constant. The default
value is 256.
ssp-buffer-size
The minimum size of buffers (i.e. arrays) that receive stack smashing protection when
-fstack-protection is used.
This default before Ubuntu 10.10 was "8". Currently it is "4", to increase the number of
functions protected by the stack protector.
max-jump-thread-duplication-stmts
Maximum number of statements allowed in a block that needs to be duplicated when threading jumps.
max-fields-for-field-sensitive
Maximum number of fields in a structure treated in a field sensitive manner during pointer
analysis. The default is zero for -O0 and -O1, and 100 for -Os, -O2, and -O3.
prefetch-latency
Estimate on average number of instructions that are executed before prefetch finishes. The
distance prefetched ahead is proportional to this constant. Increasing this number may also lead
to less streams being prefetched (see simultaneous-prefetches).
simultaneous-prefetches
Maximum number of prefetches that can run at the same time.
l1-cache-line-size
The size of cache line in L1 cache, in bytes.
l1-cache-size
The size of L1 cache, in kilobytes.
l2-cache-size
The size of L2 cache, in kilobytes.
min-insn-to-prefetch-ratio
The minimum ratio between the number of instructions and the number of prefetches to enable
prefetching in a loop.
prefetch-min-insn-to-mem-ratio
The minimum ratio between the number of instructions and the number of memory references to
enable prefetching in a loop.
use-canonical-types
Whether the compiler should use the "canonical" type system. By default, this should always be
1, which uses a more efficient internal mechanism for comparing types in C++ and Objective-C++.
However, if bugs in the canonical type system are causing compilation failures, set this value to
0 to disable canonical types.
switch-conversion-max-branch-ratio
Switch initialization conversion refuses to create arrays that are bigger than switch-conversion-
max-branch-ratio times the number of branches in the switch.
max-partial-antic-length
Maximum length of the partial antic set computed during the tree partial redundancy elimination
optimization (-ftree-pre) when optimizing at -O3 and above. For some sorts of source code the
enhanced partial redundancy elimination optimization can run away, consuming all of the memory
available on the host machine. This parameter sets a limit on the length of the sets that are
computed, which prevents the runaway behavior. Setting a value of 0 for this parameter allows an
unlimited set length.
sccvn-max-scc-size
Maximum size of a strongly connected component (SCC) during SCCVN processing. If this limit is
hit, SCCVN processing for the whole function is not done and optimizations depending on it are
disabled. The default maximum SCC size is 10000.
sccvn-max-alias-queries-per-access
Maximum number of alias-oracle queries we perform when looking for redundancies for loads and
stores. If this limit is hit the search is aborted and the load or store is not considered
redundant. The number of queries is algorithmically limited to the number of stores on all paths
from the load to the function entry. The default maxmimum number of queries is 1000.
ira-max-loops-num
IRA uses regional register allocation by default. If a function contains more loops than the
number given by this parameter, only at most the given number of the most frequently-executed
loops form regions for regional register allocation. The default value of the parameter is 100.
ira-max-conflict-table-size
Although IRA uses a sophisticated algorithm to compress the conflict table, the table can still
require excessive amounts of memory for huge functions. If the conflict table for a function
could be more than the size in MB given by this parameter, the register allocator instead uses a
faster, simpler, and lower-quality algorithm that does not require building a pseudo-register
conflict table. The default value of the parameter is 2000.
ira-loop-reserved-regs
IRA can be used to evaluate more accurate register pressure in loops for decisions to move loop
invariants (see -O3). The number of available registers reserved for some other purposes is
given by this parameter. The default value of the parameter is 2, which is the minimal number of
registers needed by typical instructions. This value is the best found from numerous
experiments.
loop-invariant-max-bbs-in-loop
Loop invariant motion can be very expensive, both in compilation time and in amount of needed
compile-time memory, with very large loops. Loops with more basic blocks than this parameter
won't have loop invariant motion optimization performed on them. The default value of the
parameter is 1000 for -O1 and 10000 for -O2 and above.
loop-max-datarefs-for-datadeps
Building data dapendencies is expensive for very large loops. This parameter limits the number
of data references in loops that are considered for data dependence analysis. These large loops
are no handled by the optimizations using loop data dependencies. The default value is 1000.
max-vartrack-size
Sets a maximum number of hash table slots to use during variable tracking dataflow analysis of
any function. If this limit is exceeded with variable tracking at assignments enabled, analysis
for that function is retried without it, after removing all debug insns from the function. If
the limit is exceeded even without debug insns, var tracking analysis is completely disabled for
the function. Setting the parameter to zero makes it unlimited.
max-vartrack-expr-depth
Sets a maximum number of recursion levels when attempting to map variable names or debug
temporaries to value expressions. This trades compilation time for more complete debug
information. If this is set too low, value expressions that are available and could be
represented in debug information may end up not being used; setting this higher may enable the
compiler to find more complex debug expressions, but compile time and memory use may grow. The
default is 12.
min-nondebug-insn-uid
Use uids starting at this parameter for nondebug insns. The range below the parameter is
reserved exclusively for debug insns created by -fvar-tracking-assignments, but debug insns may
get (non-overlapping) uids above it if the reserved range is exhausted.
ipa-sra-ptr-growth-factor
IPA-SRA replaces a pointer to an aggregate with one or more new parameters only when their
cumulative size is less or equal to ipa-sra-ptr-growth-factor times the size of the original
pointer parameter.
tm-max-aggregate-size
When making copies of thread-local variables in a transaction, this parameter specifies the size
in bytes after which variables are saved with the logging functions as opposed to save/restore
code sequence pairs. This option only applies when using -fgnu-tm.
graphite-max-nb-scop-params
To avoid exponential effects in the Graphite loop transforms, the number of parameters in a
Static Control Part (SCoP) is bounded. The default value is 10 parameters. A variable whose
value is unknown at compilation time and defined outside a SCoP is a parameter of the SCoP.
graphite-max-bbs-per-function
To avoid exponential effects in the detection of SCoPs, the size of the functions analyzed by
Graphite is bounded. The default value is 100 basic blocks.
loop-block-tile-size
Loop blocking or strip mining transforms, enabled with -floop-block or -floop-strip-mine, strip
mine each loop in the loop nest by a given number of iterations. The strip length can be changed
using the loop-block-tile-size parameter. The default value is 51 iterations.
ipa-cp-value-list-size
IPA-CP attempts to track all possible values and types passed to a function's parameter in order
to propagate them and perform devirtualization. ipa-cp-value-list-size is the maximum number of
values and types it stores per one formal parameter of a function.
lto-partitions
Specify desired number of partitions produced during WHOPR compilation. The number of partitions
should exceed the number of CPUs used for compilation. The default value is 32.
lto-minpartition
Size of minimal partition for WHOPR (in estimated instructions). This prevents expenses of
splitting very small programs into too many partitions.
cxx-max-namespaces-for-diagnostic-help
The maximum number of namespaces to consult for suggestions when C++ name lookup fails for an
identifier. The default is 1000.
sink-frequency-threshold
The maximum relative execution frequency (in percents) of the target block relative to a
statement's original block to allow statement sinking of a statement. Larger numbers result in
more aggressive statement sinking. The default value is 75. A small positive adjustment is
applied for statements with memory operands as those are even more profitable so sink.
max-stores-to-sink
The maximum number of conditional stores paires that can be sunk. Set to 0 if either
vectorization (-ftree-vectorize) or if-conversion (-ftree-loop-if-convert) is disabled. The
default is 2.
allow-load-data-races
Allow optimizers to introduce new data races on loads. Set to 1 to allow, otherwise to 0. This
option is enabled by default unless implicitly set by the -fmemory-model= option.
allow-store-data-races
Allow optimizers to introduce new data races on stores. Set to 1 to allow, otherwise to 0. This
option is enabled by default unless implicitly set by the -fmemory-model= option.
allow-packed-load-data-races
Allow optimizers to introduce new data races on packed data loads. Set to 1 to allow, otherwise
to 0. This option is enabled by default unless implicitly set by the -fmemory-model= option.
allow-packed-store-data-races
Allow optimizers to introduce new data races on packed data stores. Set to 1 to allow, otherwise
to 0. This option is enabled by default unless implicitly set by the -fmemory-model= option.
case-values-threshold
The smallest number of different values for which it is best to use a jump-table instead of a
tree of conditional branches. If the value is 0, use the default for the machine. The default
is 0.
tree-reassoc-width
Set the maximum number of instructions executed in parallel in reassociated tree. This parameter
overrides target dependent heuristics used by default if has non zero value.
sched-pressure-algorithm
Choose between the two available implementations of -fsched-pressure. Algorithm 1 is the
original implementation and is the more likely to prevent instructions from being reordered.
Algorithm 2 was designed to be a compromise between the relatively conservative approach taken by
algorithm 1 and the rather aggressive approach taken by the default scheduler. It relies more
heavily on having a regular register file and accurate register pressure classes. See
haifa-sched.c in the GCC sources for more details.
The default choice depends on the target.
max-slsr-cand-scan
Set the maximum number of existing candidates that will be considered when seeking a basis for a
new straight-line strength reduction candidate.
Options Controlling the Preprocessor
These options control the C preprocessor, which is run on each C source file before actual compilation.
If you use the -E option, nothing is done except preprocessing. Some of these options make sense only
together with -E because they cause the preprocessor output to be unsuitable for actual compilation.
-Wp,option
You can use -Wp,option to bypass the compiler driver and pass option directly through to the
preprocessor. If option contains commas, it is split into multiple options at the commas. However,
many options are modified, translated or interpreted by the compiler driver before being passed to
the preprocessor, and -Wp forcibly bypasses this phase. The preprocessor's direct interface is
undocumented and subject to change, so whenever possible you should avoid using -Wp and let the
driver handle the options instead.
-Xpreprocessor option
Pass option as an option to the preprocessor. You can use this to supply system-specific
preprocessor options that GCC does not recognize.
If you want to pass an option that takes an argument, you must use -Xpreprocessor twice, once for the
option and once for the argument.
-no-integrated-cpp
Perform preprocessing as a separate pass before compilation. By default, GCC performs preprocessing
as an integrated part of input tokenization and parsing. If this option is provided, the appropriate
language front end (cc1, cc1plus, or cc1obj for C, C++, and Objective-C, respectively) is instead
invoked twice, once for preprocessing only and once for actual compilation of the preprocessed input.
This option may be useful in conjunction with the -B or -wrapper options to specify an alternate
preprocessor or perform additional processing of the program source between normal preprocessing and
compilation.
-D name
Predefine name as a macro, with definition 1.
-D name=definition
The contents of definition are tokenized and processed as if they appeared during translation phase
three in a #define directive. In particular, the definition will be truncated by embedded newline
characters.
If you are invoking the preprocessor from a shell or shell-like program you may need to use the
shell's quoting syntax to protect characters such as spaces that have a meaning in the shell syntax.
If you wish to define a function-like macro on the command line, write its argument list with
surrounding parentheses before the equals sign (if any). Parentheses are meaningful to most shells,
so you will need to quote the option. With sh and csh, -D'name(args...)=definition' works.
-D and -U options are processed in the order they are given on the command line. All -imacros file
and -include file options are processed after all -D and -U options.
-U name
Cancel any previous definition of name, either built in or provided with a -D option.
-undef
Do not predefine any system-specific or GCC-specific macros. The standard predefined macros remain
defined.
-I dir
Add the directory dir to the list of directories to be searched for header files. Directories named
by -I are searched before the standard system include directories. If the directory dir is a
standard system include directory, the option is ignored to ensure that the default search order for
system directories and the special treatment of system headers are not defeated . If dir begins with
"=", then the "=" will be replaced by the sysroot prefix; see --sysroot and -isysroot.
-o file
Write output to file. This is the same as specifying file as the second non-option argument to cpp.
gcc has a different interpretation of a second non-option argument, so you must use -o to specify the
output file.
-Wall
Turns on all optional warnings which are desirable for normal code. At present this is -Wcomment,
-Wtrigraphs, -Wmultichar and a warning about integer promotion causing a change of sign in "#if"
expressions. Note that many of the preprocessor's warnings are on by default and have no options to
control them.
-Wcomment
-Wcomments
Warn whenever a comment-start sequence /* appears in a /* comment, or whenever a backslash-newline
appears in a // comment. (Both forms have the same effect.)
-Wtrigraphs
Most trigraphs in comments cannot affect the meaning of the program. However, a trigraph that would
form an escaped newline (??/ at the end of a line) can, by changing where the comment begins or ends.
Therefore, only trigraphs that would form escaped newlines produce warnings inside a comment.
This option is implied by -Wall. If -Wall is not given, this option is still enabled unless
trigraphs are enabled. To get trigraph conversion without warnings, but get the other -Wall
warnings, use -trigraphs -Wall -Wno-trigraphs.
-Wtraditional
Warn about certain constructs that behave differently in traditional and ISO C. Also warn about ISO
C constructs that have no traditional C equivalent, and problematic constructs which should be
avoided.
-Wundef
Warn whenever an identifier which is not a macro is encountered in an #if directive, outside of
defined. Such identifiers are replaced with zero.
-Wunused-macros
Warn about macros defined in the main file that are unused. A macro is used if it is expanded or
tested for existence at least once. The preprocessor will also warn if the macro has not been used
at the time it is redefined or undefined.
Built-in macros, macros defined on the command line, and macros defined in include files are not
warned about.
Note: If a macro is actually used, but only used in skipped conditional blocks, then CPP will report
it as unused. To avoid the warning in such a case, you might improve the scope of the macro's
definition by, for example, moving it into the first skipped block. Alternatively, you could provide
a dummy use with something like:
#if defined the_macro_causing_the_warning
#endif
-Wendif-labels
Warn whenever an #else or an #endif are followed by text. This usually happens in code of the form
#if FOO
...
#else FOO
...
#endif FOO
The second and third "FOO" should be in comments, but often are not in older programs. This warning
is on by default.
-Werror
Make all warnings into hard errors. Source code which triggers warnings will be rejected.
-Wsystem-headers
Issue warnings for code in system headers. These are normally unhelpful in finding bugs in your own
code, therefore suppressed. If you are responsible for the system library, you may want to see them.
-w Suppress all warnings, including those which GNU CPP issues by default.
-pedantic
Issue all the mandatory diagnostics listed in the C standard. Some of them are left out by default,
since they trigger frequently on harmless code.
-pedantic-errors
Issue all the mandatory diagnostics, and make all mandatory diagnostics into errors. This includes
mandatory diagnostics that GCC issues without -pedantic but treats as warnings.
-M Instead of outputting the result of preprocessing, output a rule suitable for make describing the
dependencies of the main source file. The preprocessor outputs one make rule containing the object
file name for that source file, a colon, and the names of all the included files, including those
coming from -include or -imacros command line options.
Unless specified explicitly (with -MT or -MQ), the object file name consists of the name of the
source file with any suffix replaced with object file suffix and with any leading directory parts
removed. If there are many included files then the rule is split into several lines using \-newline.
The rule has no commands.
This option does not suppress the preprocessor's debug output, such as -dM. To avoid mixing such
debug output with the dependency rules you should explicitly specify the dependency output file with
-MF, or use an environment variable like DEPENDENCIES_OUTPUT. Debug output will still be sent to the
regular output stream as normal.
Passing -M to the driver implies -E, and suppresses warnings with an implicit -w.
-MM Like -M but do not mention header files that are found in system header directories, nor header files
that are included, directly or indirectly, from such a header.
This implies that the choice of angle brackets or double quotes in an #include directive does not in
itself determine whether that header will appear in -MM dependency output. This is a slight change
in semantics from GCC versions 3.0 and earlier.
-MF file
When used with -M or -MM, specifies a file to write the dependencies to. If no -MF switch is given
the preprocessor sends the rules to the same place it would have sent preprocessed output.
When used with the driver options -MD or -MMD, -MF overrides the default dependency output file.
-MG In conjunction with an option such as -M requesting dependency generation, -MG assumes missing header
files are generated files and adds them to the dependency list without raising an error. The
dependency filename is taken directly from the "#include" directive without prepending any path. -MG
also suppresses preprocessed output, as a missing header file renders this useless.
This feature is used in automatic updating of makefiles.
-MP This option instructs CPP to add a phony target for each dependency other than the main file, causing
each to depend on nothing. These dummy rules work around errors make gives if you remove header
files without updating the Makefile to match.
This is typical output:
test.o: test.c test.h
test.h:
-MT target
Change the target of the rule emitted by dependency generation. By default CPP takes the name of the
main input file, deletes any directory components and any file suffix such as .c, and appends the
platform's usual object suffix. The result is the target.
An -MT option will set the target to be exactly the string you specify. If you want multiple
targets, you can specify them as a single argument to -MT, or use multiple -MT options.
For example, -MT '$(objpfx)foo.o' might give
$(objpfx)foo.o: foo.c
-MQ target
Same as -MT, but it quotes any characters which are special to Make. -MQ '$(objpfx)foo.o' gives
$$(objpfx)foo.o: foo.c
The default target is automatically quoted, as if it were given with -MQ.
-MD -MD is equivalent to -M -MF file, except that -E is not implied. The driver determines file based on
whether an -o option is given. If it is, the driver uses its argument but with a suffix of .d,
otherwise it takes the name of the input file, removes any directory components and suffix, and
applies a .d suffix.
If -MD is used in conjunction with -E, any -o switch is understood to specify the dependency output
file, but if used without -E, each -o is understood to specify a target object file.
Since -E is not implied, -MD can be used to generate a dependency output file as a side-effect of the
compilation process.
-MMD
Like -MD except mention only user header files, not system header files.
-fpch-deps
When using precompiled headers, this flag will cause the dependency-output flags to also list the
files from the precompiled header's dependencies. If not specified only the precompiled header would
be listed and not the files that were used to create it because those files are not consulted when a
precompiled header is used.
-fpch-preprocess
This option allows use of a precompiled header together with -E. It inserts a special "#pragma",
"#pragma GCC pch_preprocess "filename"" in the output to mark the place where the precompiled header
was found, and its filename. When -fpreprocessed is in use, GCC recognizes this "#pragma" and loads
the PCH.
This option is off by default, because the resulting preprocessed output is only really suitable as
input to GCC. It is switched on by -save-temps.
You should not write this "#pragma" in your own code, but it is safe to edit the filename if the PCH
file is available in a different location. The filename may be absolute or it may be relative to
GCC's current directory.
-x c
-x c++
-x objective-c
-x assembler-with-cpp
Specify the source language: C, C++, Objective-C, or assembly. This has nothing to do with standards
conformance or extensions; it merely selects which base syntax to expect. If you give none of these
options, cpp will deduce the language from the extension of the source file: .c, .cc, .m, or .S.
Some other common extensions for C++ and assembly are also recognized. If cpp does not recognize the
extension, it will treat the file as C; this is the most generic mode.
Note: Previous versions of cpp accepted a -lang option which selected both the language and the
standards conformance level. This option has been removed, because it conflicts with the -l option.
-std=standard
-ansi
Specify the standard to which the code should conform. Currently CPP knows about C and C++
standards; others may be added in the future.
standard may be one of:
"c90"
"c89"
"iso9899:1990"
The ISO C standard from 1990. c90 is the customary shorthand for this version of the standard.
The -ansi option is equivalent to -std=c90.
"iso9899:199409"
The 1990 C standard, as amended in 1994.
"iso9899:1999"
"c99"
"iso9899:199x"
"c9x"
The revised ISO C standard, published in December 1999. Before publication, this was known as
C9X.
"iso9899:2011"
"c11"
"c1x"
The revised ISO C standard, published in December 2011. Before publication, this was known as
C1X.
"gnu90"
"gnu89"
The 1990 C standard plus GNU extensions. This is the default.
"gnu99"
"gnu9x"
The 1999 C standard plus GNU extensions.
"gnu11"
"gnu1x"
The 2011 C standard plus GNU extensions.
"c++98"
The 1998 ISO C++ standard plus amendments.
"gnu++98"
The same as -std=c++98 plus GNU extensions. This is the default for C++ code.
-I- Split the include path. Any directories specified with -I options before -I- are searched only for
headers requested with "#include "file""; they are not searched for "#include <file>". If additional
directories are specified with -I options after the -I-, those directories are searched for all
#include directives.
In addition, -I- inhibits the use of the directory of the current file directory as the first search
directory for "#include "file"". This option has been deprecated.
-nostdinc
Do not search the standard system directories for header files. Only the directories you have
specified with -I options (and the directory of the current file, if appropriate) are searched.
-nostdinc++
Do not search for header files in the C++-specific standard directories, but do still search the
other standard directories. (This option is used when building the C++ library.)
-include file
Process file as if "#include "file"" appeared as the first line of the primary source file. However,
the first directory searched for file is the preprocessor's working directory instead of the
directory containing the main source file. If not found there, it is searched for in the remainder
of the "#include "..."" search chain as normal.
If multiple -include options are given, the files are included in the order they appear on the
command line.
-imacros file
Exactly like -include, except that any output produced by scanning file is thrown away. Macros it
defines remain defined. This allows you to acquire all the macros from a header without also
processing its declarations.
All files specified by -imacros are processed before all files specified by -include.
-idirafter dir
Search dir for header files, but do it after all directories specified with -I and the standard
system directories have been exhausted. dir is treated as a system include directory. If dir begins
with "=", then the "=" will be replaced by the sysroot prefix; see --sysroot and -isysroot.
-iprefix prefix
Specify prefix as the prefix for subsequent -iwithprefix options. If the prefix represents a
directory, you should include the final /.
-iwithprefix dir
-iwithprefixbefore dir
Append dir to the prefix specified previously with -iprefix, and add the resulting directory to the
include search path. -iwithprefixbefore puts it in the same place -I would; -iwithprefix puts it
where -idirafter would.
-isysroot dir
This option is like the --sysroot option, but applies only to header files (except for Darwin
targets, where it applies to both header files and libraries). See the --sysroot option for more
information.
-imultilib dir
Use dir as a subdirectory of the directory containing target-specific C++ headers.
-isystem dir
Search dir for header files, after all directories specified by -I but before the standard system
directories. Mark it as a system directory, so that it gets the same special treatment as is applied
to the standard system directories. If dir begins with "=", then the "=" will be replaced by the
sysroot prefix; see --sysroot and -isysroot.
-iquote dir
Search dir only for header files requested with "#include "file""; they are not searched for
"#include <file>", before all directories specified by -I and before the standard system directories.
If dir begins with "=", then the "=" will be replaced by the sysroot prefix; see --sysroot and
-isysroot.
-fdirectives-only
When preprocessing, handle directives, but do not expand macros.
The option's behavior depends on the -E and -fpreprocessed options.
With -E, preprocessing is limited to the handling of directives such as "#define", "#ifdef", and
"#error". Other preprocessor operations, such as macro expansion and trigraph conversion are not
performed. In addition, the -dD option is implicitly enabled.
With -fpreprocessed, predefinition of command line and most builtin macros is disabled. Macros such
as "__LINE__", which are contextually dependent, are handled normally. This enables compilation of
files previously preprocessed with "-E -fdirectives-only".
With both -E and -fpreprocessed, the rules for -fpreprocessed take precedence. This enables full
preprocessing of files previously preprocessed with "-E -fdirectives-only".
-fdollars-in-identifiers
Accept $ in identifiers.
-fextended-identifiers
Accept universal character names in identifiers. This option is experimental; in a future version of
GCC, it will be enabled by default for C99 and C++.
-fno-canonical-system-headers
When preprocessing, do not shorten system header paths with canonicalization.
-fpreprocessed
Indicate to the preprocessor that the input file has already been preprocessed. This suppresses
things like macro expansion, trigraph conversion, escaped newline splicing, and processing of most
directives. The preprocessor still recognizes and removes comments, so that you can pass a file
preprocessed with -C to the compiler without problems. In this mode the integrated preprocessor is
little more than a tokenizer for the front ends.
-fpreprocessed is implicit if the input file has one of the extensions .i, .ii or .mi. These are the
extensions that GCC uses for preprocessed files created by -save-temps.
-ftabstop=width
Set the distance between tab stops. This helps the preprocessor report correct column numbers in
warnings or errors, even if tabs appear on the line. If the value is less than 1 or greater than
100, the option is ignored. The default is 8.
-fdebug-cpp
This option is only useful for debugging GCC. When used with -E, dumps debugging information about
location maps. Every token in the output is preceded by the dump of the map its location belongs to.
The dump of the map holding the location of a token would be:
{"P":F</file/path>;"F":F</includer/path>;"L":<line_num>;"C":<col_num>;"S":<system_header_p>;"M":<map_address>;"E":<macro_expansion_p>,"loc":<location>}
When used without -E, this option has no effect.
-ftrack-macro-expansion[=level]
Track locations of tokens across macro expansions. This allows the compiler to emit diagnostic about
the current macro expansion stack when a compilation error occurs in a macro expansion. Using this
option makes the preprocessor and the compiler consume more memory. The level parameter can be used
to choose the level of precision of token location tracking thus decreasing the memory consumption if
necessary. Value 0 of level de-activates this option just as if no -ftrack-macro-expansion was
present on the command line. Value 1 tracks tokens locations in a degraded mode for the sake of
minimal memory overhead. In this mode all tokens resulting from the expansion of an argument of a
function-like macro have the same location. Value 2 tracks tokens locations completely. This value is
the most memory hungry. When this option is given no argument, the default parameter value is 2.
Note that -ftrack-macro-expansion=2 is activated by default.
-fexec-charset=charset
Set the execution character set, used for string and character constants. The default is UTF-8.
charset can be any encoding supported by the system's "iconv" library routine.
-fwide-exec-charset=charset
Set the wide execution character set, used for wide string and character constants. The default is
UTF-32 or UTF-16, whichever corresponds to the width of "wchar_t". As with -fexec-charset, charset
can be any encoding supported by the system's "iconv" library routine; however, you will have
problems with encodings that do not fit exactly in "wchar_t".
-finput-charset=charset
Set the input character set, used for translation from the character set of the input file to the
source character set used by GCC. If the locale does not specify, or GCC cannot get this information
from the locale, the default is UTF-8. This can be overridden by either the locale or this command
line option. Currently the command line option takes precedence if there's a conflict. charset can
be any encoding supported by the system's "iconv" library routine.
-fworking-directory
Enable generation of linemarkers in the preprocessor output that will let the compiler know the
current working directory at the time of preprocessing. When this option is enabled, the
preprocessor will emit, after the initial linemarker, a second linemarker with the current working
directory followed by two slashes. GCC will use this directory, when it's present in the
preprocessed input, as the directory emitted as the current working directory in some debugging
information formats. This option is implicitly enabled if debugging information is enabled, but this
can be inhibited with the negated form -fno-working-directory. If the -P flag is present in the
command line, this option has no effect, since no "#line" directives are emitted whatsoever.
-fno-show-column
Do not print column numbers in diagnostics. This may be necessary if diagnostics are being scanned
by a program that does not understand the column numbers, such as dejagnu.
-A predicate=answer
Make an assertion with the predicate predicate and answer answer. This form is preferred to the
older form -A predicate(answer), which is still supported, because it does not use shell special
characters.
-A -predicate=answer
Cancel an assertion with the predicate predicate and answer answer.
-dCHARS
CHARS is a sequence of one or more of the following characters, and must not be preceded by a space.
Other characters are interpreted by the compiler proper, or reserved for future versions of GCC, and
so are silently ignored. If you specify characters whose behavior conflicts, the result is
undefined.
M Instead of the normal output, generate a list of #define directives for all the macros defined
during the execution of the preprocessor, including predefined macros. This gives you a way of
finding out what is predefined in your version of the preprocessor. Assuming you have no file
foo.h, the command
touch foo.h; cpp -dM foo.h
will show all the predefined macros.
If you use -dM without the -E option, -dM is interpreted as a synonym for -fdump-rtl-mach.
D Like M except in two respects: it does not include the predefined macros, and it outputs both the
#define directives and the result of preprocessing. Both kinds of output go to the standard
output file.
N Like D, but emit only the macro names, not their expansions.
I Output #include directives in addition to the result of preprocessing.
U Like D except that only macros that are expanded, or whose definedness is tested in preprocessor
directives, are output; the output is delayed until the use or test of the macro; and #undef
directives are also output for macros tested but undefined at the time.
-P Inhibit generation of linemarkers in the output from the preprocessor. This might be useful when
running the preprocessor on something that is not C code, and will be sent to a program which might
be confused by the linemarkers.
-C Do not discard comments. All comments are passed through to the output file, except for comments in
processed directives, which are deleted along with the directive.
You should be prepared for side effects when using -C; it causes the preprocessor to treat comments
as tokens in their own right. For example, comments appearing at the start of what would be a
directive line have the effect of turning that line into an ordinary source line, since the first
token on the line is no longer a #.
-CC Do not discard comments, including during macro expansion. This is like -C, except that comments
contained within macros are also passed through to the output file where the macro is expanded.
In addition to the side-effects of the -C option, the -CC option causes all C++-style comments inside
a macro to be converted to C-style comments. This is to prevent later use of that macro from
inadvertently commenting out the remainder of the source line.
The -CC option is generally used to support lint comments.
-traditional-cpp
Try to imitate the behavior of old-fashioned C preprocessors, as opposed to ISO C preprocessors.
-trigraphs
Process trigraph sequences. These are three-character sequences, all starting with ??, that are
defined by ISO C to stand for single characters. For example, ??/ stands for \, so '??/n' is a
character constant for a newline. By default, GCC ignores trigraphs, but in standard-conforming
modes it converts them. See the -std and -ansi options.
The nine trigraphs and their replacements are
Trigraph: ??( ??) ??< ??> ??= ??/ ??' ??! ??-
Replacement: [ ] { } # \ ^ | ~
-remap
Enable special code to work around file systems which only permit very short file names, such as MS-
DOS.
--help
--target-help
Print text describing all the command line options instead of preprocessing anything.
-v Verbose mode. Print out GNU CPP's version number at the beginning of execution, and report the final
form of the include path.
-H Print the name of each header file used, in addition to other normal activities. Each name is
indented to show how deep in the #include stack it is. Precompiled header files are also printed,
even if they are found to be invalid; an invalid precompiled header file is printed with ...x and a
valid one with ...! .
-version
--version
Print out GNU CPP's version number. With one dash, proceed to preprocess as normal. With two
dashes, exit immediately.
Passing Options to the Assembler
You can pass options to the assembler.
-Wa,option
Pass option as an option to the assembler. If option contains commas, it is split into multiple
options at the commas.
-Xassembler option
Pass option as an option to the assembler. You can use this to supply system-specific assembler
options that GCC does not recognize.
If you want to pass an option that takes an argument, you must use -Xassembler twice, once for the
option and once for the argument.
Options for Linking
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.
object-file-name
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 linking is done, these object files are used as input to the linker.
-c
-S
-E If any of these options is used, then the linker is not run, and object file names should not be used
as arguments.
-llibrary
-l library
Search the library named library when linking. (The second alternative with the library as a
separate argument is only for POSIX compliance and is not recommended.)
It makes a difference where in the command you write this option; the linker searches and processes
libraries and object files in the order they are specified. Thus, foo.o -lz bar.o searches library z
after file foo.o but before bar.o. If bar.o refers to functions in z, those functions may not be
loaded.
The linker searches a standard list of directories for the library, which is actually a file named
liblibrary.a. The linker then uses this file as if it had been specified precisely by name.
The directories searched include several standard system 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. But if the file that is found is an ordinary object file, it
is linked in the usual fashion. The only difference between using an -l option and specifying a file
name is that -l surrounds library with lib and .a and searches several directories.
-lobjc
You need this special case of the -l option in order to link an Objective-C or Objective-C++ program.
-nostartfiles
Do not use the standard system startup files when linking. The standard system libraries are used
normally, unless -nostdlib or -nodefaultlibs is used.
-nodefaultlibs
Do not use the standard system libraries when linking. Only the libraries you specify are passed to
the linker, and options specifying linkage of the system libraries, such as "-static-libgcc" or
"-shared-libgcc", are ignored. The standard startup files are used normally, unless -nostartfiles is
used.
The compiler may generate calls to "memcmp", "memset", "memcpy" and "memmove". These entries are
usually resolved by entries in libc. These entry points should be supplied through some other
mechanism when this option is specified.
-nostdlib
Do not use the standard system startup files or libraries when linking. No startup files and only
the libraries you specify are passed to the linker, and options specifying linkage of the system
libraries, such as "-static-libgcc" or "-shared-libgcc", are ignored.
The compiler may generate calls to "memcmp", "memset", "memcpy" and "memmove". These entries are
usually resolved by entries in libc. These entry points should be supplied through some other
mechanism when this option is specified.
One of the standard libraries bypassed by -nostdlib and -nodefaultlibs is libgcc.a, a library of
internal subroutines which GCC uses to overcome shortcomings of particular machines, or special needs
for some languages.
In most cases, you need libgcc.a even when you want to avoid other standard libraries. In other
words, when you specify -nostdlib or -nodefaultlibs you should usually specify -lgcc as well. This
ensures that you have no unresolved references to internal GCC library subroutines. (An example of
such an internal subroutine is __main, used to ensure C++ constructors are called.)
-pie
Produce a position independent executable on targets that support it. For predictable results, you
must also specify the same set of options used for compilation (-fpie, -fPIE, or model suboptions)
when you specify this linker option.
-rdynamic
Pass the flag -export-dynamic to the ELF linker, on targets that support it. This instructs the
linker to add all symbols, not only used ones, to the dynamic symbol table. This option is needed for
some uses of "dlopen" or to allow obtaining backtraces from within a program.
-s Remove all symbol table and relocation information from the executable.
-static
On systems that support dynamic linking, this prevents linking with the shared libraries. On other
systems, this option has no effect.
-shared
Produce a shared object which can then be linked with other objects to form an executable. Not all
systems support this option. For predictable results, you must also specify the same set of options
used for compilation (-fpic, -fPIC, or model suboptions) when you specify this linker option.[1]
-shared-libgcc
-static-libgcc
On systems that provide libgcc as a shared library, these options force the use of either the shared
or static version, respectively. If no shared version of libgcc was built when the compiler was
configured, these options have no effect.
There are several situations in which an application should use the shared libgcc instead of the
static version. The most common of these is when the application wishes to throw and catch
exceptions across different shared libraries. In that case, each of the libraries as well as the
application itself should use the shared libgcc.
Therefore, the G++ and GCJ drivers automatically add -shared-libgcc whenever you build a shared
library or a main executable, because C++ and Java programs typically use exceptions, so this is the
right thing to do.
If, instead, you use the GCC driver to create shared libraries, you may find that they are not always
linked with the shared libgcc. If GCC finds, at its configuration time, that you have a non-GNU
linker or a GNU linker that does not support option --eh-frame-hdr, it links the shared version of
libgcc into shared libraries by default. Otherwise, it takes advantage of the linker and optimizes
away the linking with the shared version of libgcc, linking with the static version of libgcc by
default. This allows exceptions to propagate through such shared libraries, without incurring
relocation costs at library load time.
However, if a library or main executable is supposed to throw or catch exceptions, you must link it
using the G++ or GCJ driver, as appropriate for the languages used in the program, or using the
option -shared-libgcc, such that it is linked with the shared libgcc.
-static-libasan
When the -fsanitize=address option is used to link a program, the GCC driver automatically links
against libasan. If libasan is available as a shared library, and the -static option is not used,
then this links against the shared version of libasan. The -static-libasan option directs the GCC
driver to link libasan statically, without necessarily linking other libraries statically.
-static-libtsan
When the -fsanitize=thread option is used to link a program, the GCC driver automatically links
against libtsan. If libtsan is available as a shared library, and the -static option is not used,
then this links against the shared version of libtsan. The -static-libtsan option directs the GCC
driver to link libtsan statically, without necessarily linking other libraries statically.
-static-libstdc++
When the g++ program is used to link a C++ program, it normally automatically links against
libstdc++. If libstdc++ is available as a shared library, and the -static option is not used, then
this links against the shared version of libstdc++. That is normally fine. However, it is sometimes
useful to freeze the version of libstdc++ used by the program without going all the way to a fully
static link. The -static-libstdc++ option directs the g++ driver to link libstdc++ statically,
without necessarily linking other libraries statically.
-symbolic
Bind references to global symbols when building a shared object. Warn about any unresolved
references (unless overridden by the link editor option -Xlinker -z -Xlinker defs). Only a few
systems support this option.
-T script
Use script as the linker script. This option is supported by most systems using the GNU linker. On
some targets, such as bare-board targets without an operating system, the -T option may be required
when linking to avoid references to undefined symbols.
-Xlinker option
Pass option as an option to the linker. You can use this to supply system-specific linker options
that GCC does not recognize.
If you want to pass an option that takes a separate argument, you must use -Xlinker twice, once for
the option and once for the argument. For example, to pass -assert definitions, you must write
-Xlinker -assert -Xlinker definitions. It does not work to write -Xlinker "-assert definitions",
because this passes the entire string as a single argument, which is not what the linker expects.
When using the GNU linker, it is usually more convenient to pass arguments to linker options using
the option=value syntax than as separate arguments. For example, you can specify -Xlinker
-Map=output.map rather than -Xlinker -Map -Xlinker output.map. Other linkers may not support this
syntax for command-line options.
-Wl,option
Pass option as an option to the linker. If option contains commas, it is split into multiple options
at the commas. You can use this syntax to pass an argument to the option. For example,
-Wl,-Map,output.map passes -Map output.map to the linker. When using the GNU linker, you can also
get the same effect with -Wl,-Map=output.map.
NOTE: In Ubuntu 8.10 and later versions, for LDFLAGS, the option -Wl,-z,relro is used. To disable,
use -Wl,-z,norelro.
-u symbol
Pretend the symbol symbol is undefined, to force linking of library modules to define it. You can
use -u multiple times with different symbols to force loading of additional library modules.
Options for Directory Search
These options specify directories to search for header files, for libraries and for parts of the
compiler:
-Idir
Add the directory dir to the head of the list of directories to be searched for header files. This
can be used to override a system header file, substituting your own version, since these directories
are searched before the system header file directories. However, you should not use this option to
add directories that contain vendor-supplied system header files (use -isystem for that). If you use
more than one -I option, the directories are scanned in left-to-right order; the standard system
directories come after.
If a standard system include directory, or a directory specified with -isystem, is also specified
with -I, the -I option is ignored. The directory is still searched but as a system directory at its
normal position in the system include chain. This is to ensure that GCC's procedure to fix buggy
system headers and the ordering for the "include_next" directive are not inadvertently changed. If
you really need to change the search order for system directories, use the -nostdinc and/or -isystem
options.
-iplugindir=dir
Set the directory to search for plugins that are passed by -fplugin=name instead of
-fplugin=path/name.so. This option is not meant to be used by the user, but only passed by the
driver.
-iquotedir
Add the directory dir to the head of the list of directories to be searched for header files only for
the case of #include "file"; they are not searched for #include <file>, otherwise just like -I.
-Ldir
Add directory dir to the list of directories to be searched for -l.
-Bprefix
This option specifies where to find the executables, libraries, include files, and data files of the
compiler itself.
The compiler driver program runs one or more of the subprograms cpp, cc1, as and ld. It tries prefix
as a prefix for each program it tries to run, both with and without machine/version/.
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 is not specified, the driver tries two standard prefixes, /usr/lib/gcc/ and
/usr/local/lib/gcc/. If neither of those results in a file name that is found, the unmodified
program name is searched for using the directories specified in your PATH environment variable.
The compiler checks to see if the path provided by the -B refers to a directory, and if necessary it
adds a directory separator character at the end of the path.
-B prefixes that effectively specify directory names also apply to libraries in the linker, because
the compiler translates these options into -L options for the linker. They also apply to includes
files in the preprocessor, because the compiler translates these options into -isystem options for
the preprocessor. In this case, the compiler appends include to the prefix.
The runtime support file libgcc.a can also be 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.
Another way to specify a prefix much like the -B prefix is to use the environment variable
GCC_EXEC_PREFIX.
As a special kludge, if the path provided by -B is [dir/]stageN/, where N is a number in the range 0
to 9, then it is replaced by [dir/]include. This is to help with boot-strapping the compiler.
-specs=file
Process file after the compiler reads in the standard specs file, in order to override the defaults
which the gcc driver program uses when determining what switches to pass to cc1, cc1plus, as, ld,
etc. More than one -specs=file can be specified on the command line, and they are processed in
order, from left to right.
--sysroot=dir
Use dir as the logical root directory for headers and libraries. For example, if the compiler
normally searches for headers in /usr/include and libraries in /usr/lib, it instead searches
dir/usr/include and dir/usr/lib.
If you use both this option and the -isysroot option, then the --sysroot option applies to libraries,
but the -isysroot option applies to header files.
The GNU linker (beginning with version 2.16) has the necessary support for this option. If your
linker does not support this option, the header file aspect of --sysroot still works, but the library
aspect does not.
--no-sysroot-suffix
For some targets, a suffix is added to the root directory specified with --sysroot, depending on the
other options used, so that headers may for example be found in dir/suffix/usr/include instead of
dir/usr/include. This option disables the addition of such a suffix.
-I- This option has been deprecated. Please use -iquote instead for -I directories before the -I- and
remove the -I-. Any directories you specify with -I options before the -I- option are searched only
for the case of #include "file"; they are not searched for #include <file>.
If additional directories are specified with -I options after the -I-, these directories are searched
for all #include directives. (Ordinarily all -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 "file". There is no way to override this
effect of -I-. With -I. you can specify searching the directory that is current when the compiler is
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
-nostdinc are independent.
Specifying Target Machine and Compiler Version
The usual way to run GCC is to run the executable called gcc, or machine-gcc when cross-compiling, or
machine-gcc-version to run a version other than the one that was installed last.
Hardware Models and Configurations
Each 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 configuration, according to the options
specified.
Some configurations of the compiler also support additional special options, usually for compatibility
with other compilers on the same platform.
AArch64 Options
These options are defined for AArch64 implementations:
-mbig-endian
Generate big-endian code. This is the default when GCC is configured for an aarch64_be-*-* target.
-mgeneral-regs-only
Generate code which uses only the general registers.
-mlittle-endian
Generate little-endian code. This is the default when GCC is configured for an aarch64-*-* but not
an aarch64_be-*-* target.
-mcmodel=tiny
Generate code for the tiny code model. The program and its statically defined symbols must be within
1GB of each other. Pointers are 64 bits. Programs can be statically or dynamically linked. This
model is not fully implemented and mostly treated as small.
-mcmodel=small
Generate code for the small code model. The program and its statically defined symbols must be
within 4GB of each other. Pointers are 64 bits. Programs can be statically or dynamically linked.
This is the default code model.
-mcmodel=large
Generate code for the large code model. This makes no assumptions about addresses and sizes of
sections. Pointers are 64 bits. Programs can be statically linked only.
-mstrict-align
Do not assume that unaligned memory references will be handled by the system.
-momit-leaf-frame-pointer
-mno-omit-leaf-frame-pointer
Omit or keep the frame pointer in leaf functions. The former behaviour is the default.
-mtls-dialect=desc
Use TLS descriptors as the thread-local storage mechanism for dynamic accesses of TLS variables.
This is the default.
-mtls-dialect=traditional
Use traditional TLS as the thread-local storage mechanism for dynamic accesses of TLS variables.
-mfix-cortex-a53-835769
-mno-fix-cortex-a53-835769
Enable or disable the workaround for the ARM Cortex-A53 erratum number 835769. This will involve
inserting a NOP instruction between memory instructions and 64-bit integer multiply-accumulate
instructions.
-march=name
Specify the name of the target architecture, optionally suffixed by one or more feature modifiers.
This option has the form -march=arch{+[no]feature}*, where the only value for arch is armv8-a. The
possible values for feature are documented in the sub-section below.
Where conflicting feature modifiers are specified, the right-most feature is used.
GCC uses this name to determine what kind of instructions it can emit when generating assembly code.
This option can be used in conjunction with or instead of the -mcpu= option.
-mcpu=name
Specify the name of the target processor, optionally suffixed by one or more feature modifiers. This
option has the form -mcpu=cpu{+[no]feature}*, where the possible values for cpu are generic, large.
The possible values for feature are documented in the sub-section below.
Where conflicting feature modifiers are specified, the right-most feature is used.
GCC uses this name to determine what kind of instructions it can emit when generating assembly code.
-mtune=name
Specify the name of the processor to tune the performance for. The code will be tuned as if the
target processor were of the type specified in this option, but still using instructions compatible
with the target processor specified by a -mcpu= option. This option cannot be suffixed by feature
modifiers.
-march and -mcpu feature modifiers
Feature modifiers used with -march and -mcpu can be one the following:
crypto
Enable Crypto extension. This implies Advanced SIMD is enabled.
fp Enable floating-point instructions.
simd
Enable Advanced SIMD instructions. This implies floating-point instructions are enabled. This is
the default for all current possible values for options -march and -mcpu=.
Adapteva Epiphany Options
These -m options are defined for Adapteva Epiphany:
-mhalf-reg-file
Don't allocate any register in the range "r32"..."r63". That allows code to run on hardware variants
that lack these registers.
-mprefer-short-insn-regs
Preferrentially allocate registers that allow short instruction generation. This can result in
increased instruction count, so this may either reduce or increase overall code size.
-mbranch-cost=num
Set the cost of branches to roughly num "simple" instructions. This cost is only a heuristic and is
not guaranteed to produce consistent results across releases.
-mcmove
Enable the generation of conditional moves.
-mnops=num
Emit num NOPs before every other generated instruction.
-mno-soft-cmpsf
For single-precision floating-point comparisons, emit an "fsub" instruction and test the flags. This
is faster than a software comparison, but can get incorrect results in the presence of NaNs, or when
two different small numbers are compared such that their difference is calculated as zero. The
default is -msoft-cmpsf, which uses slower, but IEEE-compliant, software comparisons.
-mstack-offset=num
Set the offset between the top of the stack and the stack pointer. E.g., a value of 8 means that the
eight bytes in the range "sp+0...sp+7" can be used by leaf functions without stack allocation.
Values other than 8 or 16 are untested and unlikely to work. Note also that this option changes the
ABI; compiling a program with a different stack offset than the libraries have been compiled with
generally does not work. This option can be useful if you want to evaluate if a different stack
offset would give you better code, but to actually use a different stack offset to build working
programs, it is recommended to configure the toolchain with the appropriate --with-stack-offset=num
option.
-mno-round-nearest
Make the scheduler assume that the rounding mode has been set to truncating. The default is
-mround-nearest.
-mlong-calls
If not otherwise specified by an attribute, assume all calls might be beyond the offset range of the
"b" / "bl" instructions, and therefore load the function address into a register before performing a
(otherwise direct) call. This is the default.
-mshort-calls
If not otherwise specified by an attribute, assume all direct calls are in the range of the "b" /
"bl" instructions, so use these instructions for direct calls. The default is -mlong-calls.
-msmall16
Assume addresses can be loaded as 16-bit unsigned values. This does not apply to function addresses
for which -mlong-calls semantics are in effect.
-mfp-mode=mode
Set the prevailing mode of the floating-point unit. This determines the floating-point mode that is
provided and expected at function call and return time. Making this mode match the mode you
predominantly need at function start can make your programs smaller and faster by avoiding
unnecessary mode switches.
mode can be set to one the following values:
caller
Any mode at function entry is valid, and retained or restored when the function returns, and when
it calls other functions. This mode is useful for compiling libraries or other compilation units
you might want to incorporate into different programs with different prevailing FPU modes, and
the convenience of being able to use a single object file outweighs the size and speed overhead
for any extra mode switching that might be needed, compared with what would be needed with a more
specific choice of prevailing FPU mode.
truncate
This is the mode used for floating-point calculations with truncating (i.e. round towards zero)
rounding mode. That includes conversion from floating point to integer.
round-nearest
This is the mode used for floating-point calculations with round-to-nearest-or-even rounding
mode.
int This is the mode used to perform integer calculations in the FPU, e.g. integer multiply, or
integer multiply-and-accumulate.
The default is -mfp-mode=caller
-mnosplit-lohi
-mno-postinc
-mno-postmodify
Code generation tweaks that disable, respectively, splitting of 32-bit loads, generation of post-
increment addresses, and generation of post-modify addresses. The defaults are msplit-lohi,
-mpost-inc, and -mpost-modify.
-mnovect-double
Change the preferred SIMD mode to SImode. The default is -mvect-double, which uses DImode as
preferred SIMD mode.
-max-vect-align=num
The maximum alignment for SIMD vector mode types. num may be 4 or 8. The default is 8. Note that
this is an ABI change, even though many library function interfaces are unaffected if they don't use
SIMD vector modes in places that affect size and/or alignment of relevant types.
-msplit-vecmove-early
Split vector moves into single word moves before reload. In theory this can give better register
allocation, but so far the reverse seems to be generally the case.
-m1reg-reg
Specify a register to hold the constant -1, which makes loading small negative constants and certain
bitmasks faster. Allowable values for reg are r43 and r63, which specify use of that register as a
fixed register, and none, which means that no register is used for this purpose. The default is
-m1reg-none.
ARM Options
These -m options are defined for Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) architectures:
-mabi=name
Generate code for the specified ABI. Permissible values are: apcs-gnu, atpcs, aapcs, aapcs-linux and
iwmmxt.
-mapcs-frame
Generate a stack frame that is compliant with the ARM Procedure Call Standard for all functions, even
if this is not strictly necessary for correct execution of the code. Specifying -fomit-frame-pointer
with this option causes the stack frames not to be generated for leaf functions. The default is
-mno-apcs-frame.
-mapcs
This is a synonym for -mapcs-frame.
-mthumb-interwork
Generate code that supports calling between the ARM and Thumb instruction sets. Without this option,
on pre-v5 architectures, the two instruction sets cannot be reliably used inside one program. The
default is -mno-thumb-interwork, since slightly larger code is generated when -mthumb-interwork is
specified. In AAPCS configurations this option is meaningless.
-mno-sched-prolog
Prevent the reordering of instructions in the function prologue, or the merging of those instruction
with the instructions in the function's body. This means that all functions start with a
recognizable set of instructions (or in fact one of a choice from a small set of different function
prologues), and this information can be used to locate the start of functions inside an executable
piece of code. The default is -msched-prolog.
-mfloat-abi=name
Specifies which floating-point ABI to use. Permissible values are: soft, softfp and hard.
Specifying soft causes GCC to generate output containing library calls for floating-point operations.
softfp allows the generation of code using hardware floating-point instructions, but still uses the
soft-float calling conventions. hard allows generation of floating-point instructions and uses FPU-
specific calling conventions.
The default depends on the specific target configuration. Note that the hard-float and soft-float
ABIs are not link-compatible; you must compile your entire program with the same ABI, and link with a
compatible set of libraries.
-mlittle-endian
Generate code for a processor running in little-endian mode. This is the default for all standard
configurations.
-mbig-endian
Generate code for a processor running in big-endian mode; the default is to compile code for a
little-endian processor.
-mwords-little-endian
This option only applies when generating code for big-endian processors. Generate code for a little-
endian word order but a big-endian byte order. That is, a byte order of the form 32107654. Note:
this option should only be used if you require compatibility with code for big-endian ARM processors
generated by versions of the compiler prior to 2.8. This option is now deprecated.
-march=name
This specifies the name of the target ARM architecture. GCC uses this name to determine what kind of
instructions it can emit when generating assembly code. This option can be used in conjunction with
or instead of the -mcpu= option. Permissible names are: armv2, armv2a, armv3, armv3m, armv4, armv4t,
armv5, armv5t, armv5e, armv5te, armv6, armv6j, armv6t2, armv6z, armv6zk, armv6-m, armv7, armv7-a,
armv7-r, armv7-m, armv7e-m armv8-a, iwmmxt, iwmmxt2, ep9312.
-march=native causes the compiler to auto-detect the architecture of the build computer. At present,
this feature is only supported on GNU/Linux, and not all architectures are recognized. If the auto-
detect is unsuccessful the option has no effect.
-mtune=name
This option specifies the name of the target ARM processor for which GCC should tune the performance
of the code. For some ARM implementations better performance can be obtained by using this option.
Permissible names are: arm2, arm250, arm3, arm6, arm60, arm600, arm610, arm620, arm7, arm7m, arm7d,
arm7dm, arm7di, arm7dmi, arm70, arm700, arm700i, arm710, arm710c, arm7100, arm720, arm7500,
arm7500fe, arm7tdmi, arm7tdmi-s, arm710t, arm720t, arm740t, strongarm, strongarm110, strongarm1100,
strongarm1110, arm8, arm810, arm9, arm9e, arm920, arm920t, arm922t, arm946e-s, arm966e-s, arm968e-s,
arm926ej-s, arm940t, arm9tdmi, arm10tdmi, arm1020t, arm1026ej-s, arm10e, arm1020e, arm1022e,
arm1136j-s, arm1136jf-s, mpcore, mpcorenovfp, arm1156t2-s, arm1156t2f-s, arm1176jz-s, arm1176jzf-s,
cortex-a5, cortex-a7, cortex-a8, cortex-a9, cortex-a15, cortex-r4, cortex-r4f, cortex-r5, cortex-m4,
cortex-m3, cortex-m1, cortex-m0, cortex-m0plus, marvell-pj4, xscale, iwmmxt, iwmmxt2, ep9312, fa526,
fa626, fa606te, fa626te, fmp626, fa726te.
-mtune=generic-arch specifies that GCC should tune the performance for a blend of processors within
architecture arch. The aim is to generate code that run well on the current most popular processors,
balancing between optimizations that benefit some CPUs in the range, and avoiding performance
pitfalls of other CPUs. The effects of this option may change in future GCC versions as CPU models
come and go.
-mtune=native causes the compiler to auto-detect the CPU of the build computer. At present, this
feature is only supported on GNU/Linux, and not all architectures are recognized. If the auto-detect
is unsuccessful the option has no effect.
-mcpu=name
This specifies the name of the target ARM processor. GCC uses this name to derive the name of the
target ARM architecture (as if specified by -march) and the ARM processor type for which to tune for
performance (as if specified by -mtune). Where this option is used in conjunction with -march or
-mtune, those options take precedence over the appropriate part of this option.
Permissible names for this option are the same as those for -mtune.
-mcpu=generic-arch is also permissible, and is equivalent to -march=arch -mtune=generic-arch. See
-mtune for more information.
-mcpu=native causes the compiler to auto-detect the CPU of the build computer. At present, this
feature is only supported on GNU/Linux, and not all architectures are recognized. If the auto-detect
is unsuccessful the option has no effect.
-mfpu=name
This specifies what floating-point hardware (or hardware emulation) is available on the target.
Permissible names are: vfp, vfpv3, vfpv3-fp16, vfpv3-d16, vfpv3-d16-fp16, vfpv3xd, vfpv3xd-fp16,
neon, neon-fp16, vfpv4, vfpv4-d16, fpv4-sp-d16, neon-vfpv4, fp-armv8, neon-fp-armv8, and
crypto-neon-fp-armv8.
If -msoft-float is specified this specifies the format of floating-point values.
If the selected floating-point hardware includes the NEON extension (e.g. -mfpu=neon), note that
floating-point operations are not generated by GCC's auto-vectorization pass unless
-funsafe-math-optimizations is also specified. This is because NEON hardware does not fully
implement the IEEE 754 standard for floating-point arithmetic (in particular denormal values are
treated as zero), so the use of NEON instructions may lead to a loss of precision.
-mfp16-format=name
Specify the format of the "__fp16" half-precision floating-point type. Permissible names are none,
ieee, and alternative; the default is none, in which case the "__fp16" type is not defined.
-mstructure-size-boundary=n
The sizes of all structures and unions are rounded up to a multiple of the number of bits set by this
option. Permissible values are 8, 32 and 64. The default value varies for different toolchains.
For the COFF targeted toolchain the default value is 8. A value of 64 is only allowed if the
underlying ABI supports it.
Specifying a larger number can produce faster, more efficient code, but can also increase the size of
the program. Different values are potentially incompatible. Code compiled with one value cannot
necessarily expect to work with code or libraries compiled with another value, if they exchange
information using structures or unions.
-mabort-on-noreturn
Generate a call to the function "abort" at the end of a "noreturn" function. It is executed if the
function tries to return.
-mlong-calls
-mno-long-calls
Tells the compiler to perform function calls by first loading the address of the function into a
register and then performing a subroutine call on this register. This switch is needed if the target
function lies outside of the 64-megabyte addressing range of the offset-based version of subroutine
call instruction.
Even if this switch is enabled, not all function calls are turned into long calls. The heuristic is
that static functions, functions that have the short-call attribute, functions that are inside the
scope of a #pragma no_long_calls directive, and functions whose definitions have already been
compiled within the current compilation unit are not turned into long calls. The exceptions to this
rule are that weak function definitions, functions with the long-call attribute or the section
attribute, and functions that are within the scope of a #pragma long_calls directive are always
turned into long calls.
This feature is not enabled by default. Specifying -mno-long-calls restores the default behavior, as
does placing the function calls within the scope of a #pragma long_calls_off directive. Note these
switches have no effect on how the compiler generates code to handle function calls via function
pointers.
-msingle-pic-base
Treat the register used for PIC addressing as read-only, rather than loading it in the prologue for
each function. The runtime system is responsible for initializing this register with an appropriate
value before execution begins.
-mpic-register=reg
Specify the register to be used for PIC addressing. For standard PIC base case, the default will be
any suitable register determined by compiler. For single PIC base case, the default is R9 if target
is EABI based or stack-checking is enabled, otherwise the default is R10.
-mpoke-function-name
Write the name of each function into the text section, directly preceding the function prologue. The
generated code is similar to this:
t0
.ascii "arm_poke_function_name", 0
.align
t1
.word 0xff000000 + (t1 - t0)
arm_poke_function_name
mov ip, sp
stmfd sp!, {fp, ip, lr, pc}
sub fp, ip, #4
When performing a stack backtrace, code can inspect the value of "pc" stored at "fp + 0". If the
trace function then looks at location "pc - 12" and the top 8 bits are set, then we know that there
is a function name embedded immediately preceding this location and has length "((pc[-3]) &
0xff000000)".
-mthumb
-marm
Select between generating code that executes in ARM and Thumb states. The default for most
configurations is to generate code that executes in ARM state, but the default can be changed by
configuring GCC with the --with-mode=state configure option.
-mtpcs-frame
Generate a stack frame that is compliant with the Thumb Procedure Call Standard for all non-leaf
functions. (A leaf function is one that does not call any other functions.) The default is
-mno-tpcs-frame.
-mtpcs-leaf-frame
Generate a stack frame that is compliant with the Thumb Procedure Call Standard for all leaf
functions. (A leaf function is one that does not call any other functions.) The default is
-mno-apcs-leaf-frame.
-mcallee-super-interworking
Gives all externally visible functions in the file being compiled an ARM instruction set header which
switches to Thumb mode before executing the rest of the function. This allows these functions to be
called from non-interworking code. This option is not valid in AAPCS configurations because
interworking is enabled by default.
-mcaller-super-interworking
Allows calls via function pointers (including virtual functions) to execute correctly regardless of
whether the target code has been compiled for interworking or not. There is a small overhead in the
cost of executing a function pointer if this option is enabled. This option is not valid in AAPCS
configurations because interworking is enabled by default.
-mtp=name
Specify the access model for the thread local storage pointer. The valid models are soft, which
generates calls to "__aeabi_read_tp", cp15, which fetches the thread pointer from "cp15" directly
(supported in the arm6k architecture), and auto, which uses the best available method for the
selected processor. The default setting is auto.
-mtls-dialect=dialect
Specify the dialect to use for accessing thread local storage. Two dialects are supported---gnu and
gnu2. The gnu dialect selects the original GNU scheme for supporting local and global dynamic TLS
models. The gnu2 dialect selects the GNU descriptor scheme, which provides better performance for
shared libraries. The GNU descriptor scheme is compatible with the original scheme, but does require
new assembler, linker and library support. Initial and local exec TLS models are unaffected by this
option and always use the original scheme.
-mword-relocations
Only generate absolute relocations on word-sized values (i.e. R_ARM_ABS32). This is enabled by
default on targets (uClinux, SymbianOS) where the runtime loader imposes this restriction, and when
-fpic or -fPIC is specified.
-mfix-cortex-m3-ldrd
Some Cortex-M3 cores can cause data corruption when "ldrd" instructions with overlapping destination
and base registers are used. This option avoids generating these instructions. This option is
enabled by default when -mcpu=cortex-m3 is specified.
-munaligned-access
-mno-unaligned-access
Enables (or disables) reading and writing of 16- and 32- bit values from addresses that are not 16-
or 32- bit aligned. By default unaligned access is disabled for all pre-ARMv6 and all ARMv6-M
architectures, and enabled for all other architectures. If unaligned access is not enabled then
words in packed data structures will be accessed a byte at a time.
The ARM attribute "Tag_CPU_unaligned_access" will be set in the generated object file to either true
or false, depending upon the setting of this option. If unaligned access is enabled then the
preprocessor symbol "__ARM_FEATURE_UNALIGNED" will also be defined.
AVR Options
These options are defined for AVR implementations:
-mmcu=mcu
Specify Atmel AVR instruction set architectures (ISA) or MCU type.
The default for this option is@tie{}"avr2".
GCC supports the following AVR devices and ISAs:
"avr2"
"Classic" devices with up to 8@tie{}KiB of program memory. mcu@tie{}= "attiny22", "attiny26",
"at90c8534", "at90s2313", "at90s2323", "at90s2333", "at90s2343", "at90s4414", "at90s4433",
"at90s4434", "at90s8515", "at90s8535".
"avr25"
"Classic" devices with up to 8@tie{}KiB of program memory and with the "MOVW" instruction.
mcu@tie{}= "ata5272", "ata6289", "attiny13", "attiny13a", "attiny2313", "attiny2313a",
"attiny24", "attiny24a", "attiny25", "attiny261", "attiny261a", "attiny43u", "attiny4313",
"attiny44", "attiny44a", "attiny45", "attiny461", "attiny461a", "attiny48", "attiny84",
"attiny84a", "attiny85", "attiny861", "attiny861a", "attiny87", "attiny88", "at86rf401".
"avr3"
"Classic" devices with 16@tie{}KiB up to 64@tie{}KiB of program memory. mcu@tie{}=
"at43usb355", "at76c711".
"avr31"
"Classic" devices with 128@tie{}KiB of program memory. mcu@tie{}= "atmega103", "at43usb320".
"avr35"
"Classic" devices with 16@tie{}KiB up to 64@tie{}KiB of program memory and with the "MOVW"
instruction. mcu@tie{}= "ata5505", "atmega16u2", "atmega32u2", "atmega8u2", "attiny1634",
"attiny167", "at90usb162", "at90usb82".
"avr4"
"Enhanced" devices with up to 8@tie{}KiB of program memory. mcu@tie{}= "ata6285", "ata6286",
"atmega48", "atmega48a", "atmega48p", "atmega48pa", "atmega8", "atmega8a", "atmega8hva",
"atmega8515", "atmega8535", "atmega88", "atmega88a", "atmega88p", "atmega88pa", "at90pwm1",
"at90pwm2", "at90pwm2b", "at90pwm3", "at90pwm3b", "at90pwm81".
"avr5"
"Enhanced" devices with 16@tie{}KiB up to 64@tie{}KiB of program memory. mcu@tie{}= "ata5790",
"ata5790n", "ata5795", "atmega16", "atmega16a", "atmega16hva", "atmega16hva2", "atmega16hvb",
"atmega16hvbrevb", "atmega16m1", "atmega16u4", "atmega161", "atmega162", "atmega163",
"atmega164a", "atmega164p", "atmega164pa", "atmega165", "atmega165a", "atmega165p",
"atmega165pa", "atmega168", "atmega168a", "atmega168p", "atmega168pa", "atmega169", "atmega169a",
"atmega169p", "atmega169pa", "atmega26hvg", "atmega32", "atmega32a", "atmega32c1", "atmega32hvb",
"atmega32hvbrevb", "atmega32m1", "atmega32u4", "atmega32u6", "atmega323", "atmega324a",
"atmega324p", "atmega324pa", "atmega325", "atmega325a", "atmega325p", "atmega3250",
"atmega3250a", "atmega3250p", "atmega3250pa", "atmega328", "atmega328p", "atmega329",
"atmega329a", "atmega329p", "atmega329pa", "atmega3290", "atmega3290a", "atmega3290p",
"atmega3290pa", "atmega406", "atmega48hvf", "atmega64", "atmega64a", "atmega64c1", "atmega64hve",
"atmega64m1", "atmega64rfa2", "atmega64rfr2", "atmega640", "atmega644", "atmega644a",
"atmega644p", "atmega644pa", "atmega645", "atmega645a", "atmega645p", "atmega6450",
"atmega6450a", "atmega6450p", "atmega649", "atmega649a", "atmega649p", "atmega6490",
"atmega6490a", "atmega6490p", "at90can32", "at90can64", "at90pwm161", "at90pwm216", "at90pwm316",
"at90scr100", "at90usb646", "at90usb647", "at94k", "m3000".
"avr51"
"Enhanced" devices with 128@tie{}KiB of program memory. mcu@tie{}= "atmega128", "atmega128a",
"atmega128rfa1", "atmega1280", "atmega1281", "atmega1284", "atmega1284p", "at90can128",
"at90usb1286", "at90usb1287".
"avr6"
"Enhanced" devices with 3-byte PC, i.e. with more than 128@tie{}KiB of program memory.
mcu@tie{}= "atmega2560", "atmega2561".
"avrxmega2"
"XMEGA" devices with more than 8@tie{}KiB and up to 64@tie{}KiB of program memory. mcu@tie{}=
"atmxt112sl", "atmxt224", "atmxt224e", "atmxt336s", "atxmega16a4", "atxmega16a4u", "atxmega16c4",
"atxmega16d4", "atxmega16x1", "atxmega32a4", "atxmega32a4u", "atxmega32c4", "atxmega32d4",
"atxmega32e5", "atxmega32x1".
"avrxmega4"
"XMEGA" devices with more than 64@tie{}KiB and up to 128@tie{}KiB of program memory. mcu@tie{}=
"atxmega64a3", "atxmega64a3u", "atxmega64a4u", "atxmega64b1", "atxmega64b3", "atxmega64c3",
"atxmega64d3", "atxmega64d4".
"avrxmega5"
"XMEGA" devices with more than 64@tie{}KiB and up to 128@tie{}KiB of program memory and more than
64@tie{}KiB of RAM. mcu@tie{}= "atxmega64a1", "atxmega64a1u".
"avrxmega6"
"XMEGA" devices with more than 128@tie{}KiB of program memory. mcu@tie{}= "atmxt540s",
"atmxt540sreva", "atxmega128a3", "atxmega128a3u", "atxmega128b1", "atxmega128b3", "atxmega128c3",
"atxmega128d3", "atxmega128d4", "atxmega192a3", "atxmega192a3u", "atxmega192c3", "atxmega192d3",
"atxmega256a3", "atxmega256a3b", "atxmega256a3bu", "atxmega256a3u", "atxmega256c3",
"atxmega256d3", "atxmega384c3", "atxmega384d3".
"avrxmega7"
"XMEGA" devices with more than 128@tie{}KiB of program memory and more than 64@tie{}KiB of RAM.
mcu@tie{}= "atxmega128a1", "atxmega128a1u", "atxmega128a4u".
"avr1"
This ISA is implemented by the minimal AVR core and supported for assembler only. mcu@tie{}=
"attiny11", "attiny12", "attiny15", "attiny28", "at90s1200".
-maccumulate-args
Accumulate outgoing function arguments and acquire/release the needed stack space for outgoing
function arguments once in function prologue/epilogue. Without this option, outgoing arguments are
pushed before calling a function and popped afterwards.
Popping the arguments after the function call can be expensive on AVR so that accumulating the stack
space might lead to smaller executables because arguments need not to be removed from the stack after
such a function call.
This option can lead to reduced code size for functions that perform several calls to functions that
get their arguments on the stack like calls to printf-like functions.
-mbranch-cost=cost
Set the branch costs for conditional branch instructions to cost. Reasonable values for cost are
small, non-negative integers. The default branch cost is 0.
-mcall-prologues
Functions prologues/epilogues are expanded as calls to appropriate subroutines. Code size is
smaller.
-mint8
Assume "int" to be 8-bit integer. This affects the sizes of all types: a "char" is 1 byte, an "int"
is 1 byte, a "long" is 2 bytes, and "long long" is 4 bytes. Please note that this option does not
conform to the C standards, but it results in smaller code size.
-mno-interrupts
Generated code is not compatible with hardware interrupts. Code size is smaller.
-mrelax
Try to replace "CALL" resp. "JMP" instruction by the shorter "RCALL" resp. "RJMP" instruction if
applicable. Setting "-mrelax" just adds the "--relax" option to the linker command line when the
linker is called.
Jump relaxing is performed by the linker because jump offsets are not known before code is located.
Therefore, the assembler code generated by the compiler is the same, but the instructions in the
executable may differ from instructions in the assembler code.
Relaxing must be turned on if linker stubs are needed, see the section on "EIND" and linker stubs
below.
-msp8
Treat the stack pointer register as an 8-bit register, i.e. assume the high byte of the stack pointer
is zero. In general, you don't need to set this option by hand.
This option is used internally by the compiler to select and build multilibs for architectures "avr2"
and "avr25". These architectures mix devices with and without "SPH". For any setting other than
"-mmcu=avr2" or "-mmcu=avr25" the compiler driver will add or remove this option from the compiler
proper's command line, because the compiler then knows if the device or architecture has an 8-bit
stack pointer and thus no "SPH" register or not.
-mstrict-X
Use address register "X" in a way proposed by the hardware. This means that "X" is only used in
indirect, post-increment or pre-decrement addressing.
Without this option, the "X" register may be used in the same way as "Y" or "Z" which then is
emulated by additional instructions. For example, loading a value with "X+const" addressing with a
small non-negative "const < 64" to a register Rn is performed as
adiw r26, const ; X += const
ld <Rn>, X ; <Rn> = *X
sbiw r26, const ; X -= const
-mtiny-stack
Only change the lower 8@tie{}bits of the stack pointer.
-Waddr-space-convert
Warn about conversions between address spaces in the case where the resulting address space is not
contained in the incoming address space.
"EIND" and Devices with more than 128 Ki Bytes of Flash
Pointers in the implementation are 16@tie{}bits wide. The address of a function or label is represented
as word address so that indirect jumps and calls can target any code address in the range of 64@tie{}Ki
words.
In order to facilitate indirect jump on devices with more than 128@tie{}Ki bytes of program memory space,
there is a special function register called "EIND" that serves as most significant part of the target
address when "EICALL" or "EIJMP" instructions are used.
Indirect jumps and calls on these devices are handled as follows by the compiler and are subject to some
limitations:
• The compiler never sets "EIND".
• The compiler uses "EIND" implicitely in "EICALL"/"EIJMP" instructions or might read "EIND" directly
in order to emulate an indirect call/jump by means of a "RET" instruction.
• The compiler assumes that "EIND" never changes during the startup code or during the application. In
particular, "EIND" is not saved/restored in function or interrupt service routine prologue/epilogue.
• For indirect calls to functions and computed goto, the linker generates stubs. Stubs are jump pads
sometimes also called trampolines. Thus, the indirect call/jump jumps to such a stub. The stub
contains a direct jump to the desired address.
• Linker relaxation must be turned on so that the linker will generate the stubs correctly an all
situaltion. See the compiler option "-mrelax" and the linler option "--relax". There are corner
cases where the linker is supposed to generate stubs but aborts without relaxation and without a
helpful error message.
• The default linker script is arranged for code with "EIND = 0". If code is supposed to work for a
setup with "EIND != 0", a custom linker script has to be used in order to place the sections whose
name start with ".trampolines" into the segment where "EIND" points to.
• The startup code from libgcc never sets "EIND". Notice that startup code is a blend of code from
libgcc and AVR-LibC. For the impact of AVR-LibC on "EIND", see the AVR-LibC user manual
("http://nongnu.org/avr-libc/user-manual/").
• It is legitimate for user-specific startup code to set up "EIND" early, for example by means of
initialization code located in section ".init3". Such code runs prior to general startup code that
initializes RAM and calls constructors, but after the bit of startup code from AVR-LibC that sets
"EIND" to the segment where the vector table is located.
#include <avr/io.h>
static void
__attribute__((section(".init3"),naked,used,no_instrument_function))
init3_set_eind (void)
{
__asm volatile ("ldi r24,pm_hh8(__trampolines_start)\n\t"
"out %i0,r24" :: "n" (&EIND) : "r24","memory");
}
The "__trampolines_start" symbol is defined in the linker script.
• Stubs are generated automatically by the linker if the following two conditions are met:
-<The address of a label is taken by means of the "gs" modifier>
(short for generate stubs) like so:
LDI r24, lo8(gs(<func>))
LDI r25, hi8(gs(<func>))
-<The final location of that label is in a code segment>
outside the segment where the stubs are located.
• The compiler emits such "gs" modifiers for code labels in the following situations:
-<Taking address of a function or code label.>
-<Computed goto.>
-<If prologue-save function is used, see -mcall-prologues>
command-line option.
-<Switch/case dispatch tables. If you do not want such dispatch>
tables you can specify the -fno-jump-tables command-line option.
-<C and C++ constructors/destructors called during startup/shutdown.>
-<If the tools hit a "gs()" modifier explained above.>
• Jumping to non-symbolic addresses like so is not supported:
int main (void)
{
/* Call function at word address 0x2 */
return ((int(*)(void)) 0x2)();
}
Instead, a stub has to be set up, i.e. the function has to be called through a symbol ("func_4" in
the example):
int main (void)
{
extern int func_4 (void);
/* Call function at byte address 0x4 */
return func_4();
}
and the application be linked with "-Wl,--defsym,func_4=0x4". Alternatively, "func_4" can be defined
in the linker script.
Handling of the "RAMPD", "RAMPX", "RAMPY" and "RAMPZ" Special Function Registers
Some AVR devices support memories larger than the 64@tie{}KiB range that can be accessed with 16-bit
pointers. To access memory locations outside this 64@tie{}KiB range, the contentent of a "RAMP" register
is used as high part of the address: The "X", "Y", "Z" address register is concatenated with the "RAMPX",
"RAMPY", "RAMPZ" special function register, respectively, to get a wide address. Similarly, "RAMPD" is
used together with direct addressing.
• The startup code initializes the "RAMP" special function registers with zero.
• If a AVR Named Address Spaces,named address space other than generic or "__flash" is used, then
"RAMPZ" is set as needed before the operation.
• If the device supports RAM larger than 64@tie{KiB} and the compiler needs to change "RAMPZ" to
accomplish an operation, "RAMPZ" is reset to zero after the operation.
• If the device comes with a specific "RAMP" register, the ISR prologue/epilogue saves/restores that
SFR and initializes it with zero in case the ISR code might (implicitly) use it.
• RAM larger than 64@tie{KiB} is not supported by GCC for AVR targets. If you use inline assembler to
read from locations outside the 16-bit address range and change one of the "RAMP" registers, you must
reset it to zero after the access.
AVR Built-in Macros
GCC defines several built-in macros so that the user code can test for the presence or absence of
features. Almost any of the following built-in macros are deduced from device capabilities and thus
triggered by the "-mmcu=" command-line option.
For even more AVR-specific built-in macros see AVR Named Address Spaces and AVR Built-in Functions.
"__AVR_ARCH__"
Build-in macro that resolves to a decimal number that identifies the architecture and depends on the
"-mmcu=mcu" option. Possible values are:
2, 25, 3, 31, 35, 4, 5, 51, 6, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107
for mcu="avr2", "avr25", "avr3", "avr31", "avr35", "avr4", "avr5", "avr51", "avr6", "avrxmega2",
"avrxmega4", "avrxmega5", "avrxmega6", "avrxmega7", respectively. If mcu specifies a device, this
built-in macro is set accordingly. For example, with "-mmcu=atmega8" the macro will be defined to 4.
"__AVR_Device__"
Setting "-mmcu=device" defines this built-in macro which reflects the device's name. For example,
"-mmcu=atmega8" defines the built-in macro "__AVR_ATmega8__", "-mmcu=attiny261a" defines
"__AVR_ATtiny261A__", etc.
The built-in macros' names follow the scheme "__AVR_Device__" where Device is the device name as from
the AVR user manual. The difference between Device in the built-in macro and device in "-mmcu=device"
is that the latter is always lowercase.
If device is not a device but only a core architecture like "avr51", this macro will not be defined.
"__AVR_XMEGA__"
The device / architecture belongs to the XMEGA family of devices.
"__AVR_HAVE_ELPM__"
The device has the the "ELPM" instruction.
"__AVR_HAVE_ELPMX__"
The device has the "ELPM Rn,Z" and "ELPM Rn,Z+" instructions.
"__AVR_HAVE_MOVW__"
The device has the "MOVW" instruction to perform 16-bit register-register moves.
"__AVR_HAVE_LPMX__"
The device has the "LPM Rn,Z" and "LPM Rn,Z+" instructions.
"__AVR_HAVE_MUL__"
The device has a hardware multiplier.
"__AVR_HAVE_JMP_CALL__"
The device has the "JMP" and "CALL" instructions. This is the case for devices with at least
16@tie{}KiB of program memory.
"__AVR_HAVE_EIJMP_EICALL__"
"__AVR_3_BYTE_PC__"
The device has the "EIJMP" and "EICALL" instructions. This is the case for devices with more than
128@tie{}KiB of program memory. This also means that the program counter (PC) is 3@tie{}bytes wide.
"__AVR_2_BYTE_PC__"
The program counter (PC) is 2@tie{}bytes wide. This is the case for devices with up to 128@tie{}KiB
of program memory.
"__AVR_HAVE_8BIT_SP__"
"__AVR_HAVE_16BIT_SP__"
The stack pointer (SP) register is treated as 8-bit respectively 16-bit register by the compiler.
The definition of these macros is affected by "-mtiny-stack".
"__AVR_HAVE_SPH__"
"__AVR_SP8__"
The device has the SPH (high part of stack pointer) special function register or has an 8-bit stack
pointer, respectively. The definition of these macros is affected by "-mmcu=" and in the cases of
"-mmcu=avr2" and "-mmcu=avr25" also by "-msp8".
"__AVR_HAVE_RAMPD__"
"__AVR_HAVE_RAMPX__"
"__AVR_HAVE_RAMPY__"
"__AVR_HAVE_RAMPZ__"
The device has the "RAMPD", "RAMPX", "RAMPY", "RAMPZ" special function register, respectively.
"__NO_INTERRUPTS__"
This macro reflects the "-mno-interrupts" command line option.
"__AVR_ERRATA_SKIP__"
"__AVR_ERRATA_SKIP_JMP_CALL__"
Some AVR devices (AT90S8515, ATmega103) must not skip 32-bit instructions because of a hardware
erratum. Skip instructions are "SBRS", "SBRC", "SBIS", "SBIC" and "CPSE". The second macro is only
defined if "__AVR_HAVE_JMP_CALL__" is also set.
"__AVR_SFR_OFFSET__=offset"
Instructions that can address I/O special function registers directly like "IN", "OUT", "SBI", etc.
may use a different address as if addressed by an instruction to access RAM like "LD" or "STS". This
offset depends on the device architecture and has to be subtracted from the RAM address in order to
get the respective I/O@tie{}address.
"__WITH_AVRLIBC__"
The compiler is configured to be used together with AVR-Libc. See the "--with-avrlibc" configure
option.
Blackfin Options
-mcpu=cpu[-sirevision]
Specifies the name of the target Blackfin processor. Currently, cpu can be one of bf512, bf514,
bf516, bf518, bf522, bf523, bf524, bf525, bf526, bf527, bf531, bf532, bf533, bf534, bf536, bf537,
bf538, bf539, bf542, bf544, bf547, bf548, bf549, bf542m, bf544m, bf547m, bf548m, bf549m, bf561,
bf592.
The optional sirevision specifies the silicon revision of the target Blackfin processor. Any
workarounds available for the targeted silicon revision are enabled. If sirevision is none, no
workarounds are enabled. If sirevision is any, all workarounds for the targeted processor are
enabled. The "__SILICON_REVISION__" macro is defined to two hexadecimal digits representing the
major and minor numbers in the silicon revision. If sirevision is none, the "__SILICON_REVISION__"
is not defined. If sirevision is any, the "__SILICON_REVISION__" is defined to be 0xffff. If this
optional sirevision is not used, GCC assumes the latest known silicon revision of the targeted
Blackfin processor.
GCC defines a preprocessor macro for the specified cpu. For the bfin-elf toolchain, this option
causes the hardware BSP provided by libgloss to be linked in if -msim is not given.
Without this option, bf532 is used as the processor by default.
Note that support for bf561 is incomplete. For bf561, only the preprocessor macro is defined.
-msim
Specifies that the program will be run on the simulator. This causes the simulator BSP provided by
libgloss to be linked in. This option has effect only for bfin-elf toolchain. Certain other
options, such as -mid-shared-library and -mfdpic, imply -msim.
-momit-leaf-frame-pointer
Don't keep the frame pointer in a register for leaf functions. This avoids the instructions to save,
set up and restore frame pointers and makes an extra register available in leaf functions. The
option -fomit-frame-pointer removes the frame pointer for all functions, which might make debugging
harder.
-mspecld-anomaly
When enabled, the compiler ensures that the generated code does not contain speculative loads after
jump instructions. If this option is used, "__WORKAROUND_SPECULATIVE_LOADS" is defined.
-mno-specld-anomaly
Don't generate extra code to prevent speculative loads from occurring.
-mcsync-anomaly
When enabled, the compiler ensures that the generated code does not contain CSYNC or SSYNC
instructions too soon after conditional branches. If this option is used,
"__WORKAROUND_SPECULATIVE_SYNCS" is defined.
-mno-csync-anomaly
Don't generate extra code to prevent CSYNC or SSYNC instructions from occurring too soon after a
conditional branch.
-mlow-64k
When enabled, the compiler is free to take advantage of the knowledge that the entire program fits
into the low 64k of memory.
-mno-low-64k
Assume that the program is arbitrarily large. This is the default.
-mstack-check-l1
Do stack checking using information placed into L1 scratchpad memory by the uClinux kernel.
-mid-shared-library
Generate code that supports shared libraries via the library ID method. This allows for execute in
place and shared libraries in an environment without virtual memory management. This option implies
-fPIC. With a bfin-elf target, this option implies -msim.
-mno-id-shared-library
Generate code that doesn't assume ID-based shared libraries are being used. This is the default.
-mleaf-id-shared-library
Generate code that supports shared libraries via the library ID method, but assumes that this library
or executable won't link against any other ID shared libraries. That allows the compiler to use
faster code for jumps and calls.
-mno-leaf-id-shared-library
Do not assume that the code being compiled won't link against any ID shared libraries. Slower code
is generated for jump and call insns.
-mshared-library-id=n
Specifies the identification number of the ID-based shared library being compiled. Specifying a
value of 0 generates more compact code; specifying other values forces the allocation of that number
to the current library but is no more space- or time-efficient than omitting this option.
-msep-data
Generate code that allows the data segment to be located in a different area of memory from the text
segment. This allows for execute in place in an environment without virtual memory management by
eliminating relocations against the text section.
-mno-sep-data
Generate code that assumes that the data segment follows the text segment. This is the default.
-mlong-calls
-mno-long-calls
Tells the compiler to perform function calls by first loading the address of the function into a
register and then performing a subroutine call on this register. This switch is needed if the target
function lies outside of the 24-bit addressing range of the offset-based version of subroutine call
instruction.
This feature is not enabled by default. Specifying -mno-long-calls restores the default behavior.
Note these switches have no effect on how the compiler generates code to handle function calls via
function pointers.
-mfast-fp
Link with the fast floating-point library. This library relaxes some of the IEEE floating-point
standard's rules for checking inputs against Not-a-Number (NAN), in the interest of performance.
-minline-plt
Enable inlining of PLT entries in function calls to functions that are not known to bind locally. It
has no effect without -mfdpic.
-mmulticore
Build a standalone application for multicore Blackfin processors. This option causes proper start
files and link scripts supporting multicore to be used, and defines the macro "__BFIN_MULTICORE". It
can only be used with -mcpu=bf561[-sirevision].
This option can be used with -mcorea or -mcoreb, which selects the one-application-per-core
programming model. Without -mcorea or -mcoreb, the single-application/dual-core programming model is
used. In this model, the main function of Core B should be named as "coreb_main".
If this option is not used, the single-core application programming model is used.
-mcorea
Build a standalone application for Core A of BF561 when using the one-application-per-core
programming model. Proper start files and link scripts are used to support Core A, and the macro
"__BFIN_COREA" is defined. This option can only be used in conjunction with -mmulticore.
-mcoreb
Build a standalone application for Core B of BF561 when using the one-application-per-core
programming model. Proper start files and link scripts are used to support Core B, and the macro
"__BFIN_COREB" is defined. When this option is used, "coreb_main" should be used instead of "main".
This option can only be used in conjunction with -mmulticore.
-msdram
Build a standalone application for SDRAM. Proper start files and link scripts are used to put the
application into SDRAM, and the macro "__BFIN_SDRAM" is defined. The loader should initialize SDRAM
before loading the application.
-micplb
Assume that ICPLBs are enabled at run time. This has an effect on certain anomaly workarounds. For
Linux targets, the default is to assume ICPLBs are enabled; for standalone applications the default
is off.
C6X Options
-march=name
This specifies the name of the target architecture. GCC uses this name to determine what kind of
instructions it can emit when generating assembly code. Permissible names are: c62x, c64x, c64x+,
c67x, c67x+, c674x.
-mbig-endian
Generate code for a big-endian target.
-mlittle-endian
Generate code for a little-endian target. This is the default.
-msim
Choose startup files and linker script suitable for the simulator.
-msdata=default
Put small global and static data in the .neardata section, which is pointed to by register "B14".
Put small uninitialized global and static data in the .bss section, which is adjacent to the
.neardata section. Put small read-only data into the .rodata section. The corresponding sections
used for large pieces of data are .fardata, .far and .const.
-msdata=all
Put all data, not just small objects, into the sections reserved for small data, and use addressing
relative to the "B14" register to access them.
-msdata=none
Make no use of the sections reserved for small data, and use absolute addresses to access all data.
Put all initialized global and static data in the .fardata section, and all uninitialized data in the
.far section. Put all constant data into the .const section.
CRIS Options
These options are defined specifically for the CRIS ports.
-march=architecture-type
-mcpu=architecture-type
Generate code for the specified architecture. The choices for architecture-type are v3, v8 and v10
for respectively ETRAX 4, ETRAX 100, and ETRAX 100 LX. Default is v0 except for cris-axis-linux-gnu,
where the default is v10.
-mtune=architecture-type
Tune to architecture-type everything applicable about the generated code, except for the ABI and the
set of available instructions. The choices for architecture-type are the same as for
-march=architecture-type.
-mmax-stack-frame=n
Warn when the stack frame of a function exceeds n bytes.
-metrax4
-metrax100
The options -metrax4 and -metrax100 are synonyms for -march=v3 and -march=v8 respectively.
-mmul-bug-workaround
-mno-mul-bug-workaround
Work around a bug in the "muls" and "mulu" instructions for CPU models where it applies. This option
is active by default.
-mpdebug
Enable CRIS-specific verbose debug-related information in the assembly code. This option also has
the effect of turning off the #NO_APP formatted-code indicator to the assembler at the beginning of
the assembly file.
-mcc-init
Do not use condition-code results from previous instruction; always emit compare and test
instructions before use of condition codes.
-mno-side-effects
Do not emit instructions with side effects in addressing modes other than post-increment.
-mstack-align
-mno-stack-align
-mdata-align
-mno-data-align
-mconst-align
-mno-const-align
These options (no- options) arrange (eliminate arrangements) for the stack frame, individual data and
constants to be aligned for the maximum single data access size for the chosen CPU model. The
default is to arrange for 32-bit alignment. ABI details such as structure layout are not affected by
these options.
-m32-bit
-m16-bit
-m8-bit
Similar to the stack- data- and const-align options above, these options arrange for stack frame,
writable data and constants to all be 32-bit, 16-bit or 8-bit aligned. The default is 32-bit
alignment.
-mno-prologue-epilogue
-mprologue-epilogue
With -mno-prologue-epilogue, the normal function prologue and epilogue which set up the stack frame
are omitted and no return instructions or return sequences are generated in the code. Use this
option only together with visual inspection of the compiled code: no warnings or errors are generated
when call-saved registers must be saved, or storage for local variables needs to be allocated.
-mno-gotplt
-mgotplt
With -fpic and -fPIC, don't generate (do generate) instruction sequences that load addresses for
functions from the PLT part of the GOT rather than (traditional on other architectures) calls to the
PLT. The default is -mgotplt.
-melf
Legacy no-op option only recognized with the cris-axis-elf and cris-axis-linux-gnu targets.
-mlinux
Legacy no-op option only recognized with the cris-axis-linux-gnu target.
-sim
This option, recognized for the cris-axis-elf, arranges to link with input-output functions from a
simulator library. Code, initialized data and zero-initialized data are allocated consecutively.
-sim2
Like -sim, but pass linker options to locate initialized data at 0x40000000 and zero-initialized data
at 0x80000000.
CR16 Options
These options are defined specifically for the CR16 ports.
-mmac
Enable the use of multiply-accumulate instructions. Disabled by default.
-mcr16cplus
-mcr16c
Generate code for CR16C or CR16C+ architecture. CR16C+ architecture is default.
-msim
Links the library libsim.a which is in compatible with simulator. Applicable to ELF compiler only.
-mint32
Choose integer type as 32-bit wide.
-mbit-ops
Generates "sbit"/"cbit" instructions for bit manipulations.
-mdata-model=model
Choose a data model. The choices for model are near, far or medium. medium is default. However, far
is not valid with -mcr16c, as the CR16C architecture does not support the far data model.
Darwin Options
These options are defined for all architectures running the Darwin operating system.
FSF GCC on Darwin does not create "fat" object files; it creates an object file for the single
architecture that GCC was built to target. Apple's GCC on Darwin does create "fat" files if multiple
-arch options are used; it does so by running the compiler or linker multiple times and joining the
results together with lipo.
The subtype of the file created (like ppc7400 or ppc970 or i686) is determined by the flags that specify
the ISA that GCC is targeting, like -mcpu or -march. The -force_cpusubtype_ALL option can be used to
override this.
The Darwin tools vary in their behavior when presented with an ISA mismatch. The assembler, as, only
permits instructions to be used that are valid for the subtype of the file it is generating, so you
cannot put 64-bit instructions in a ppc750 object file. The linker for shared libraries,
/usr/bin/libtool, fails and prints an error if asked to create a shared library with a less restrictive
subtype than its input files (for instance, trying to put a ppc970 object file in a ppc7400 library).
The linker for executables, ld, quietly gives the executable the most restrictive subtype of any of its
input files.
-Fdir
Add the framework directory dir to the head of the list of directories to be searched for header
files. These directories are interleaved with those specified by -I options and are scanned in a
left-to-right order.
A framework directory is a directory with frameworks in it. A framework is a directory with a
Headers and/or PrivateHeaders directory contained directly in it that ends in .framework. The name
of a framework is the name of this directory excluding the .framework. Headers associated with the
framework are found in one of those two directories, with Headers being searched first. A
subframework is a framework directory that is in a framework's Frameworks directory. Includes of
subframework headers can only appear in a header of a framework that contains the subframework, or in
a sibling subframework header. Two subframeworks are siblings if they occur in the same framework.
A subframework should not have the same name as a framework; a warning is issued if this is violated.
Currently a subframework cannot have subframeworks; in the future, the mechanism may be extended to
support this. The standard frameworks can be found in /System/Library/Frameworks and
/Library/Frameworks. An example include looks like "#include <Framework/header.h>", where Framework
denotes the name of the framework and header.h is found in the PrivateHeaders or Headers directory.
-iframeworkdir
Like -F except the directory is a treated as a system directory. The main difference between this
-iframework and -F is that with -iframework the compiler does not warn about constructs contained
within header files found via dir. This option is valid only for the C family of languages.
-gused
Emit debugging information for symbols that are used. For stabs debugging format, this enables
-feliminate-unused-debug-symbols. This is by default ON.
-gfull
Emit debugging information for all symbols and types.
-mmacosx-version-min=version
The earliest version of MacOS X that this executable will run on is version. Typical values of
version include 10.1, 10.2, and 10.3.9.
If the compiler was built to use the system's headers by default, then the default for this option is
the system version on which the compiler is running, otherwise the default is to make choices that
are compatible with as many systems and code bases as possible.
-mkernel
Enable kernel development mode. The -mkernel option sets -static, -fno-common, -fno-use-cxa-atexit,
-fno-exceptions, -fno-non-call-exceptions, -fapple-kext, -fno-weak and -fno-rtti where applicable.
This mode also sets -mno-altivec, -msoft-float, -fno-builtin and -mlong-branch for PowerPC targets.
-mone-byte-bool
Override the defaults for bool so that sizeof(bool)==1. By default sizeof(bool) is 4 when compiling
for Darwin/PowerPC and 1 when compiling for Darwin/x86, so this option has no effect on x86.
Warning: The -mone-byte-bool switch causes GCC to generate code that is not binary compatible with
code generated without that switch. Using this switch may require recompiling all other modules in a
program, including system libraries. Use this switch to conform to a non-default data model.
-mfix-and-continue
-ffix-and-continue
-findirect-data
Generate code suitable for fast turnaround development, such as to allow GDB to dynamically load ".o"
files into already-running programs. -findirect-data and -ffix-and-continue are provided for
backwards compatibility.
-all_load
Loads all members of static archive libraries. See man ld(1) for more information.
-arch_errors_fatal
Cause the errors having to do with files that have the wrong architecture to be fatal.
-bind_at_load
Causes the output file to be marked such that the dynamic linker will bind all undefined references
when the file is loaded or launched.
-bundle
Produce a Mach-o bundle format file. See man ld(1) for more information.
-bundle_loader executable
This option specifies the executable that will load the build output file being linked. See man
ld(1) for more information.
-dynamiclib
When passed this option, GCC produces a dynamic library instead of an executable when linking, using
the Darwin libtool command.
-force_cpusubtype_ALL
This causes GCC's output file to have the ALL subtype, instead of one controlled by the -mcpu or
-march option.
-allowable_client client_name
-client_name
-compatibility_version
-current_version
-dead_strip
-dependency-file
-dylib_file
-dylinker_install_name
-dynamic
-exported_symbols_list
-filelist
-flat_namespace
-force_flat_namespace
-headerpad_max_install_names
-image_base
-init
-install_name
-keep_private_externs
-multi_module
-multiply_defined
-multiply_defined_unused
-noall_load
-no_dead_strip_inits_and_terms
-nofixprebinding
-nomultidefs
-noprebind
-noseglinkedit
-pagezero_size
-prebind
-prebind_all_twolevel_modules
-private_bundle
-read_only_relocs
-sectalign
-sectobjectsymbols
-whyload
-seg1addr
-sectcreate
-sectobjectsymbols
-sectorder
-segaddr
-segs_read_only_addr
-segs_read_write_addr
-seg_addr_table
-seg_addr_table_filename
-seglinkedit
-segprot
-segs_read_only_addr
-segs_read_write_addr
-single_module
-static
-sub_library
-sub_umbrella
-twolevel_namespace
-umbrella
-undefined
-unexported_symbols_list
-weak_reference_mismatches
-whatsloaded
These options are passed to the Darwin linker. The Darwin linker man page describes them in detail.
DEC Alpha Options
These -m options are defined for the DEC Alpha implementations:
-mno-soft-float
-msoft-float
Use (do not use) the hardware floating-point instructions for floating-point operations. When
-msoft-float is specified, functions in libgcc.a are used to perform floating-point operations.
Unless they are replaced by routines that emulate the floating-point operations, or compiled in such
a way as to call such emulations routines, these routines issue floating-point operations. If you
are compiling for an Alpha without floating-point operations, you must ensure that the library is
built so as not to call them.
Note that Alpha implementations without floating-point operations are required to have floating-point
registers.
-mfp-reg
-mno-fp-regs
Generate code that uses (does not use) the floating-point register set. -mno-fp-regs implies
-msoft-float. If the floating-point register set is not used, floating-point operands are passed in
integer registers as if they were integers and floating-point results are passed in $0 instead of
$f0. This is a non-standard calling sequence, so any function with a floating-point argument or
return value called by code compiled with -mno-fp-regs must also be compiled with that option.
A typical use of this option is building a kernel that does not use, and hence need not save and
restore, any floating-point registers.
-mieee
The Alpha architecture implements floating-point hardware optimized for maximum performance. It is
mostly compliant with the IEEE floating-point standard. However, for full compliance, software
assistance is required. This option generates code fully IEEE-compliant code except that the
inexact-flag is not maintained (see below). If this option is turned on, the preprocessor macro
"_IEEE_FP" is defined during compilation. The resulting code is less efficient but is able to
correctly support denormalized numbers and exceptional IEEE values such as not-a-number and
plus/minus infinity. Other Alpha compilers call this option -ieee_with_no_inexact.
-mieee-with-inexact
This is like -mieee except the generated code also maintains the IEEE inexact-flag. Turning on this
option causes the generated code to implement fully-compliant IEEE math. In addition to "_IEEE_FP",
"_IEEE_FP_EXACT" is defined as a preprocessor macro. On some Alpha implementations the resulting
code may execute significantly slower than the code generated by default. Since there is very little
code that depends on the inexact-flag, you should normally not specify this option. Other Alpha
compilers call this option -ieee_with_inexact.
-mfp-trap-mode=trap-mode
This option controls what floating-point related traps are enabled. Other Alpha compilers call this
option -fptm trap-mode. The trap mode can be set to one of four values:
n This is the default (normal) setting. The only traps that are enabled are the ones that cannot
be disabled in software (e.g., division by zero trap).
u In addition to the traps enabled by n, underflow traps are enabled as well.
su Like u, but the instructions are marked to be safe for software completion (see Alpha
architecture manual for details).
sui Like su, but inexact traps are enabled as well.
-mfp-rounding-mode=rounding-mode
Selects the IEEE rounding mode. Other Alpha compilers call this option -fprm rounding-mode. The
rounding-mode can be one of:
n Normal IEEE rounding mode. Floating-point numbers are rounded towards the nearest machine number
or towards the even machine number in case of a tie.
m Round towards minus infinity.
c Chopped rounding mode. Floating-point numbers are rounded towards zero.
d Dynamic rounding mode. A field in the floating-point control register (fpcr, see Alpha
architecture reference manual) controls the rounding mode in effect. The C library initializes
this register for rounding towards plus infinity. Thus, unless your program modifies the fpcr, d
corresponds to round towards plus infinity.
-mtrap-precision=trap-precision
In the Alpha architecture, floating-point traps are imprecise. This means without software
assistance it is impossible to recover from a floating trap and program execution normally needs to
be terminated. GCC can generate code that can assist operating system trap handlers in determining
the exact location that caused a floating-point trap. Depending on the requirements of an
application, different levels of precisions can be selected:
p Program precision. This option is the default and means a trap handler can only identify which
program caused a floating-point exception.
f Function precision. The trap handler can determine the function that caused a floating-point
exception.
i Instruction precision. The trap handler can determine the exact instruction that caused a
floating-point exception.
Other Alpha compilers provide the equivalent options called -scope_safe and -resumption_safe.
-mieee-conformant
This option marks the generated code as IEEE conformant. You must not use this option unless you
also specify -mtrap-precision=i and either -mfp-trap-mode=su or -mfp-trap-mode=sui. Its only effect
is to emit the line .eflag 48 in the function prologue of the generated assembly file.
-mbuild-constants
Normally GCC examines a 32- or 64-bit integer constant to see if it can construct it from smaller
constants in two or three instructions. If it cannot, it outputs the constant as a literal and
generates code to load it from the data segment at run time.
Use this option to require GCC to construct all integer constants using code, even if it takes more
instructions (the maximum is six).
You typically use this option to build a shared library dynamic loader. Itself a shared library, it
must relocate itself in memory before it can find the variables and constants in its own data
segment.
-mbwx
-mno-bwx
-mcix
-mno-cix
-mfix
-mno-fix
-mmax
-mno-max
Indicate whether GCC should generate code to use the optional BWX, CIX, FIX and MAX instruction sets.
The default is to use the instruction sets supported by the CPU type specified via -mcpu= option or
that of the CPU on which GCC was built if none is specified.
-mfloat-vax
-mfloat-ieee
Generate code that uses (does not use) VAX F and G floating-point arithmetic instead of IEEE single
and double precision.
-mexplicit-relocs
-mno-explicit-relocs
Older Alpha assemblers provided no way to generate symbol relocations except via assembler macros.
Use of these macros does not allow optimal instruction scheduling. GNU binutils as of version 2.12
supports a new syntax that allows the compiler to explicitly mark which relocations should apply to
which instructions. This option is mostly useful for debugging, as GCC detects the capabilities of
the assembler when it is built and sets the default accordingly.
-msmall-data
-mlarge-data
When -mexplicit-relocs is in effect, static data is accessed via gp-relative relocations. When
-msmall-data is used, objects 8 bytes long or smaller are placed in a small data area (the ".sdata"
and ".sbss" sections) and are accessed via 16-bit relocations off of the $gp register. This limits
the size of the small data area to 64KB, but allows the variables to be directly accessed via a
single instruction.
The default is -mlarge-data. With this option the data area is limited to just below 2GB. Programs
that require more than 2GB of data must use "malloc" or "mmap" to allocate the data in the heap
instead of in the program's data segment.
When generating code for shared libraries, -fpic implies -msmall-data and -fPIC implies -mlarge-data.
-msmall-text
-mlarge-text
When -msmall-text is used, the compiler assumes that the code of the entire program (or shared
library) fits in 4MB, and is thus reachable with a branch instruction. When -msmall-data is used,
the compiler can assume that all local symbols share the same $gp value, and thus reduce the number
of instructions required for a function call from 4 to 1.
The default is -mlarge-text.
-mcpu=cpu_type
Set the instruction set and instruction scheduling parameters for machine type cpu_type. You can
specify either the EV style name or the corresponding chip number. GCC supports scheduling
parameters for the EV4, EV5 and EV6 family of processors and chooses the default values for the
instruction set from the processor you specify. If you do not specify a processor type, GCC defaults
to the processor on which the compiler was built.
Supported values for cpu_type are
ev4
ev45
21064
Schedules as an EV4 and has no instruction set extensions.
ev5
21164
Schedules as an EV5 and has no instruction set extensions.
ev56
21164a
Schedules as an EV5 and supports the BWX extension.
pca56
21164pc
21164PC
Schedules as an EV5 and supports the BWX and MAX extensions.
ev6
21264
Schedules as an EV6 and supports the BWX, FIX, and MAX extensions.
ev67
21264a
Schedules as an EV6 and supports the BWX, CIX, FIX, and MAX extensions.
Native toolchains also support the value native, which selects the best architecture option for the
host processor. -mcpu=native has no effect if GCC does not recognize the processor.
-mtune=cpu_type
Set only the instruction scheduling parameters for machine type cpu_type. The instruction set is not
changed.
Native toolchains also support the value native, which selects the best architecture option for the
host processor. -mtune=native has no effect if GCC does not recognize the processor.
-mmemory-latency=time
Sets the latency the scheduler should assume for typical memory references as seen by the
application. This number is highly dependent on the memory access patterns used by the application
and the size of the external cache on the machine.
Valid options for time are
number
A decimal number representing clock cycles.
L1
L2
L3
main
The compiler contains estimates of the number of clock cycles for "typical" EV4 & EV5 hardware
for the Level 1, 2 & 3 caches (also called Dcache, Scache, and Bcache), as well as to main
memory. Note that L3 is only valid for EV5.
FR30 Options
These options are defined specifically for the FR30 port.
-msmall-model
Use the small address space model. This can produce smaller code, but it does assume that all
symbolic values and addresses fit into a 20-bit range.
-mno-lsim
Assume that runtime support has been provided and so there is no need to include the simulator
library (libsim.a) on the linker command line.
FRV Options
-mgpr-32
Only use the first 32 general-purpose registers.
-mgpr-64
Use all 64 general-purpose registers.
-mfpr-32
Use only the first 32 floating-point registers.
-mfpr-64
Use all 64 floating-point registers.
-mhard-float
Use hardware instructions for floating-point operations.
-msoft-float
Use library routines for floating-point operations.
-malloc-cc
Dynamically allocate condition code registers.
-mfixed-cc
Do not try to dynamically allocate condition code registers, only use "icc0" and "fcc0".
-mdword
Change ABI to use double word insns.
-mno-dword
Do not use double word instructions.
-mdouble
Use floating-point double instructions.
-mno-double
Do not use floating-point double instructions.
-mmedia
Use media instructions.
-mno-media
Do not use media instructions.
-mmuladd
Use multiply and add/subtract instructions.
-mno-muladd
Do not use multiply and add/subtract instructions.
-mfdpic
Select the FDPIC ABI, which uses function descriptors to represent pointers to functions. Without
any PIC/PIE-related options, it implies -fPIE. With -fpic or -fpie, it assumes GOT entries and small
data are within a 12-bit range from the GOT base address; with -fPIC or -fPIE, GOT offsets are
computed with 32 bits. With a bfin-elf target, this option implies -msim.
-minline-plt
Enable inlining of PLT entries in function calls to functions that are not known to bind locally. It
has no effect without -mfdpic. It's enabled by default if optimizing for speed and compiling for
shared libraries (i.e., -fPIC or -fpic), or when an optimization option such as -O3 or above is
present in the command line.
-mTLS
Assume a large TLS segment when generating thread-local code.
-mtls
Do not assume a large TLS segment when generating thread-local code.
-mgprel-ro
Enable the use of "GPREL" relocations in the FDPIC ABI for data that is known to be in read-only
sections. It's enabled by default, except for -fpic or -fpie: even though it may help make the
global offset table smaller, it trades 1 instruction for 4. With -fPIC or -fPIE, it trades 3
instructions for 4, one of which may be shared by multiple symbols, and it avoids the need for a GOT
entry for the referenced symbol, so it's more likely to be a win. If it is not, -mno-gprel-ro can be
used to disable it.
-multilib-library-pic
Link with the (library, not FD) pic libraries. It's implied by -mlibrary-pic, as well as by -fPIC
and -fpic without -mfdpic. You should never have to use it explicitly.
-mlinked-fp
Follow the EABI requirement of always creating a frame pointer whenever a stack frame is allocated.
This option is enabled by default and can be disabled with -mno-linked-fp.
-mlong-calls
Use indirect addressing to call functions outside the current compilation unit. This allows the
functions to be placed anywhere within the 32-bit address space.
-malign-labels
Try to align labels to an 8-byte boundary by inserting NOPs into the previous packet. This option
only has an effect when VLIW packing is enabled. It doesn't create new packets; it merely adds NOPs
to existing ones.
-mlibrary-pic
Generate position-independent EABI code.
-macc-4
Use only the first four media accumulator registers.
-macc-8
Use all eight media accumulator registers.
-mpack
Pack VLIW instructions.
-mno-pack
Do not pack VLIW instructions.
-mno-eflags
Do not mark ABI switches in e_flags.
-mcond-move
Enable the use of conditional-move instructions (default).
This switch is mainly for debugging the compiler and will likely be removed in a future version.
-mno-cond-move
Disable the use of conditional-move instructions.
This switch is mainly for debugging the compiler and will likely be removed in a future version.
-mscc
Enable the use of conditional set instructions (default).
This switch is mainly for debugging the compiler and will likely be removed in a future version.
-mno-scc
Disable the use of conditional set instructions.
This switch is mainly for debugging the compiler and will likely be removed in a future version.
-mcond-exec
Enable the use of conditional execution (default).
This switch is mainly for debugging the compiler and will likely be removed in a future version.
-mno-cond-exec
Disable the use of conditional execution.
This switch is mainly for debugging the compiler and will likely be removed in a future version.
-mvliw-branch
Run a pass to pack branches into VLIW instructions (default).
This switch is mainly for debugging the compiler and will likely be removed in a future version.
-mno-vliw-branch
Do not run a pass to pack branches into VLIW instructions.
This switch is mainly for debugging the compiler and will likely be removed in a future version.
-mmulti-cond-exec
Enable optimization of "&&" and "||" in conditional execution (default).
This switch is mainly for debugging the compiler and will likely be removed in a future version.
-mno-multi-cond-exec
Disable optimization of "&&" and "||" in conditional execution.
This switch is mainly for debugging the compiler and will likely be removed in a future version.
-mnested-cond-exec
Enable nested conditional execution optimizations (default).
This switch is mainly for debugging the compiler and will likely be removed in a future version.
-mno-nested-cond-exec
Disable nested conditional execution optimizations.
This switch is mainly for debugging the compiler and will likely be removed in a future version.
-moptimize-membar
This switch removes redundant "membar" instructions from the compiler-generated code. It is enabled
by default.
-mno-optimize-membar
This switch disables the automatic removal of redundant "membar" instructions from the generated
code.
-mtomcat-stats
Cause gas to print out tomcat statistics.
-mcpu=cpu
Select the processor type for which to generate code. Possible values are frv, fr550, tomcat, fr500,
fr450, fr405, fr400, fr300 and simple.
GNU/Linux Options
These -m options are defined for GNU/Linux targets:
-mglibc
Use the GNU C library. This is the default except on *-*-linux-*uclibc* and *-*-linux-*android*
targets.
-muclibc
Use uClibc C library. This is the default on *-*-linux-*uclibc* targets.
-mbionic
Use Bionic C library. This is the default on *-*-linux-*android* targets.
-mandroid
Compile code compatible with Android platform. This is the default on *-*-linux-*android* targets.
When compiling, this option enables -mbionic, -fPIC, -fno-exceptions and -fno-rtti by default. When
linking, this option makes the GCC driver pass Android-specific options to the linker. Finally, this
option causes the preprocessor macro "__ANDROID__" to be defined.
-tno-android-cc
Disable compilation effects of -mandroid, i.e., do not enable -mbionic, -fPIC, -fno-exceptions and
-fno-rtti by default.
-tno-android-ld
Disable linking effects of -mandroid, i.e., pass standard Linux linking options to the linker.
H8/300 Options
These -m options are defined for the H8/300 implementations:
-mrelax
Shorten some address references at link time, when possible; uses the linker option -relax.
-mh Generate code for the H8/300H.
-ms Generate code for the H8S.
-mn Generate code for the H8S and H8/300H in the normal mode. This switch must be used either with -mh
or -ms.
-ms2600
Generate code for the H8S/2600. This switch must be used with -ms.
-mexr
Extended registers are stored on stack before execution of function with monitor attribute. Default
option is -mexr. This option is valid only for H8S targets.
-mno-exr
Extended registers are not stored on stack before execution of function with monitor attribute.
Default option is -mno-exr. This option is valid only for H8S targets.
-mint32
Make "int" data 32 bits by default.
-malign-300
On the H8/300H and H8S, use the same alignment rules as for the H8/300. The default for the H8/300H
and H8S is to align longs and floats on 4-byte boundaries. -malign-300 causes them to be aligned on
2-byte boundaries. This option has no effect on the H8/300.
HPPA Options
These -m options are defined for the HPPA family of computers:
-march=architecture-type
Generate code for the specified architecture. The choices for architecture-type are 1.0 for PA 1.0,
1.1 for PA 1.1, and 2.0 for PA 2.0 processors. Refer to /usr/lib/sched.models on an HP-UX system to
determine the proper architecture option for your machine. Code compiled for lower numbered
architectures runs on higher numbered architectures, but not the other way around.
-mpa-risc-1-0
-mpa-risc-1-1
-mpa-risc-2-0
Synonyms for -march=1.0, -march=1.1, and -march=2.0 respectively.
-mbig-switch
Generate code suitable for big switch tables. Use this option only if the assembler/linker complain
about out-of-range branches within a switch table.
-mjump-in-delay
Fill delay slots of function calls with unconditional jump instructions by modifying the return
pointer for the function call to be the target of the conditional jump.
-mdisable-fpregs
Prevent floating-point registers from being used in any manner. This is necessary for compiling
kernels that perform lazy context switching of floating-point registers. If you use this option and
attempt to perform floating-point operations, the compiler aborts.
-mdisable-indexing
Prevent the compiler from using indexing address modes. This avoids some rather obscure problems
when compiling MIG generated code under MACH.
-mno-space-regs
Generate code that assumes the target has no space registers. This allows GCC to generate faster
indirect calls and use unscaled index address modes.
Such code is suitable for level 0 PA systems and kernels.
-mfast-indirect-calls
Generate code that assumes calls never cross space boundaries. This allows GCC to emit code that
performs faster indirect calls.
This option does not work in the presence of shared libraries or nested functions.
-mfixed-range=register-range
Generate code treating the given register range as fixed registers. A fixed register is one that the
register allocator cannot use. This is useful when compiling kernel code. A register range is
specified as two registers separated by a dash. Multiple register ranges can be specified separated
by a comma.
-mlong-load-store
Generate 3-instruction load and store sequences as sometimes required by the HP-UX 10 linker. This
is equivalent to the +k option to the HP compilers.
-mportable-runtime
Use the portable calling conventions proposed by HP for ELF systems.
-mgas
Enable the use of assembler directives only GAS understands.
-mschedule=cpu-type
Schedule code according to the constraints for the machine type cpu-type. The choices for cpu-type
are 700 7100, 7100LC, 7200, 7300 and 8000. Refer to /usr/lib/sched.models on an HP-UX system to
determine the proper scheduling option for your machine. The default scheduling is 8000.
-mlinker-opt
Enable the optimization pass in the HP-UX linker. Note this makes symbolic debugging impossible. It
also triggers a bug in the HP-UX 8 and HP-UX 9 linkers in which they give bogus error messages when
linking some programs.
-msoft-float
Generate output containing library calls for floating point. Warning: the requisite libraries are
not available for all HPPA targets. Normally the facilities of the machine's usual C compiler are
used, but this cannot be done directly in cross-compilation. You must make your own arrangements to
provide suitable library functions for cross-compilation.
-msoft-float changes the calling convention in the output file; therefore, it is only useful if you
compile all of a program with this option. In particular, you need to compile libgcc.a, the library
that comes with GCC, with -msoft-float in order for this to work.
-msio
Generate the predefine, "_SIO", for server IO. The default is -mwsio. This generates the
predefines, "__hp9000s700", "__hp9000s700__" and "_WSIO", for workstation IO. These options are
available under HP-UX and HI-UX.
-mgnu-ld
Use options specific to GNU ld. This passes -shared to ld when building a shared library. It is the
default when GCC is configured, explicitly or implicitly, with the GNU linker. This option does not
affect which ld is called; it only changes what parameters are passed to that ld. The ld that is
called is determined by the --with-ld configure option, GCC's program search path, and finally by the
user's PATH. The linker used by GCC can be printed using which `gcc -print-prog-name=ld`. This
option is only available on the 64-bit HP-UX GCC, i.e. configured with hppa*64*-*-hpux*.
-mhp-ld
Use options specific to HP ld. This passes -b to ld when building a shared library and passes
+Accept TypeMismatch to ld on all links. It is the default when GCC is configured, explicitly or
implicitly, with the HP linker. This option does not affect which ld is called; it only changes what
parameters are passed to that ld. The ld that is called is determined by the --with-ld configure
option, GCC's program search path, and finally by the user's PATH. The linker used by GCC can be
printed using which `gcc -print-prog-name=ld`. This option is only available on the 64-bit HP-UX
GCC, i.e. configured with hppa*64*-*-hpux*.
-mlong-calls
Generate code that uses long call sequences. This ensures that a call is always able to reach linker
generated stubs. The default is to generate long calls only when the distance from the call site to
the beginning of the function or translation unit, as the case may be, exceeds a predefined limit set
by the branch type being used. The limits for normal calls are 7,600,000 and 240,000 bytes,
respectively for the PA 2.0 and PA 1.X architectures. Sibcalls are always limited at 240,000 bytes.
Distances are measured from the beginning of functions when using the -ffunction-sections option, or
when using the -mgas and -mno-portable-runtime options together under HP-UX with the SOM linker.
It is normally not desirable to use this option as it degrades performance. However, it may be
useful in large applications, particularly when partial linking is used to build the application.
The types of long calls used depends on the capabilities of the assembler and linker, and the type of
code being generated. The impact on systems that support long absolute calls, and long pic symbol-
difference or pc-relative calls should be relatively small. However, an indirect call is used on
32-bit ELF systems in pic code and it is quite long.
-munix=unix-std
Generate compiler predefines and select a startfile for the specified UNIX standard. The choices for
unix-std are 93, 95 and 98. 93 is supported on all HP-UX versions. 95 is available on HP-UX 10.10
and later. 98 is available on HP-UX 11.11 and later. The default values are 93 for HP-UX 10.00, 95
for HP-UX 10.10 though to 11.00, and 98 for HP-UX 11.11 and later.
-munix=93 provides the same predefines as GCC 3.3 and 3.4. -munix=95 provides additional predefines
for "XOPEN_UNIX" and "_XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED", and the startfile unix95.o. -munix=98 provides
additional predefines for "_XOPEN_UNIX", "_XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED", "_INCLUDE__STDC_A1_SOURCE" and
"_INCLUDE_XOPEN_SOURCE_500", and the startfile unix98.o.
It is important to note that this option changes the interfaces for various library routines. It
also affects the operational behavior of the C library. Thus, extreme care is needed in using this
option.
Library code that is intended to operate with more than one UNIX standard must test, set and restore
the variable __xpg4_extended_mask as appropriate. Most GNU software doesn't provide this capability.
-nolibdld
Suppress the generation of link options to search libdld.sl when the -static option is specified on
HP-UX 10 and later.
-static
The HP-UX implementation of setlocale in libc has a dependency on libdld.sl. There isn't an archive
version of libdld.sl. Thus, when the -static option is specified, special link options are needed to
resolve this dependency.
On HP-UX 10 and later, the GCC driver adds the necessary options to link with libdld.sl when the
-static option is specified. This causes the resulting binary to be dynamic. On the 64-bit port,
the linkers generate dynamic binaries by default in any case. The -nolibdld option can be used to
prevent the GCC driver from adding these link options.
-threads
Add support for multithreading with the dce thread library under HP-UX. This option sets flags for
both the preprocessor and linker.
Intel 386 and AMD x86-64 Options
These -m options are defined for the i386 and x86-64 family of computers:
-march=cpu-type
Generate instructions for the machine type cpu-type. In contrast to -mtune=cpu-type, which merely
tunes the generated code for the specified cpu-type, -march=cpu-type allows GCC to generate code that
may not run at all on processors other than the one indicated. Specifying -march=cpu-type implies
-mtune=cpu-type.
The choices for cpu-type are:
native
This selects the CPU to generate code for at compilation time by determining the processor type
of the compiling machine. Using -march=native enables all instruction subsets supported by the
local machine (hence the result might not run on different machines). Using -mtune=native
produces code optimized for the local machine under the constraints of the selected instruction
set.
i386
Original Intel i386 CPU.
i486
Intel i486 CPU. (No scheduling is implemented for this chip.)
i586
pentium
Intel Pentium CPU with no MMX support.
pentium-mmx
Intel Pentium MMX CPU, based on Pentium core with MMX instruction set support.
pentiumpro
Intel Pentium Pro CPU.
i686
When used with -march, the Pentium Pro instruction set is used, so the code runs on all i686
family chips. When used with -mtune, it has the same meaning as generic.
pentium2
Intel Pentium II CPU, based on Pentium Pro core with MMX instruction set support.
pentium3
pentium3m
Intel Pentium III CPU, based on Pentium Pro core with MMX and SSE instruction set support.
pentium-m
Intel Pentium M; low-power version of Intel Pentium III CPU with MMX, SSE and SSE2 instruction
set support. Used by Centrino notebooks.
pentium4
pentium4m
Intel Pentium 4 CPU with MMX, SSE and SSE2 instruction set support.
prescott
Improved version of Intel Pentium 4 CPU with MMX, SSE, SSE2 and SSE3 instruction set support.
nocona
Improved version of Intel Pentium 4 CPU with 64-bit extensions, MMX, SSE, SSE2 and SSE3
instruction set support.
core2
Intel Core 2 CPU with 64-bit extensions, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3 and SSSE3 instruction set support.
corei7
Intel Core i7 CPU with 64-bit extensions, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1 and SSE4.2
instruction set support.
corei7-avx
Intel Core i7 CPU with 64-bit extensions, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AES
and PCLMUL instruction set support.
core-avx-i
Intel Core CPU with 64-bit extensions, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AES,
PCLMUL, FSGSBASE, RDRND and F16C instruction set support.
core-avx2
Intel Core CPU with 64-bit extensions, MOVBE, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX,
AVX2, AES, PCLMUL, FSGSBASE, RDRND, FMA, BMI, BMI2 and F16C instruction set support.
atom
Intel Atom CPU with 64-bit extensions, MOVBE, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3 and SSSE3 instruction set
support.
k6 AMD K6 CPU with MMX instruction set support.
k6-2
k6-3
Improved versions of AMD K6 CPU with MMX and 3DNow! instruction set support.
athlon
athlon-tbird
AMD Athlon CPU with MMX, 3dNOW!, enhanced 3DNow! and SSE prefetch instructions support.
athlon-4
athlon-xp
athlon-mp
Improved AMD Athlon CPU with MMX, 3DNow!, enhanced 3DNow! and full SSE instruction set support.
k8
opteron
athlon64
athlon-fx
Processors based on the AMD K8 core with x86-64 instruction set support, including the AMD
Opteron, Athlon 64, and Athlon 64 FX processors. (This supersets MMX, SSE, SSE2, 3DNow!,
enhanced 3DNow! and 64-bit instruction set extensions.)
k8-sse3
opteron-sse3
athlon64-sse3
Improved versions of AMD K8 cores with SSE3 instruction set support.
amdfam10
barcelona
CPUs based on AMD Family 10h cores with x86-64 instruction set support. (This supersets MMX,
SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A, 3DNow!, enhanced 3DNow!, ABM and 64-bit instruction set extensions.)
bdver1
CPUs based on AMD Family 15h cores with x86-64 instruction set support. (This supersets FMA4,
AVX, XOP, LWP, AES, PCL_MUL, CX16, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, ABM and
64-bit instruction set extensions.)
bdver2
AMD Family 15h core based CPUs with x86-64 instruction set support. (This supersets BMI, TBM,
F16C, FMA, AVX, XOP, LWP, AES, PCL_MUL, CX16, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2,
ABM and 64-bit instruction set extensions.)
bdver3
AMD Family 15h core based CPUs with x86-64 instruction set support. (This supersets BMI, TBM,
F16C, FMA, AVX, XOP, LWP, AES, PCL_MUL, CX16, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2,
ABM and 64-bit instruction set extensions.
btver1
CPUs based on AMD Family 14h cores with x86-64 instruction set support. (This supersets MMX,
SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4A, CX16, ABM and 64-bit instruction set extensions.)
btver2
CPUs based on AMD Family 16h cores with x86-64 instruction set support. This includes MOVBE,
F16C, BMI, AVX, PCL_MUL, AES, SSE4.2, SSE4.1, CX16, ABM, SSE4A, SSSE3, SSE3, SSE2, SSE, MMX and
64-bit instruction set extensions.
winchip-c6
IDT WinChip C6 CPU, dealt in same way as i486 with additional MMX instruction set support.
winchip2
IDT WinChip 2 CPU, dealt in same way as i486 with additional MMX and 3DNow! instruction set
support.
c3 VIA C3 CPU with MMX and 3DNow! instruction set support. (No scheduling is implemented for this
chip.)
c3-2
VIA C3-2 (Nehemiah/C5XL) CPU with MMX and SSE instruction set support. (No scheduling is
implemented for this chip.)
geode
AMD Geode embedded processor with MMX and 3DNow! instruction set support.
-mtune=cpu-type
Tune to cpu-type everything applicable about the generated code, except for the ABI and the set of
available instructions. While picking a specific cpu-type schedules things appropriately for that
particular chip, the compiler does not generate any code that cannot run on the default machine type
unless you use a -march=cpu-type option. For example, if GCC is configured for i686-pc-linux-gnu
then -mtune=pentium4 generates code that is tuned for Pentium 4 but still runs on i686 machines.
The choices for cpu-type are the same as for -march. In addition, -mtune supports an extra choice
for cpu-type:
generic
Produce code optimized for the most common IA32/AMD64/EM64T processors. If you know the CPU on
which your code will run, then you should use the corresponding -mtune or -march option instead
of -mtune=generic. But, if you do not know exactly what CPU users of your application will have,
then you should use this option.
As new processors are deployed in the marketplace, the behavior of this option will change.
Therefore, if you upgrade to a newer version of GCC, code generation controlled by this option
will change to reflect the processors that are most common at the time that version of GCC is
released.
There is no -march=generic option because -march indicates the instruction set the compiler can
use, and there is no generic instruction set applicable to all processors. In contrast, -mtune
indicates the processor (or, in this case, collection of processors) for which the code is
optimized.
-mcpu=cpu-type
A deprecated synonym for -mtune.
-mfpmath=unit
Generate floating-point arithmetic for selected unit unit. The choices for unit are:
387 Use the standard 387 floating-point coprocessor present on the majority of chips and emulated
otherwise. Code compiled with this option runs almost everywhere. The temporary results are
computed in 80-bit precision instead of the precision specified by the type, resulting in
slightly different results compared to most of other chips. See -ffloat-store for more detailed
description.
This is the default choice for i386 compiler.
sse Use scalar floating-point instructions present in the SSE instruction set. This instruction set
is supported by Pentium III and newer chips, and in the AMD line by Athlon-4, Athlon XP and
Athlon MP chips. The earlier version of the SSE instruction set supports only single-precision
arithmetic, thus the double and extended-precision arithmetic are still done using 387. A later
version, present only in Pentium 4 and AMD x86-64 chips, supports double-precision arithmetic
too.
For the i386 compiler, you must use -march=cpu-type, -msse or -msse2 switches to enable SSE
extensions and make this option effective. For the x86-64 compiler, these extensions are enabled
by default.
The resulting code should be considerably faster in the majority of cases and avoid the numerical
instability problems of 387 code, but may break some existing code that expects temporaries to be
80 bits.
This is the default choice for the x86-64 compiler.
sse,387
sse+387
both
Attempt to utilize both instruction sets at once. This effectively doubles the amount of
available registers, and on chips with separate execution units for 387 and SSE the execution
resources too. Use this option with care, as it is still experimental, because the GCC register
allocator does not model separate functional units well, resulting in unstable performance.
-masm=dialect
Output assembly instructions using selected dialect. Supported choices are intel or att (the
default). Darwin does not support intel.
-mieee-fp
-mno-ieee-fp
Control whether or not the compiler uses IEEE floating-point comparisons. These correctly handle the
case where the result of a comparison is unordered.
-msoft-float
Generate output containing library calls for floating point.
Warning: the requisite libraries are not part of GCC. 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.
On machines where a function returns floating-point results in the 80387 register stack, some
floating-point opcodes may be emitted even if -msoft-float is used.
-mno-fp-ret-in-387
Do not use the FPU registers for return values of functions.
The usual calling convention has functions return values of types "float" and "double" in an FPU
register, even if there is no FPU. The idea is that the operating system should emulate an FPU.
The option -mno-fp-ret-in-387 causes such values to be returned in ordinary CPU registers instead.
-mno-fancy-math-387
Some 387 emulators do not support the "sin", "cos" and "sqrt" instructions for the 387. Specify this
option to avoid generating those instructions. This option is the default on FreeBSD, OpenBSD and
NetBSD. This option is overridden when -march indicates that the target CPU always has an FPU and so
the instruction does not need emulation. These instructions are not generated unless you also use
the -funsafe-math-optimizations switch.
-malign-double
-mno-align-double
Control whether GCC aligns "double", "long double", and "long long" variables on a two-word boundary
or a one-word boundary. Aligning "double" variables on a two-word boundary produces code that runs
somewhat faster on a Pentium at the expense of more memory.
On x86-64, -malign-double is enabled by default.
Warning: if you use the -malign-double switch, structures containing the above types are aligned
differently than the published application binary interface specifications for the 386 and are not
binary compatible with structures in code compiled without that switch.
-m96bit-long-double
-m128bit-long-double
These switches control the size of "long double" type. The i386 application binary interface
specifies the size to be 96 bits, so -m96bit-long-double is the default in 32-bit mode.
Modern architectures (Pentium and newer) prefer "long double" to be aligned to an 8- or 16-byte
boundary. In arrays or structures conforming to the ABI, this is not possible. So specifying
-m128bit-long-double aligns "long double" to a 16-byte boundary by padding the "long double" with an
additional 32-bit zero.
In the x86-64 compiler, -m128bit-long-double is the default choice as its ABI specifies that "long
double" is aligned on 16-byte boundary.
Notice that neither of these options enable any extra precision over the x87 standard of 80 bits for
a "long double".
Warning: if you override the default value for your target ABI, this changes the size of structures
and arrays containing "long double" variables, as well as modifying the function calling convention
for functions taking "long double". Hence they are not binary-compatible with code compiled without
that switch.
-mlong-double-64
-mlong-double-80
These switches control the size of "long double" type. A size of 64 bits makes the "long double" type
equivalent to the "double" type. This is the default for Bionic C library.
Warning: if you override the default value for your target ABI, this changes the size of structures
and arrays containing "long double" variables, as well as modifying the function calling convention
for functions taking "long double". Hence they are not binary-compatible with code compiled without
that switch.
-mlarge-data-threshold=threshold
When -mcmodel=medium is specified, data objects larger than threshold are placed in the large data
section. This value must be the same across all objects linked into the binary, and defaults to
65535.
-mrtd
Use a different function-calling convention, in which functions that take a fixed number of arguments
return with the "ret num" instruction, which pops their arguments while returning. This saves one
instruction in the caller since there is no need to pop the arguments there.
You can specify that an individual function is called with this calling sequence with the function
attribute stdcall. You can also override the -mrtd option by using the function attribute cdecl.
Warning: 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
(including "printf"); otherwise incorrect code is generated for calls to those functions.
In addition, seriously incorrect code results if you call a function with too many arguments.
(Normally, extra arguments are harmlessly ignored.)
-mregparm=num
Control how many registers are used to pass integer arguments. By default, no registers are used to
pass arguments, and at most 3 registers can be used. You can control this behavior for a specific
function by using the function attribute regparm.
Warning: if you use this switch, and num is nonzero, then you must build all modules with the same
value, including any libraries. This includes the system libraries and startup modules.
-msseregparm
Use SSE register passing conventions for float and double arguments and return values. You can
control this behavior for a specific function by using the function attribute sseregparm.
Warning: if you use this switch then you must build all modules with the same value, including any
libraries. This includes the system libraries and startup modules.
-mvect8-ret-in-mem
Return 8-byte vectors in memory instead of MMX registers. This is the default on Solaris@tie{}8 and
9 and VxWorks to match the ABI of the Sun Studio compilers until version 12. Later compiler versions
(starting with Studio 12 Update@tie{}1) follow the ABI used by other x86 targets, which is the
default on Solaris@tie{}10 and later. Only use this option if you need to remain compatible with
existing code produced by those previous compiler versions or older versions of GCC.
-mpc32
-mpc64
-mpc80
Set 80387 floating-point precision to 32, 64 or 80 bits. When -mpc32 is specified, the significands
of results of floating-point operations are rounded to 24 bits (single precision); -mpc64 rounds the
significands of results of floating-point operations to 53 bits (double precision) and -mpc80 rounds
the significands of results of floating-point operations to 64 bits (extended double precision),
which is the default. When this option is used, floating-point operations in higher precisions are
not available to the programmer without setting the FPU control word explicitly.
Setting the rounding of floating-point operations to less than the default 80 bits can speed some
programs by 2% or more. Note that some mathematical libraries assume that extended-precision
(80-bit) floating-point operations are enabled by default; routines in such libraries could suffer
significant loss of accuracy, typically through so-called "catastrophic cancellation", when this
option is used to set the precision to less than extended precision.
-mstackrealign
Realign the stack at entry. On the Intel x86, the -mstackrealign option generates an alternate
prologue and epilogue that realigns the run-time stack if necessary. This supports mixing legacy
codes that keep 4-byte stack alignment with modern codes that keep 16-byte stack alignment for SSE
compatibility. See also the attribute "force_align_arg_pointer", applicable to individual functions.
-mpreferred-stack-boundary=num
Attempt to keep the stack boundary aligned to a 2 raised to num byte boundary. If
-mpreferred-stack-boundary is not specified, the default is 4 (16 bytes or 128 bits).
Warning: When generating code for the x86-64 architecture with SSE extensions disabled,
-mpreferred-stack-boundary=3 can be used to keep the stack boundary aligned to 8 byte boundary.
Since x86-64 ABI require 16 byte stack alignment, this is ABI incompatible and intended to be used in
controlled environment where stack space is important limitation. This option will lead to wrong
code when functions compiled with 16 byte stack alignment (such as functions from a standard library)
are called with misaligned stack. In this case, SSE instructions may lead to misaligned memory
access traps. In addition, variable arguments will be handled incorrectly for 16 byte aligned
objects (including x87 long double and __int128), leading to wrong results. You must build all
modules with -mpreferred-stack-boundary=3, including any libraries. This includes the system
libraries and startup modules.
-mincoming-stack-boundary=num
Assume the incoming stack is aligned to a 2 raised to num byte boundary. If
-mincoming-stack-boundary is not specified, the one specified by -mpreferred-stack-boundary is used.
On Pentium and Pentium Pro, "double" and "long double" values should be aligned to an 8-byte boundary
(see -malign-double) or suffer significant run time performance penalties. On Pentium III, the
Streaming SIMD Extension (SSE) data type "__m128" may not work properly if it is not 16-byte aligned.
To ensure proper alignment of this values on the stack, the stack boundary must be as aligned as that
required by any value stored on the stack. Further, every function must be generated such that it
keeps the stack aligned. Thus calling a function compiled with a higher preferred stack boundary
from a function compiled with a lower preferred stack boundary most likely misaligns the stack. It
is recommended that libraries that use callbacks always use the default setting.
This extra alignment does consume extra stack space, and generally increases code size. Code that is
sensitive to stack space usage, such as embedded systems and operating system kernels, may want to
reduce the preferred alignment to -mpreferred-stack-boundary=2.
-mmmx
-mno-mmx
-msse
-mno-sse
-msse2
-mno-sse2
-msse3
-mno-sse3
-mssse3
-mno-ssse3
-msse4.1
-mno-sse4.1
-msse4.2
-mno-sse4.2
-msse4
-mno-sse4
-mavx
-mno-avx
-mavx2
-mno-avx2
-maes
-mno-aes
-mpclmul
-mno-pclmul
-mfsgsbase
-mno-fsgsbase
-mrdrnd
-mno-rdrnd
-mf16c
-mno-f16c
-mfma
-mno-fma
-msse4a
-mno-sse4a
-mfma4
-mno-fma4
-mxop
-mno-xop
-mlwp
-mno-lwp
-m3dnow
-mno-3dnow
-mpopcnt
-mno-popcnt
-mabm
-mno-abm
-mbmi
-mbmi2
-mno-bmi
-mno-bmi2
-mlzcnt
-mno-lzcnt
-mrtm
-mtbm
-mno-tbm
These switches enable or disable the use of instructions in the MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1,
AVX, AVX2, AES, PCLMUL, FSGSBASE, RDRND, F16C, FMA, SSE4A, FMA4, XOP, LWP, ABM, BMI, BMI2, LZCNT, RTM
or 3DNow! extended instruction sets. These extensions are also available as built-in functions: see
X86 Built-in Functions, for details of the functions enabled and disabled by these switches.
To generate SSE/SSE2 instructions automatically from floating-point code (as opposed to 387
instructions), see -mfpmath=sse.
GCC depresses SSEx instructions when -mavx is used. Instead, it generates new AVX instructions or AVX
equivalence for all SSEx instructions when needed.
These options enable GCC to use these extended instructions in generated code, even without
-mfpmath=sse. Applications that perform run-time CPU detection must compile separate files for each
supported architecture, using the appropriate flags. In particular, the file containing the CPU
detection code should be compiled without these options.
-mcld
This option instructs GCC to emit a "cld" instruction in the prologue of functions that use string
instructions. String instructions depend on the DF flag to select between autoincrement or
autodecrement mode. While the ABI specifies the DF flag to be cleared on function entry, some
operating systems violate this specification by not clearing the DF flag in their exception
dispatchers. The exception handler can be invoked with the DF flag set, which leads to wrong
direction mode when string instructions are used. This option can be enabled by default on 32-bit
x86 targets by configuring GCC with the --enable-cld configure option. Generation of "cld"
instructions can be suppressed with the -mno-cld compiler option in this case.
-mvzeroupper
This option instructs GCC to emit a "vzeroupper" instruction before a transfer of control flow out of
the function to minimize the AVX to SSE transition penalty as well as remove unnecessary "zeroupper"
intrinsics.
-mprefer-avx128
This option instructs GCC to use 128-bit AVX instructions instead of 256-bit AVX instructions in the
auto-vectorizer.
-mcx16
This option enables GCC to generate "CMPXCHG16B" instructions. "CMPXCHG16B" allows for atomic
operations on 128-bit double quadword (or oword) data types. This is useful for high-resolution
counters that can be updated by multiple processors (or cores). This instruction is generated as
part of atomic built-in functions: see __sync Builtins or __atomic Builtins for details.
-msahf
This option enables generation of "SAHF" instructions in 64-bit code. Early Intel Pentium 4 CPUs
with Intel 64 support, prior to the introduction of Pentium 4 G1 step in December 2005, lacked the
"LAHF" and "SAHF" instructions which were supported by AMD64. These are load and store instructions,
respectively, for certain status flags. In 64-bit mode, the "SAHF" instruction is used to optimize
"fmod", "drem", and "remainder" built-in functions; see Other Builtins for details.
-mmovbe
This option enables use of the "movbe" instruction to implement "__builtin_bswap32" and
"__builtin_bswap64".
-mcrc32
This option enables built-in functions "__builtin_ia32_crc32qi", "__builtin_ia32_crc32hi",
"__builtin_ia32_crc32si" and "__builtin_ia32_crc32di" to generate the "crc32" machine instruction.
-mrecip
This option enables use of "RCPSS" and "RSQRTSS" instructions (and their vectorized variants "RCPPS"
and "RSQRTPS") with an additional Newton-Raphson step to increase precision instead of "DIVSS" and
"SQRTSS" (and their vectorized variants) for single-precision floating-point arguments. These
instructions are generated only when -funsafe-math-optimizations is enabled together with
-finite-math-only and -fno-trapping-math. Note that while the throughput of the sequence is higher
than the throughput of the non-reciprocal instruction, the precision of the sequence can be decreased
by up to 2 ulp (i.e. the inverse of 1.0 equals 0.99999994).
Note that GCC implements "1.0f/sqrtf(x)" in terms of "RSQRTSS" (or "RSQRTPS") already with
-ffast-math (or the above option combination), and doesn't need -mrecip.
Also note that GCC emits the above sequence with additional Newton-Raphson step for vectorized
single-float division and vectorized "sqrtf(x)" already with -ffast-math (or the above option
combination), and doesn't need -mrecip.
-mrecip=opt
This option controls which reciprocal estimate instructions may be used. opt is a comma-separated
list of options, which may be preceded by a ! to invert the option:
all Enable all estimate instructions.
default
Enable the default instructions, equivalent to -mrecip.
none
Disable all estimate instructions, equivalent to -mno-recip.
div Enable the approximation for scalar division.
vec-div
Enable the approximation for vectorized division.
sqrt
Enable the approximation for scalar square root.
vec-sqrt
Enable the approximation for vectorized square root.
So, for example, -mrecip=all,!sqrt enables all of the reciprocal approximations, except for square
root.
-mveclibabi=type
Specifies the ABI type to use for vectorizing intrinsics using an external library. Supported values
for type are svml for the Intel short vector math library and acml for the AMD math core library. To
use this option, both -ftree-vectorize and -funsafe-math-optimizations have to be enabled, and an
SVML or ACML ABI-compatible library must be specified at link time.
GCC currently emits calls to "vmldExp2", "vmldLn2", "vmldLog102", "vmldLog102", "vmldPow2",
"vmldTanh2", "vmldTan2", "vmldAtan2", "vmldAtanh2", "vmldCbrt2", "vmldSinh2", "vmldSin2",
"vmldAsinh2", "vmldAsin2", "vmldCosh2", "vmldCos2", "vmldAcosh2", "vmldAcos2", "vmlsExp4", "vmlsLn4",
"vmlsLog104", "vmlsLog104", "vmlsPow4", "vmlsTanh4", "vmlsTan4", "vmlsAtan4", "vmlsAtanh4",
"vmlsCbrt4", "vmlsSinh4", "vmlsSin4", "vmlsAsinh4", "vmlsAsin4", "vmlsCosh4", "vmlsCos4",
"vmlsAcosh4" and "vmlsAcos4" for corresponding function type when -mveclibabi=svml is used, and
"__vrd2_sin", "__vrd2_cos", "__vrd2_exp", "__vrd2_log", "__vrd2_log2", "__vrd2_log10", "__vrs4_sinf",
"__vrs4_cosf", "__vrs4_expf", "__vrs4_logf", "__vrs4_log2f", "__vrs4_log10f" and "__vrs4_powf" for
the corresponding function type when -mveclibabi=acml is used.
-mabi=name
Generate code for the specified calling convention. Permissible values are sysv for the ABI used on
GNU/Linux and other systems, and ms for the Microsoft ABI. The default is to use the Microsoft ABI
when targeting Microsoft Windows and the SysV ABI on all other systems. You can control this
behavior for a specific function by using the function attribute ms_abi/sysv_abi.
-mtls-dialect=type
Generate code to access thread-local storage using the gnu or gnu2 conventions. gnu is the
conservative default; gnu2 is more efficient, but it may add compile- and run-time requirements that
cannot be satisfied on all systems.
-mpush-args
-mno-push-args
Use PUSH operations to store outgoing parameters. This method is shorter and usually equally fast as
method using SUB/MOV operations and is enabled by default. In some cases disabling it may improve
performance because of improved scheduling and reduced dependencies.
-maccumulate-outgoing-args
If enabled, the maximum amount of space required for outgoing arguments is computed in the function
prologue. This is faster on most modern CPUs because of reduced dependencies, improved scheduling
and reduced stack usage when the preferred stack boundary is not equal to 2. The drawback is a
notable increase in code size. This switch implies -mno-push-args.
-mthreads
Support thread-safe exception handling on MinGW. Programs that rely on thread-safe exception
handling must compile and link all code with the -mthreads option. When compiling, -mthreads defines
"-D_MT"; when linking, it links in a special thread helper library -lmingwthrd which cleans up per-
thread exception-handling data.
-mno-align-stringops
Do not align the destination of inlined string operations. This switch reduces code size and
improves performance in case the destination is already aligned, but GCC doesn't know about it.
-minline-all-stringops
By default GCC inlines string operations only when the destination is known to be aligned to least a
4-byte boundary. This enables more inlining and increases code size, but may improve performance of
code that depends on fast "memcpy", "strlen", and "memset" for short lengths.
-minline-stringops-dynamically
For string operations of unknown size, use run-time checks with inline code for small blocks and a
library call for large blocks.
-mstringop-strategy=alg
Override the internal decision heuristic for the particular algorithm to use for inlining string
operations. The allowed values for alg are:
rep_byte
rep_4byte
rep_8byte
Expand using i386 "rep" prefix of the specified size.
byte_loop
loop
unrolled_loop
Expand into an inline loop.
libcall
Always use a library call.
-momit-leaf-frame-pointer
Don't keep the frame pointer in a register for leaf functions. This avoids the instructions to save,
set up, and restore frame pointers and makes an extra register available in leaf functions. The
option -fomit-leaf-frame-pointer removes the frame pointer for leaf functions, which might make
debugging harder.
-mtls-direct-seg-refs
-mno-tls-direct-seg-refs
Controls whether TLS variables may be accessed with offsets from the TLS segment register (%gs for
32-bit, %fs for 64-bit), or whether the thread base pointer must be added. Whether or not this is
valid depends on the operating system, and whether it maps the segment to cover the entire TLS area.
For systems that use the GNU C Library, the default is on.
-msse2avx
-mno-sse2avx
Specify that the assembler should encode SSE instructions with VEX prefix. The option -mavx turns
this on by default.
-mfentry
-mno-fentry
If profiling is active (-pg), put the profiling counter call before the prologue. Note: On x86
architectures the attribute "ms_hook_prologue" isn't possible at the moment for -mfentry and -pg.
-m8bit-idiv
-mno-8bit-idiv
On some processors, like Intel Atom, 8-bit unsigned integer divide is much faster than 32-bit/64-bit
integer divide. This option generates a run-time check. If both dividend and divisor are within
range of 0 to 255, 8-bit unsigned integer divide is used instead of 32-bit/64-bit integer divide.
-mavx256-split-unaligned-load
-mavx256-split-unaligned-store
Split 32-byte AVX unaligned load and store.
These -m switches are supported in addition to the above on x86-64 processors in 64-bit environments.
-m32
-m64
-mx32
Generate code for a 32-bit or 64-bit environment. The -m32 option sets "int", "long", and pointer
types to 32 bits, and generates code that runs on any i386 system.
The -m64 option sets "int" to 32 bits and "long" and pointer types to 64 bits, and generates code for
the x86-64 architecture. For Darwin only the -m64 option also turns off the -fno-pic and
-mdynamic-no-pic options.
The -mx32 option sets "int", "long", and pointer types to 32 bits, and generates code for the x86-64
architecture.
-mno-red-zone
Do not use a so-called "red zone" for x86-64 code. The red zone is mandated by the x86-64 ABI; it is
a 128-byte area beyond the location of the stack pointer that is not modified by signal or interrupt
handlers and therefore can be used for temporary data without adjusting the stack pointer. The flag
-mno-red-zone disables this red zone.
-mcmodel=small
Generate code for the small code model: the program and its symbols must be linked in the lower 2 GB
of the address space. Pointers are 64 bits. Programs can be statically or dynamically linked. This
is the default code model.
-mcmodel=kernel
Generate code for the kernel code model. The kernel runs in the negative 2 GB of the address space.
This model has to be used for Linux kernel code.
-mcmodel=medium
Generate code for the medium model: the program is linked in the lower 2 GB of the address space.
Small symbols are also placed there. Symbols with sizes larger than -mlarge-data-threshold are put
into large data or BSS sections and can be located above 2GB. Programs can be statically or
dynamically linked.
-mcmodel=large
Generate code for the large model. This model makes no assumptions about addresses and sizes of
sections.
-maddress-mode=long
Generate code for long address mode. This is only supported for 64-bit and x32 environments. It is
the default address mode for 64-bit environments.
-maddress-mode=short
Generate code for short address mode. This is only supported for 32-bit and x32 environments. It is
the default address mode for 32-bit and x32 environments.
i386 and x86-64 Windows Options
These additional options are available for Microsoft Windows targets:
-mconsole
This option specifies that a console application is to be generated, by instructing the linker to set
the PE header subsystem type required for console applications. This option is available for Cygwin
and MinGW targets and is enabled by default on those targets.
-mdll
This option is available for Cygwin and MinGW targets. It specifies that a DLL---a dynamic link
library---is to be generated, enabling the selection of the required runtime startup object and entry
point.
-mnop-fun-dllimport
This option is available for Cygwin and MinGW targets. It specifies that the "dllimport" attribute
should be ignored.
-mthread
This option is available for MinGW targets. It specifies that MinGW-specific thread support is to be
used.
-municode
This option is available for MinGW-w64 targets. It causes the "UNICODE" preprocessor macro to be
predefined, and chooses Unicode-capable runtime startup code.
-mwin32
This option is available for Cygwin and MinGW targets. It specifies that the typical Microsoft
Windows predefined macros are to be set in the pre-processor, but does not influence the choice of
runtime library/startup code.
-mwindows
This option is available for Cygwin and MinGW targets. It specifies that a GUI application is to be
generated by instructing the linker to set the PE header subsystem type appropriately.
-fno-set-stack-executable
This option is available for MinGW targets. It specifies that the executable flag for the stack used
by nested functions isn't set. This is necessary for binaries running in kernel mode of Microsoft
Windows, as there the User32 API, which is used to set executable privileges, isn't available.
-fwritable-relocated-rdata
This option is available for MinGW and Cygwin targets. It specifies that relocated-data in read-only
section is put into .data section. This is a necessary for older runtimes not supporting
modification of .rdata sections for pseudo-relocation.
-mpe-aligned-commons
This option is available for Cygwin and MinGW targets. It specifies that the GNU extension to the PE
file format that permits the correct alignment of COMMON variables should be used when generating
code. It is enabled by default if GCC detects that the target assembler found during configuration
supports the feature.
See also under i386 and x86-64 Options for standard options.
IA-64 Options
These are the -m options defined for the Intel IA-64 architecture.
-mbig-endian
Generate code for a big-endian target. This is the default for HP-UX.
-mlittle-endian
Generate code for a little-endian target. This is the default for AIX5 and GNU/Linux.
-mgnu-as
-mno-gnu-as
Generate (or don't) code for the GNU assembler. This is the default.
-mgnu-ld
-mno-gnu-ld
Generate (or don't) code for the GNU linker. This is the default.
-mno-pic
Generate code that does not use a global pointer register. The result is not position independent
code, and violates the IA-64 ABI.
-mvolatile-asm-stop
-mno-volatile-asm-stop
Generate (or don't) a stop bit immediately before and after volatile asm statements.
-mregister-names
-mno-register-names
Generate (or don't) in, loc, and out register names for the stacked registers. This may make
assembler output more readable.
-mno-sdata
-msdata
Disable (or enable) optimizations that use the small data section. This may be useful for working
around optimizer bugs.
-mconstant-gp
Generate code that uses a single constant global pointer value. This is useful when compiling kernel
code.
-mauto-pic
Generate code that is self-relocatable. This implies -mconstant-gp. This is useful when compiling
firmware code.
-minline-float-divide-min-latency
Generate code for inline divides of floating-point values using the minimum latency algorithm.
-minline-float-divide-max-throughput
Generate code for inline divides of floating-point values using the maximum throughput algorithm.
-mno-inline-float-divide
Do not generate inline code for divides of floating-point values.
-minline-int-divide-min-latency
Generate code for inline divides of integer values using the minimum latency algorithm.
-minline-int-divide-max-throughput
Generate code for inline divides of integer values using the maximum throughput algorithm.
-mno-inline-int-divide
Do not generate inline code for divides of integer values.
-minline-sqrt-min-latency
Generate code for inline square roots using the minimum latency algorithm.
-minline-sqrt-max-throughput
Generate code for inline square roots using the maximum throughput algorithm.
-mno-inline-sqrt
Do not generate inline code for "sqrt".
-mfused-madd
-mno-fused-madd
Do (don't) generate code that uses the fused multiply/add or multiply/subtract instructions. The
default is to use these instructions.
-mno-dwarf2-asm
-mdwarf2-asm
Don't (or do) generate assembler code for the DWARF 2 line number debugging info. This may be useful
when not using the GNU assembler.
-mearly-stop-bits
-mno-early-stop-bits
Allow stop bits to be placed earlier than immediately preceding the instruction that triggered the
stop bit. This can improve instruction scheduling, but does not always do so.
-mfixed-range=register-range
Generate code treating the given register range as fixed registers. A fixed register is one that the
register allocator cannot use. This is useful when compiling kernel code. A register range is
specified as two registers separated by a dash. Multiple register ranges can be specified separated
by a comma.
-mtls-size=tls-size
Specify bit size of immediate TLS offsets. Valid values are 14, 22, and 64.
-mtune=cpu-type
Tune the instruction scheduling for a particular CPU, Valid values are itanium, itanium1, merced,
itanium2, and mckinley.
-milp32
-mlp64
Generate code for a 32-bit or 64-bit environment. The 32-bit environment sets int, long and pointer
to 32 bits. The 64-bit environment sets int to 32 bits and long and pointer to 64 bits. These are
HP-UX specific flags.
-mno-sched-br-data-spec
-msched-br-data-spec
(Dis/En)able data speculative scheduling before reload. This results in generation of "ld.a"
instructions and the corresponding check instructions ("ld.c" / "chk.a"). The default is 'disable'.
-msched-ar-data-spec
-mno-sched-ar-data-spec
(En/Dis)able data speculative scheduling after reload. This results in generation of "ld.a"
instructions and the corresponding check instructions ("ld.c" / "chk.a"). The default is 'enable'.
-mno-sched-control-spec
-msched-control-spec
(Dis/En)able control speculative scheduling. This feature is available only during region scheduling
(i.e. before reload). This results in generation of the "ld.s" instructions and the corresponding
check instructions "chk.s". The default is 'disable'.
-msched-br-in-data-spec
-mno-sched-br-in-data-spec
(En/Dis)able speculative scheduling of the instructions that are dependent on the data speculative
loads before reload. This is effective only with -msched-br-data-spec enabled. The default is
'enable'.
-msched-ar-in-data-spec
-mno-sched-ar-in-data-spec
(En/Dis)able speculative scheduling of the instructions that are dependent on the data speculative
loads after reload. This is effective only with -msched-ar-data-spec enabled. The default is
'enable'.
-msched-in-control-spec
-mno-sched-in-control-spec
(En/Dis)able speculative scheduling of the instructions that are dependent on the control speculative
loads. This is effective only with -msched-control-spec enabled. The default is 'enable'.
-mno-sched-prefer-non-data-spec-insns
-msched-prefer-non-data-spec-insns
If enabled, data-speculative instructions are chosen for schedule only if there are no other choices
at the moment. This makes the use of the data speculation much more conservative. The default is
'disable'.
-mno-sched-prefer-non-control-spec-insns
-msched-prefer-non-control-spec-insns
If enabled, control-speculative instructions are chosen for schedule only if there are no other
choices at the moment. This makes the use of the control speculation much more conservative. The
default is 'disable'.
-mno-sched-count-spec-in-critical-path
-msched-count-spec-in-critical-path
If enabled, speculative dependencies are considered during computation of the instructions
priorities. This makes the use of the speculation a bit more conservative. The default is
'disable'.
-msched-spec-ldc
Use a simple data speculation check. This option is on by default.
-msched-control-spec-ldc
Use a simple check for control speculation. This option is on by default.
-msched-stop-bits-after-every-cycle
Place a stop bit after every cycle when scheduling. This option is on by default.
-msched-fp-mem-deps-zero-cost
Assume that floating-point stores and loads are not likely to cause a conflict when placed into the
same instruction group. This option is disabled by default.
-msel-sched-dont-check-control-spec
Generate checks for control speculation in selective scheduling. This flag is disabled by default.
-msched-max-memory-insns=max-insns
Limit on the number of memory insns per instruction group, giving lower priority to subsequent memory
insns attempting to schedule in the same instruction group. Frequently useful to prevent cache bank
conflicts. The default value is 1.
-msched-max-memory-insns-hard-limit
Makes the limit specified by msched-max-memory-insns a hard limit, disallowing more than that number
in an instruction group. Otherwise, the limit is "soft", meaning that non-memory operations are
preferred when the limit is reached, but memory operations may still be scheduled.
LM32 Options
These -m options are defined for the LatticeMico32 architecture:
-mbarrel-shift-enabled
Enable barrel-shift instructions.
-mdivide-enabled
Enable divide and modulus instructions.
-mmultiply-enabled
Enable multiply instructions.
-msign-extend-enabled
Enable sign extend instructions.
-muser-enabled
Enable user-defined instructions.
M32C Options
-mcpu=name
Select the CPU for which code is generated. name may be one of r8c for the R8C/Tiny series, m16c for
the M16C (up to /60) series, m32cm for the M16C/80 series, or m32c for the M32C/80 series.
-msim
Specifies that the program will be run on the simulator. This causes an alternate runtime library to
be linked in which supports, for example, file I/O. You must not use this option when generating
programs that will run on real hardware; you must provide your own runtime library for whatever I/O
functions are needed.
-memregs=number
Specifies the number of memory-based pseudo-registers GCC uses during code generation. These pseudo-
registers are used like real registers, so there is a tradeoff between GCC's ability to fit the code
into available registers, and the performance penalty of using memory instead of registers. Note
that all modules in a program must be compiled with the same value for this option. Because of that,
you must not use this option with GCC's default runtime libraries.
M32R/D Options
These -m options are defined for Renesas M32R/D architectures:
-m32r2
Generate code for the M32R/2.
-m32rx
Generate code for the M32R/X.
-m32r
Generate code for the M32R. This is the default.
-mmodel=small
Assume all objects live in the lower 16MB of memory (so that their addresses can be loaded with the
"ld24" instruction), and assume all subroutines are reachable with the "bl" instruction. This is the
default.
The addressability of a particular object can be set with the "model" attribute.
-mmodel=medium
Assume objects may be anywhere in the 32-bit address space (the compiler generates "seth/add3"
instructions to load their addresses), and assume all subroutines are reachable with the "bl"
instruction.
-mmodel=large
Assume objects may be anywhere in the 32-bit address space (the compiler generates "seth/add3"
instructions to load their addresses), and assume subroutines may not be reachable with the "bl"
instruction (the compiler generates the much slower "seth/add3/jl" instruction sequence).
-msdata=none
Disable use of the small data area. Variables are put into one of .data, .bss, or .rodata (unless
the "section" attribute has been specified). This is the default.
The small data area consists of sections .sdata and .sbss. Objects may be explicitly put in the
small data area with the "section" attribute using one of these sections.
-msdata=sdata
Put small global and static data in the small data area, but do not generate special code to
reference them.
-msdata=use
Put small global and static data in the small data area, and generate special instructions to
reference them.
-G num
Put global and static objects less than or equal to num bytes into the small data or BSS sections
instead of the normal data or BSS sections. The default value of num is 8. The -msdata option must
be set to one of sdata or use for this option to have any effect.
All modules should be compiled with the same -G num value. Compiling with different values of num
may or may not work; if it doesn't the linker gives an error message---incorrect code is not
generated.
-mdebug
Makes the M32R-specific code in the compiler display some statistics that might help in debugging
programs.
-malign-loops
Align all loops to a 32-byte boundary.
-mno-align-loops
Do not enforce a 32-byte alignment for loops. This is the default.
-missue-rate=number
Issue number instructions per cycle. number can only be 1 or 2.
-mbranch-cost=number
number can only be 1 or 2. If it is 1 then branches are preferred over conditional code, if it is 2,
then the opposite applies.
-mflush-trap=number
Specifies the trap number to use to flush the cache. The default is 12. Valid numbers are between 0
and 15 inclusive.
-mno-flush-trap
Specifies that the cache cannot be flushed by using a trap.
-mflush-func=name
Specifies the name of the operating system function to call to flush the cache. The default is
_flush_cache, but a function call is only used if a trap is not available.
-mno-flush-func
Indicates that there is no OS function for flushing the cache.
M680x0 Options
These are the -m options defined for M680x0 and ColdFire processors. The default settings depend on
which architecture was selected when the compiler was configured; the defaults for the most common
choices are given below.
-march=arch
Generate code for a specific M680x0 or ColdFire instruction set architecture. Permissible values of
arch for M680x0 architectures are: 68000, 68010, 68020, 68030, 68040, 68060 and cpu32. ColdFire
architectures are selected according to Freescale's ISA classification and the permissible values
are: isaa, isaaplus, isab and isac.
GCC defines a macro __mcfarch__ whenever it is generating code for a ColdFire target. The arch in
this macro is one of the -march arguments given above.
When used together, -march and -mtune select code that runs on a family of similar processors but
that is optimized for a particular microarchitecture.
-mcpu=cpu
Generate code for a specific M680x0 or ColdFire processor. The M680x0 cpus are: 68000, 68010, 68020,
68030, 68040, 68060, 68302, 68332 and cpu32. The ColdFire cpus are given by the table below, which
also classifies the CPUs into families:
Family : -mcpu arguments
51 : 51 51ac 51ag 51cn 51em 51je 51jf 51jg 51jm 51mm 51qe 51qm
5206 : 5202 5204 5206
5206e : 5206e
5208 : 5207 5208
5211a : 5210a 5211a
5213 : 5211 5212 5213
5216 : 5214 5216
52235 : 52230 52231 52232 52233 52234 52235
5225 : 5224 5225
52259 : 52252 52254 52255 52256 52258 52259
5235 : 5232 5233 5234 5235 523x
5249 : 5249
5250 : 5250
5271 : 5270 5271
5272 : 5272
5275 : 5274 5275
5282 : 5280 5281 5282 528x
53017 : 53011 53012 53013 53014 53015 53016 53017
5307 : 5307
5329 : 5327 5328 5329 532x
5373 : 5372 5373 537x
5407 : 5407
5475 : 5470 5471 5472 5473 5474 5475 547x 5480 5481 5482 5483 5484 5485
-mcpu=cpu overrides -march=arch if arch is compatible with cpu. Other combinations of -mcpu and
-march are rejected.
GCC defines the macro __mcf_cpu_cpu when ColdFire target cpu is selected. It also defines
__mcf_family_family, where the value of family is given by the table above.
-mtune=tune
Tune the code for a particular microarchitecture within the constraints set by -march and -mcpu. The
M680x0 microarchitectures are: 68000, 68010, 68020, 68030, 68040, 68060 and cpu32. The ColdFire
microarchitectures are: cfv1, cfv2, cfv3, cfv4 and cfv4e.
You can also use -mtune=68020-40 for code that needs to run relatively well on 68020, 68030 and 68040
targets. -mtune=68020-60 is similar but includes 68060 targets as well. These two options select
the same tuning decisions as -m68020-40 and -m68020-60 respectively.
GCC defines the macros __mcarch and __mcarch__ when tuning for 680x0 architecture arch. It also
defines mcarch unless either -ansi or a non-GNU -std option is used. If GCC is tuning for a range of
architectures, as selected by -mtune=68020-40 or -mtune=68020-60, it defines the macros for every
architecture in the range.
GCC also defines the macro __muarch__ when tuning for ColdFire microarchitecture uarch, where uarch
is one of the arguments given above.
-m68000
-mc68000
Generate output for a 68000. This is the default when the compiler is configured for 68000-based
systems. It is equivalent to -march=68000.
Use this option for microcontrollers with a 68000 or EC000 core, including the 68008, 68302, 68306,
68307, 68322, 68328 and 68356.
-m68010
Generate output for a 68010. This is the default when the compiler is configured for 68010-based
systems. It is equivalent to -march=68010.
-m68020
-mc68020
Generate output for a 68020. This is the default when the compiler is configured for 68020-based
systems. It is equivalent to -march=68020.
-m68030
Generate output for a 68030. This is the default when the compiler is configured for 68030-based
systems. It is equivalent to -march=68030.
-m68040
Generate output for a 68040. This is the default when the compiler is configured for 68040-based
systems. It is equivalent to -march=68040.
This option inhibits the use of 68881/68882 instructions that have to be emulated by software on the
68040. Use this option if your 68040 does not have code to emulate those instructions.
-m68060
Generate output for a 68060. This is the default when the compiler is configured for 68060-based
systems. It is equivalent to -march=68060.
This option inhibits the use of 68020 and 68881/68882 instructions that have to be emulated by
software on the 68060. Use this option if your 68060 does not have code to emulate those
instructions.
-mcpu32
Generate output for a CPU32. This is the default when the compiler is configured for CPU32-based
systems. It is equivalent to -march=cpu32.
Use this option for microcontrollers with a CPU32 or CPU32+ core, including the 68330, 68331, 68332,
68333, 68334, 68336, 68340, 68341, 68349 and 68360.
-m5200
Generate output for a 520X ColdFire CPU. This is the default when the compiler is configured for
520X-based systems. It is equivalent to -mcpu=5206, and is now deprecated in favor of that option.
Use this option for microcontroller with a 5200 core, including the MCF5202, MCF5203, MCF5204 and
MCF5206.
-m5206e
Generate output for a 5206e ColdFire CPU. The option is now deprecated in favor of the equivalent
-mcpu=5206e.
-m528x
Generate output for a member of the ColdFire 528X family. The option is now deprecated in favor of
the equivalent -mcpu=528x.
-m5307
Generate output for a ColdFire 5307 CPU. The option is now deprecated in favor of the equivalent
-mcpu=5307.
-m5407
Generate output for a ColdFire 5407 CPU. The option is now deprecated in favor of the equivalent
-mcpu=5407.
-mcfv4e
Generate output for a ColdFire V4e family CPU (e.g. 547x/548x). This includes use of hardware
floating-point instructions. The option is equivalent to -mcpu=547x, and is now deprecated in favor
of that option.
-m68020-40
Generate output for a 68040, without using any of the new instructions. This results in code that
can run relatively efficiently on either a 68020/68881 or a 68030 or a 68040. The generated code
does use the 68881 instructions that are emulated on the 68040.
The option is equivalent to -march=68020 -mtune=68020-40.
-m68020-60
Generate output for a 68060, without using any of the new instructions. This results in code that
can run relatively efficiently on either a 68020/68881 or a 68030 or a 68040. The generated code
does use the 68881 instructions that are emulated on the 68060.
The option is equivalent to -march=68020 -mtune=68020-60.
-mhard-float
-m68881
Generate floating-point instructions. This is the default for 68020 and above, and for ColdFire
devices that have an FPU. It defines the macro __HAVE_68881__ on M680x0 targets and __mcffpu__ on
ColdFire targets.
-msoft-float
Do not generate floating-point instructions; use library calls instead. This is the default for
68000, 68010, and 68832 targets. It is also the default for ColdFire devices that have no FPU.
-mdiv
-mno-div
Generate (do not generate) ColdFire hardware divide and remainder instructions. If -march is used
without -mcpu, the default is "on" for ColdFire architectures and "off" for M680x0 architectures.
Otherwise, the default is taken from the target CPU (either the default CPU, or the one specified by
-mcpu). For example, the default is "off" for -mcpu=5206 and "on" for -mcpu=5206e.
GCC defines the macro __mcfhwdiv__ when this option is enabled.
-mshort
Consider type "int" to be 16 bits wide, like "short int". Additionally, parameters passed on the
stack are also aligned to a 16-bit boundary even on targets whose API mandates promotion to 32-bit.
-mno-short
Do not consider type "int" to be 16 bits wide. This is the default.
-mnobitfield
-mno-bitfield
Do not use the bit-field instructions. The -m68000, -mcpu32 and -m5200 options imply -mnobitfield.
-mbitfield
Do use the bit-field instructions. The -m68020 option implies -mbitfield. This is the default if
you use a configuration designed for a 68020.
-mrtd
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
(including "printf"); otherwise incorrect code is generated for calls to those functions.
In addition, seriously incorrect code results if you call a function with too many arguments.
(Normally, extra arguments are harmlessly ignored.)
The "rtd" instruction is supported by the 68010, 68020, 68030, 68040, 68060 and CPU32 processors, but
not by the 68000 or 5200.
-mno-rtd
Do not use the calling conventions selected by -mrtd. This is the default.
-malign-int
-mno-align-int
Control whether GCC aligns "int", "long", "long long", "float", "double", and "long double" variables
on a 32-bit boundary (-malign-int) or a 16-bit boundary (-mno-align-int). Aligning variables on
32-bit boundaries produces code that runs somewhat faster on processors with 32-bit busses at the
expense of more memory.
Warning: if you use the -malign-int switch, GCC aligns structures containing the above types
differently than most published application binary interface specifications for the m68k.
-mpcrel
Use the pc-relative addressing mode of the 68000 directly, instead of using a global offset table.
At present, this option implies -fpic, allowing at most a 16-bit offset for pc-relative addressing.
-fPIC is not presently supported with -mpcrel, though this could be supported for 68020 and higher
processors.
-mno-strict-align
-mstrict-align
Do not (do) assume that unaligned memory references are handled by the system.
-msep-data
Generate code that allows the data segment to be located in a different area of memory from the text
segment. This allows for execute-in-place in an environment without virtual memory management. This
option implies -fPIC.
-mno-sep-data
Generate code that assumes that the data segment follows the text segment. This is the default.
-mid-shared-library
Generate code that supports shared libraries via the library ID method. This allows for execute-in-
place and shared libraries in an environment without virtual memory management. This option implies
-fPIC.
-mno-id-shared-library
Generate code that doesn't assume ID-based shared libraries are being used. This is the default.
-mshared-library-id=n
Specifies the identification number of the ID-based shared library being compiled. Specifying a
value of 0 generates more compact code; specifying other values forces the allocation of that number
to the current library, but is no more space- or time-efficient than omitting this option.
-mxgot
-mno-xgot
When generating position-independent code for ColdFire, generate code that works if the GOT has more
than 8192 entries. This code is larger and slower than code generated without this option. On
M680x0 processors, this option is not needed; -fPIC suffices.
GCC normally uses a single instruction to load values from the GOT. While this is relatively
efficient, it only works if the GOT is smaller than about 64k. Anything larger causes the linker to
report an error such as:
relocation truncated to fit: R_68K_GOT16O foobar
If this happens, you should recompile your code with -mxgot. It should then work with very large
GOTs. However, code generated with -mxgot is less efficient, since it takes 4 instructions to fetch
the value of a global symbol.
Note that some linkers, including newer versions of the GNU linker, can create multiple GOTs and sort
GOT entries. If you have such a linker, you should only need to use -mxgot when compiling a single
object file that accesses more than 8192 GOT entries. Very few do.
These options have no effect unless GCC is generating position-independent code.
MCore Options
These are the -m options defined for the Motorola M*Core processors.
-mhardlit
-mno-hardlit
Inline constants into the code stream if it can be done in two instructions or less.
-mdiv
-mno-div
Use the divide instruction. (Enabled by default).
-mrelax-immediate
-mno-relax-immediate
Allow arbitrary-sized immediates in bit operations.
-mwide-bitfields
-mno-wide-bitfields
Always treat bit-fields as "int"-sized.
-m4byte-functions
-mno-4byte-functions
Force all functions to be aligned to a 4-byte boundary.
-mcallgraph-data
-mno-callgraph-data
Emit callgraph information.
-mslow-bytes
-mno-slow-bytes
Prefer word access when reading byte quantities.
-mlittle-endian
-mbig-endian
Generate code for a little-endian target.
-m210
-m340
Generate code for the 210 processor.
-mno-lsim
Assume that runtime support has been provided and so omit the simulator library (libsim.a) from the
linker command line.
-mstack-increment=size
Set the maximum amount for a single stack increment operation. Large values can increase the speed
of programs that contain functions that need a large amount of stack space, but they can also trigger
a segmentation fault if the stack is extended too much. The default value is 0x1000.
MeP Options
-mabsdiff
Enables the "abs" instruction, which is the absolute difference between two registers.
-mall-opts
Enables all the optional instructions---average, multiply, divide, bit operations, leading zero,
absolute difference, min/max, clip, and saturation.
-maverage
Enables the "ave" instruction, which computes the average of two registers.
-mbased=n
Variables of size n bytes or smaller are placed in the ".based" section by default. Based variables
use the $tp register as a base register, and there is a 128-byte limit to the ".based" section.
-mbitops
Enables the bit operation instructions---bit test ("btstm"), set ("bsetm"), clear ("bclrm"), invert
("bnotm"), and test-and-set ("tas").
-mc=name
Selects which section constant data is placed in. name may be "tiny", "near", or "far".
-mclip
Enables the "clip" instruction. Note that "-mclip" is not useful unless you also provide "-mminmax".
-mconfig=name
Selects one of the built-in core configurations. Each MeP chip has one or more modules in it; each
module has a core CPU and a variety of coprocessors, optional instructions, and peripherals. The
"MeP-Integrator" tool, not part of GCC, provides these configurations through this option; using this
option is the same as using all the corresponding command-line options. The default configuration is
"default".
-mcop
Enables the coprocessor instructions. By default, this is a 32-bit coprocessor. Note that the
coprocessor is normally enabled via the "-mconfig=" option.
-mcop32
Enables the 32-bit coprocessor's instructions.
-mcop64
Enables the 64-bit coprocessor's instructions.
-mivc2
Enables IVC2 scheduling. IVC2 is a 64-bit VLIW coprocessor.
-mdc
Causes constant variables to be placed in the ".near" section.
-mdiv
Enables the "div" and "divu" instructions.
-meb
Generate big-endian code.
-mel
Generate little-endian code.
-mio-volatile
Tells the compiler that any variable marked with the "io" attribute is to be considered volatile.
-ml Causes variables to be assigned to the ".far" section by default.
-mleadz
Enables the "leadz" (leading zero) instruction.
-mm Causes variables to be assigned to the ".near" section by default.
-mminmax
Enables the "min" and "max" instructions.
-mmult
Enables the multiplication and multiply-accumulate instructions.
-mno-opts
Disables all the optional instructions enabled by "-mall-opts".
-mrepeat
Enables the "repeat" and "erepeat" instructions, used for low-overhead looping.
-ms Causes all variables to default to the ".tiny" section. Note that there is a 65536-byte limit to
this section. Accesses to these variables use the %gp base register.
-msatur
Enables the saturation instructions. Note that the compiler does not currently generate these
itself, but this option is included for compatibility with other tools, like "as".
-msdram
Link the SDRAM-based runtime instead of the default ROM-based runtime.
-msim
Link the simulator runtime libraries.
-msimnovec
Link the simulator runtime libraries, excluding built-in support for reset and exception vectors and
tables.
-mtf
Causes all functions to default to the ".far" section. Without this option, functions default to the
".near" section.
-mtiny=n
Variables that are n bytes or smaller are allocated to the ".tiny" section. These variables use the
$gp base register. The default for this option is 4, but note that there's a 65536-byte limit to the
".tiny" section.
MicroBlaze Options
-msoft-float
Use software emulation for floating point (default).
-mhard-float
Use hardware floating-point instructions.
-mmemcpy
Do not optimize block moves, use "memcpy".
-mno-clearbss
This option is deprecated. Use -fno-zero-initialized-in-bss instead.
-mcpu=cpu-type
Use features of, and schedule code for, the given CPU. Supported values are in the format vX.YY.Z,
where X is a major version, YY is the minor version, and Z is compatibility code. Example values are
v3.00.a, v4.00.b, v5.00.a, v5.00.b, v5.00.b, v6.00.a.
-mxl-soft-mul
Use software multiply emulation (default).
-mxl-soft-div
Use software emulation for divides (default).
-mxl-barrel-shift
Use the hardware barrel shifter.
-mxl-pattern-compare
Use pattern compare instructions.
-msmall-divides
Use table lookup optimization for small signed integer divisions.
-mxl-stack-check
This option is deprecated. Use -fstack-check instead.
-mxl-gp-opt
Use GP-relative ".sdata"/".sbss" sections.
-mxl-multiply-high
Use multiply high instructions for high part of 32x32 multiply.
-mxl-float-convert
Use hardware floating-point conversion instructions.
-mxl-float-sqrt
Use hardware floating-point square root instruction.
-mbig-endian
Generate code for a big-endian target.
-mlittle-endian
Generate code for a little-endian target.
-mxl-reorder
Use reorder instructions (swap and byte reversed load/store).
-mxl-mode-app-model
Select application model app-model. Valid models are
executable
normal executable (default), uses startup code crt0.o.
xmdstub
for use with Xilinx Microprocessor Debugger (XMD) based software intrusive debug agent called
xmdstub. This uses startup file crt1.o and sets the start address of the program to 0x800.
bootstrap
for applications that are loaded using a bootloader. This model uses startup file crt2.o which
does not contain a processor reset vector handler. This is suitable for transferring control on a
processor reset to the bootloader rather than the application.
novectors
for applications that do not require any of the MicroBlaze vectors. This option may be useful for
applications running within a monitoring application. This model uses crt3.o as a startup file.
Option -xl-mode-app-model is a deprecated alias for -mxl-mode-app-model.
MIPS Options
-EB Generate big-endian code.
-EL Generate little-endian code. This is the default for mips*el-*-* configurations.
-march=arch
Generate code that runs on arch, which can be the name of a generic MIPS ISA, or the name of a
particular processor. The ISA names are: mips1, mips2, mips3, mips4, mips32, mips32r2, mips64 and
mips64r2. The processor names are: 4kc, 4km, 4kp, 4ksc, 4kec, 4kem, 4kep, 4ksd, 5kc, 5kf, 20kc,
24kc, 24kf2_1, 24kf1_1, 24kec, 24kef2_1, 24kef1_1, 34kc, 34kf2_1, 34kf1_1, 34kn, 74kc, 74kf2_1,
74kf1_1, 74kf3_2, 1004kc, 1004kf2_1, 1004kf1_1, loongson2e, loongson2f, loongson3a, m4k, octeon,
octeon+, octeon2, orion, r2000, r3000, r3900, r4000, r4400, r4600, r4650, r4700, r6000, r8000,
rm7000, rm9000, r10000, r12000, r14000, r16000, sb1, sr71000, vr4100, vr4111, vr4120, vr4130, vr4300,
vr5000, vr5400, vr5500, xlr and xlp. The special value from-abi selects the most compatible
architecture for the selected ABI (that is, mips1 for 32-bit ABIs and mips3 for 64-bit ABIs).
The native Linux/GNU toolchain also supports the value native, which selects the best architecture
option for the host processor. -march=native has no effect if GCC does not recognize the processor.
In processor names, a final 000 can be abbreviated as k (for example, -march=r2k). Prefixes are
optional, and vr may be written r.
Names of the form nf2_1 refer to processors with FPUs clocked at half the rate of the core, names of
the form nf1_1 refer to processors with FPUs clocked at the same rate as the core, and names of the
form nf3_2 refer to processors with FPUs clocked a ratio of 3:2 with respect to the core. For
compatibility reasons, nf is accepted as a synonym for nf2_1 while nx and bfx are accepted as
synonyms for nf1_1.
GCC defines two macros based on the value of this option. The first is _MIPS_ARCH, which gives the
name of target architecture, as a string. The second has the form _MIPS_ARCH_foo, where foo is the
capitalized value of _MIPS_ARCH. For example, -march=r2000 sets _MIPS_ARCH to "r2000" and defines
the macro _MIPS_ARCH_R2000.
Note that the _MIPS_ARCH macro uses the processor names given above. In other words, it has the full
prefix and does not abbreviate 000 as k. In the case of from-abi, the macro names the resolved
architecture (either "mips1" or "mips3"). It names the default architecture when no -march option is
given.
-mtune=arch
Optimize for arch. Among other things, this option controls the way instructions are scheduled, and
the perceived cost of arithmetic operations. The list of arch values is the same as for -march.
When this option is not used, GCC optimizes for the processor specified by -march. By using -march
and -mtune together, it is possible to generate code that runs on a family of processors, but
optimize the code for one particular member of that family.
-mtune defines the macros _MIPS_TUNE and _MIPS_TUNE_foo, which work in the same way as the -march
ones described above.
-mips1
Equivalent to -march=mips1.
-mips2
Equivalent to -march=mips2.
-mips3
Equivalent to -march=mips3.
-mips4
Equivalent to -march=mips4.
-mips32
Equivalent to -march=mips32.
-mips32r2
Equivalent to -march=mips32r2.
-mips64
Equivalent to -march=mips64.
-mips64r2
Equivalent to -march=mips64r2.
-mips16
-mno-mips16
Generate (do not generate) MIPS16 code. If GCC is targeting a MIPS32 or MIPS64 architecture, it
makes use of the MIPS16e ASE.
MIPS16 code generation can also be controlled on a per-function basis by means of "mips16" and
"nomips16" attributes.
-mflip-mips16
Generate MIPS16 code on alternating functions. This option is provided for regression testing of
mixed MIPS16/non-MIPS16 code generation, and is not intended for ordinary use in compiling user code.
-minterlink-mips16
-mno-interlink-mips16
Require (do not require) that non-MIPS16 code be link-compatible with MIPS16 code.
For example, non-MIPS16 code cannot jump directly to MIPS16 code; it must either use a call or an
indirect jump. -minterlink-mips16 therefore disables direct jumps unless GCC knows that the target
of the jump is not MIPS16.
-mabi=32
-mabi=o64
-mabi=n32
-mabi=64
-mabi=eabi
Generate code for the given ABI.
Note that the EABI has a 32-bit and a 64-bit variant. GCC normally generates 64-bit code when you
select a 64-bit architecture, but you can use -mgp32 to get 32-bit code instead.
For information about the O64 ABI, see <http://gcc.gnu.org/projects/mipso64-abi.html>.
GCC supports a variant of the o32 ABI in which floating-point registers are 64 rather than 32 bits
wide. You can select this combination with -mabi=32 -mfp64. This ABI relies on the "mthc1" and
"mfhc1" instructions and is therefore only supported for MIPS32R2 processors.
The register assignments for arguments and return values remain the same, but each scalar value is
passed in a single 64-bit register rather than a pair of 32-bit registers. For example, scalar
floating-point values are returned in $f0 only, not a $f0/$f1 pair. The set of call-saved registers
also remains the same, but all 64 bits are saved.
-mabicalls
-mno-abicalls
Generate (do not generate) code that is suitable for SVR4-style dynamic objects. -mabicalls is the
default for SVR4-based systems.
-mshared
-mno-shared
Generate (do not generate) code that is fully position-independent, and that can therefore be linked
into shared libraries. This option only affects -mabicalls.
All -mabicalls code has traditionally been position-independent, regardless of options like -fPIC and
-fpic. However, as an extension, the GNU toolchain allows executables to use absolute accesses for
locally-binding symbols. It can also use shorter GP initialization sequences and generate direct
calls to locally-defined functions. This mode is selected by -mno-shared.
-mno-shared depends on binutils 2.16 or higher and generates objects that can only be linked by the
GNU linker. However, the option does not affect the ABI of the final executable; it only affects the
ABI of relocatable objects. Using -mno-shared generally makes executables both smaller and quicker.
-mshared is the default.
-mplt
-mno-plt
Assume (do not assume) that the static and dynamic linkers support PLTs and copy relocations. This
option only affects -mno-shared -mabicalls. For the n64 ABI, this option has no effect without
-msym32.
You can make -mplt the default by configuring GCC with --with-mips-plt. The default is -mno-plt
otherwise.
-mxgot
-mno-xgot
Lift (do not lift) the usual restrictions on the size of the global offset table.
GCC normally uses a single instruction to load values from the GOT. While this is relatively
efficient, it only works if the GOT is smaller than about 64k. Anything larger causes the linker to
report an error such as:
relocation truncated to fit: R_MIPS_GOT16 foobar
If this happens, you should recompile your code with -mxgot. This works with very large GOTs,
although the code is also less efficient, since it takes three instructions to fetch the value of a
global symbol.
Note that some linkers can create multiple GOTs. If you have such a linker, you should only need to
use -mxgot when a single object file accesses more than 64k's worth of GOT entries. Very few do.
These options have no effect unless GCC is generating position independent code.
-mgp32
Assume that general-purpose registers are 32 bits wide.
-mgp64
Assume that general-purpose registers are 64 bits wide.
-mfp32
Assume that floating-point registers are 32 bits wide.
-mfp64
Assume that floating-point registers are 64 bits wide.
-mhard-float
Use floating-point coprocessor instructions.
-msoft-float
Do not use floating-point coprocessor instructions. Implement floating-point calculations using
library calls instead.
-mno-float
Equivalent to -msoft-float, but additionally asserts that the program being compiled does not perform
any floating-point operations. This option is presently supported only by some bare-metal MIPS
configurations, where it may select a special set of libraries that lack all floating-point support
(including, for example, the floating-point "printf" formats). If code compiled with "-mno-float"
accidentally contains floating-point operations, it is likely to suffer a link-time or run-time
failure.
-msingle-float
Assume that the floating-point coprocessor only supports single-precision operations.
-mdouble-float
Assume that the floating-point coprocessor supports double-precision operations. This is the
default.
-mllsc
-mno-llsc
Use (do not use) ll, sc, and sync instructions to implement atomic memory built-in functions. When
neither option is specified, GCC uses the instructions if the target architecture supports them.
-mllsc is useful if the runtime environment can emulate the instructions and -mno-llsc can be useful
when compiling for nonstandard ISAs. You can make either option the default by configuring GCC with
--with-llsc and --without-llsc respectively. --with-llsc is the default for some configurations; see
the installation documentation for details.
-mdsp
-mno-dsp
Use (do not use) revision 1 of the MIPS DSP ASE.
This option defines the preprocessor macro __mips_dsp. It also defines __mips_dsp_rev to 1.
-mdspr2
-mno-dspr2
Use (do not use) revision 2 of the MIPS DSP ASE.
This option defines the preprocessor macros __mips_dsp and __mips_dspr2. It also defines
__mips_dsp_rev to 2.
-msmartmips
-mno-smartmips
Use (do not use) the MIPS SmartMIPS ASE.
-mpaired-single
-mno-paired-single
Use (do not use) paired-single floating-point instructions.
This option requires hardware floating-point support to be enabled.
-mdmx
-mno-mdmx
Use (do not use) MIPS Digital Media Extension instructions. This option can only be used when
generating 64-bit code and requires hardware floating-point support to be enabled.
-mips3d
-mno-mips3d
Use (do not use) the MIPS-3D ASE. The option -mips3d implies -mpaired-single.
-mmt
-mno-mt
Use (do not use) MT Multithreading instructions.
-mmcu
-mno-mcu
Use (do not use) the MIPS MCU ASE instructions.
-mlong64
Force "long" types to be 64 bits wide. See -mlong32 for an explanation of the default and the way
that the pointer size is determined.
-mlong32
Force "long", "int", and pointer types to be 32 bits wide.
The default size of "int"s, "long"s and pointers depends on the ABI. All the supported ABIs use
32-bit "int"s. The n64 ABI uses 64-bit "long"s, as does the 64-bit EABI; the others use 32-bit
"long"s. Pointers are the same size as "long"s, or the same size as integer registers, whichever is
smaller.
-msym32
-mno-sym32
Assume (do not assume) that all symbols have 32-bit values, regardless of the selected ABI. This
option is useful in combination with -mabi=64 and -mno-abicalls because it allows GCC to generate
shorter and faster references to symbolic addresses.
-G num
Put definitions of externally-visible data in a small data section if that data is no bigger than num
bytes. GCC can then generate more efficient accesses to the data; see -mgpopt for details.
The default -G option depends on the configuration.
-mlocal-sdata
-mno-local-sdata
Extend (do not extend) the -G behavior to local data too, such as to static variables in C.
-mlocal-sdata is the default for all configurations.
If the linker complains that an application is using too much small data, you might want to try
rebuilding the less performance-critical parts with -mno-local-sdata. You might also want to build
large libraries with -mno-local-sdata, so that the libraries leave more room for the main program.
-mextern-sdata
-mno-extern-sdata
Assume (do not assume) that externally-defined data is in a small data section if the size of that
data is within the -G limit. -mextern-sdata is the default for all configurations.
If you compile a module Mod with -mextern-sdata -G num -mgpopt, and Mod references a variable Var
that is no bigger than num bytes, you must make sure that Var is placed in a small data section. If
Var is defined by another module, you must either compile that module with a high-enough -G setting
or attach a "section" attribute to Var's definition. If Var is common, you must link the application
with a high-enough -G setting.
The easiest way of satisfying these restrictions is to compile and link every module with the same -G
option. However, you may wish to build a library that supports several different small data limits.
You can do this by compiling the library with the highest supported -G setting and additionally using
-mno-extern-sdata to stop the library from making assumptions about externally-defined data.
-mgpopt
-mno-gpopt
Use (do not use) GP-relative accesses for symbols that are known to be in a small data section; see
-G, -mlocal-sdata and -mextern-sdata. -mgpopt is the default for all configurations.
-mno-gpopt is useful for cases where the $gp register might not hold the value of "_gp". For
example, if the code is part of a library that might be used in a boot monitor, programs that call
boot monitor routines pass an unknown value in $gp. (In such situations, the boot monitor itself is
usually compiled with -G0.)
-mno-gpopt implies -mno-local-sdata and -mno-extern-sdata.
-membedded-data
-mno-embedded-data
Allocate variables to the read-only data section first if possible, then next in the small data
section if possible, otherwise in data. This gives slightly slower code than the default, but
reduces the amount of RAM required when executing, and thus may be preferred for some embedded
systems.
-muninit-const-in-rodata
-mno-uninit-const-in-rodata
Put uninitialized "const" variables in the read-only data section. This option is only meaningful in
conjunction with -membedded-data.
-mcode-readable=setting
Specify whether GCC may generate code that reads from executable sections. There are three possible
settings:
-mcode-readable=yes
Instructions may freely access executable sections. This is the default setting.
-mcode-readable=pcrel
MIPS16 PC-relative load instructions can access executable sections, but other instructions must
not do so. This option is useful on 4KSc and 4KSd processors when the code TLBs have the Read
Inhibit bit set. It is also useful on processors that can be configured to have a dual
instruction/data SRAM interface and that, like the M4K, automatically redirect PC-relative loads
to the instruction RAM.
-mcode-readable=no
Instructions must not access executable sections. This option can be useful on targets that are
configured to have a dual instruction/data SRAM interface but that (unlike the M4K) do not
automatically redirect PC-relative loads to the instruction RAM.
-msplit-addresses
-mno-split-addresses
Enable (disable) use of the "%hi()" and "%lo()" assembler relocation operators. This option has been
superseded by -mexplicit-relocs but is retained for backwards compatibility.
-mexplicit-relocs
-mno-explicit-relocs
Use (do not use) assembler relocation operators when dealing with symbolic addresses. The
alternative, selected by -mno-explicit-relocs, is to use assembler macros instead.
-mexplicit-relocs is the default if GCC was configured to use an assembler that supports relocation
operators.
-mcheck-zero-division
-mno-check-zero-division
Trap (do not trap) on integer division by zero.
The default is -mcheck-zero-division.
-mdivide-traps
-mdivide-breaks
MIPS systems check for division by zero by generating either a conditional trap or a break
instruction. Using traps results in smaller code, but is only supported on MIPS II and later. Also,
some versions of the Linux kernel have a bug that prevents trap from generating the proper signal
("SIGFPE"). Use -mdivide-traps to allow conditional traps on architectures that support them and
-mdivide-breaks to force the use of breaks.
The default is usually -mdivide-traps, but this can be overridden at configure time using
--with-divide=breaks. Divide-by-zero checks can be completely disabled using
-mno-check-zero-division.
-mmemcpy
-mno-memcpy
Force (do not force) the use of "memcpy()" for non-trivial block moves. The default is -mno-memcpy,
which allows GCC to inline most constant-sized copies.
-mlong-calls
-mno-long-calls
Disable (do not disable) use of the "jal" instruction. Calling functions using "jal" is more
efficient but requires the caller and callee to be in the same 256 megabyte segment.
This option has no effect on abicalls code. The default is -mno-long-calls.
-mmad
-mno-mad
Enable (disable) use of the "mad", "madu" and "mul" instructions, as provided by the R4650 ISA.
-mfused-madd
-mno-fused-madd
Enable (disable) use of the floating-point multiply-accumulate instructions, when they are available.
The default is -mfused-madd.
On the R8000 CPU when multiply-accumulate instructions are used, the intermediate product is
calculated to infinite precision and is not subject to the FCSR Flush to Zero bit. This may be
undesirable in some circumstances. On other processors the result is numerically identical to the
equivalent computation using separate multiply, add, subtract and negate instructions.
-nocpp
Tell the MIPS assembler to not run its preprocessor over user assembler files (with a .s suffix) when
assembling them.
-mfix-24k
-mno-fix-24k
Work around the 24K E48 (lost data on stores during refill) errata. The workarounds are implemented
by the assembler rather than by GCC.
-mfix-r4000
-mno-fix-r4000
Work around certain R4000 CPU errata:
- A double-word or a variable shift may give an incorrect result if executed immediately after
starting an integer division.
- A double-word or a variable shift may give an incorrect result if executed while an integer
multiplication is in progress.
- An integer division may give an incorrect result if started in a delay slot of a taken branch or
a jump.
-mfix-r4400
-mno-fix-r4400
Work around certain R4400 CPU errata:
- A double-word or a variable shift may give an incorrect result if executed immediately after
starting an integer division.
-mfix-r10000
-mno-fix-r10000
Work around certain R10000 errata:
- "ll"/"sc" sequences may not behave atomically on revisions prior to 3.0. They may deadlock on
revisions 2.6 and earlier.
This option can only be used if the target architecture supports branch-likely instructions.
-mfix-r10000 is the default when -march=r10000 is used; -mno-fix-r10000 is the default otherwise.
-mfix-vr4120
-mno-fix-vr4120
Work around certain VR4120 errata:
- "dmultu" does not always produce the correct result.
- "div" and "ddiv" do not always produce the correct result if one of the operands is negative.
The workarounds for the division errata rely on special functions in libgcc.a. At present, these
functions are only provided by the "mips64vr*-elf" configurations.
Other VR4120 errata require a NOP to be inserted between certain pairs of instructions. These errata
are handled by the assembler, not by GCC itself.
-mfix-vr4130
Work around the VR4130 "mflo"/"mfhi" errata. The workarounds are implemented by the assembler rather
than by GCC, although GCC avoids using "mflo" and "mfhi" if the VR4130 "macc", "macchi", "dmacc" and
"dmacchi" instructions are available instead.
-mfix-sb1
-mno-fix-sb1
Work around certain SB-1 CPU core errata. (This flag currently works around the SB-1 revision 2 "F1"
and "F2" floating-point errata.)
-mr10k-cache-barrier=setting
Specify whether GCC should insert cache barriers to avoid the side-effects of speculation on R10K
processors.
In common with many processors, the R10K tries to predict the outcome of a conditional branch and
speculatively executes instructions from the "taken" branch. It later aborts these instructions if
the predicted outcome is wrong. However, on the R10K, even aborted instructions can have side
effects.
This problem only affects kernel stores and, depending on the system, kernel loads. As an example, a
speculatively-executed store may load the target memory into cache and mark the cache line as dirty,
even if the store itself is later aborted. If a DMA operation writes to the same area of memory
before the "dirty" line is flushed, the cached data overwrites the DMA-ed data. See the R10K
processor manual for a full description, including other potential problems.
One workaround is to insert cache barrier instructions before every memory access that might be
speculatively executed and that might have side effects even if aborted.
-mr10k-cache-barrier=setting controls GCC's implementation of this workaround. It assumes that
aborted accesses to any byte in the following regions does not have side effects:
1. the memory occupied by the current function's stack frame;
2. the memory occupied by an incoming stack argument;
3. the memory occupied by an object with a link-time-constant address.
It is the kernel's responsibility to ensure that speculative accesses to these regions are indeed
safe.
If the input program contains a function declaration such as:
void foo (void);
then the implementation of "foo" must allow "j foo" and "jal foo" to be executed speculatively. GCC
honors this restriction for functions it compiles itself. It expects non-GCC functions (such as
hand-written assembly code) to do the same.
The option has three forms:
-mr10k-cache-barrier=load-store
Insert a cache barrier before a load or store that might be speculatively executed and that might
have side effects even if aborted.
-mr10k-cache-barrier=store
Insert a cache barrier before a store that might be speculatively executed and that might have
side effects even if aborted.
-mr10k-cache-barrier=none
Disable the insertion of cache barriers. This is the default setting.
-mflush-func=func
-mno-flush-func
Specifies the function to call to flush the I and D caches, or to not call any such function. If
called, the function must take the same arguments as the common "_flush_func()", that is, the address
of the memory range for which the cache is being flushed, the size of the memory range, and the
number 3 (to flush both caches). The default depends on the target GCC was configured for, but
commonly is either _flush_func or __cpu_flush.
mbranch-cost=num
Set the cost of branches to roughly num "simple" instructions. This cost is only a heuristic and is
not guaranteed to produce consistent results across releases. A zero cost redundantly selects the
default, which is based on the -mtune setting.
-mbranch-likely
-mno-branch-likely
Enable or disable use of Branch Likely instructions, regardless of the default for the selected
architecture. By default, Branch Likely instructions may be generated if they are supported by the
selected architecture. An exception is for the MIPS32 and MIPS64 architectures and processors that
implement those architectures; for those, Branch Likely instructions are not be generated by default
because the MIPS32 and MIPS64 architectures specifically deprecate their use.
-mfp-exceptions
-mno-fp-exceptions
Specifies whether FP exceptions are enabled. This affects how FP instructions are scheduled for some
processors. The default is that FP exceptions are enabled.
For instance, on the SB-1, if FP exceptions are disabled, and we are emitting 64-bit code, then we
can use both FP pipes. Otherwise, we can only use one FP pipe.
-mvr4130-align
-mno-vr4130-align
The VR4130 pipeline is two-way superscalar, but can only issue two instructions together if the first
one is 8-byte aligned. When this option is enabled, GCC aligns pairs of instructions that it thinks
should execute in parallel.
This option only has an effect when optimizing for the VR4130. It normally makes code faster, but at
the expense of making it bigger. It is enabled by default at optimization level -O3.
-msynci
-mno-synci
Enable (disable) generation of "synci" instructions on architectures that support it. The "synci"
instructions (if enabled) are generated when "__builtin___clear_cache()" is compiled.
This option defaults to "-mno-synci", but the default can be overridden by configuring with
"--with-synci".
When compiling code for single processor systems, it is generally safe to use "synci". However, on
many multi-core (SMP) systems, it does not invalidate the instruction caches on all cores and may
lead to undefined behavior.
-mrelax-pic-calls
-mno-relax-pic-calls
Try to turn PIC calls that are normally dispatched via register $25 into direct calls. This is only
possible if the linker can resolve the destination at link-time and if the destination is within
range for a direct call.
-mrelax-pic-calls is the default if GCC was configured to use an assembler and a linker that support
the ".reloc" assembly directive and "-mexplicit-relocs" is in effect. With "-mno-explicit-relocs",
this optimization can be performed by the assembler and the linker alone without help from the
compiler.
-mmcount-ra-address
-mno-mcount-ra-address
Emit (do not emit) code that allows "_mcount" to modify the calling function's return address. When
enabled, this option extends the usual "_mcount" interface with a new ra-address parameter, which has
type "intptr_t *" and is passed in register $12. "_mcount" can then modify the return address by
doing both of the following:
• Returning the new address in register $31.
• Storing the new address in "*ra-address", if ra-address is nonnull.
The default is -mno-mcount-ra-address.
MMIX Options
These options are defined for the MMIX:
-mlibfuncs
-mno-libfuncs
Specify that intrinsic library functions are being compiled, passing all values in registers, no
matter the size.
-mepsilon
-mno-epsilon
Generate floating-point comparison instructions that compare with respect to the "rE" epsilon
register.
-mabi=mmixware
-mabi=gnu
Generate code that passes function parameters and return values that (in the called function) are
seen as registers $0 and up, as opposed to the GNU ABI which uses global registers $231 and up.
-mzero-extend
-mno-zero-extend
When reading data from memory in sizes shorter than 64 bits, use (do not use) zero-extending load
instructions by default, rather than sign-extending ones.
-mknuthdiv
-mno-knuthdiv
Make the result of a division yielding a remainder have the same sign as the divisor. With the
default, -mno-knuthdiv, the sign of the remainder follows the sign of the dividend. Both methods are
arithmetically valid, the latter being almost exclusively used.
-mtoplevel-symbols
-mno-toplevel-symbols
Prepend (do not prepend) a : to all global symbols, so the assembly code can be used with the
"PREFIX" assembly directive.
-melf
Generate an executable in the ELF format, rather than the default mmo format used by the mmix
simulator.
-mbranch-predict
-mno-branch-predict
Use (do not use) the probable-branch instructions, when static branch prediction indicates a probable
branch.
-mbase-addresses
-mno-base-addresses
Generate (do not generate) code that uses base addresses. Using a base address automatically
generates a request (handled by the assembler and the linker) for a constant to be set up in a global
register. The register is used for one or more base address requests within the range 0 to 255 from
the value held in the register. The generally leads to short and fast code, but the number of
different data items that can be addressed is limited. This means that a program that uses lots of
static data may require -mno-base-addresses.
-msingle-exit
-mno-single-exit
Force (do not force) generated code to have a single exit point in each function.
MN10300 Options
These -m options are defined for Matsushita MN10300 architectures:
-mmult-bug
Generate code to avoid bugs in the multiply instructions for the MN10300 processors. This is the
default.
-mno-mult-bug
Do not generate code to avoid bugs in the multiply instructions for the MN10300 processors.
-mam33
Generate code using features specific to the AM33 processor.
-mno-am33
Do not generate code using features specific to the AM33 processor. This is the default.
-mam33-2
Generate code using features specific to the AM33/2.0 processor.
-mam34
Generate code using features specific to the AM34 processor.
-mtune=cpu-type
Use the timing characteristics of the indicated CPU type when scheduling instructions. This does not
change the targeted processor type. The CPU type must be one of mn10300, am33, am33-2 or am34.
-mreturn-pointer-on-d0
When generating a function that returns a pointer, return the pointer in both "a0" and "d0".
Otherwise, the pointer is returned only in "a0", and attempts to call such functions without a
prototype result in errors. Note that this option is on by default; use -mno-return-pointer-on-d0 to
disable it.
-mno-crt0
Do not link in the C run-time initialization object file.
-mrelax
Indicate to the linker that it should perform a relaxation optimization pass to shorten branches,
calls and absolute memory addresses. This option only has an effect when used on the command line
for the final link step.
This option makes symbolic debugging impossible.
-mliw
Allow the compiler to generate Long Instruction Word instructions if the target is the AM33 or later.
This is the default. This option defines the preprocessor macro __LIW__.
-mnoliw
Do not allow the compiler to generate Long Instruction Word instructions. This option defines the
preprocessor macro __NO_LIW__.
-msetlb
Allow the compiler to generate the SETLB and Lcc instructions if the target is the AM33 or later.
This is the default. This option defines the preprocessor macro __SETLB__.
-mnosetlb
Do not allow the compiler to generate SETLB or Lcc instructions. This option defines the
preprocessor macro __NO_SETLB__.
Moxie Options
-meb
Generate big-endian code. This is the default for moxie-*-* configurations.
-mel
Generate little-endian code.
-mno-crt0
Do not link in the C run-time initialization object file.
PDP-11 Options
These options are defined for the PDP-11:
-mfpu
Use hardware FPP floating point. This is the default. (FIS floating point on the PDP-11/40 is not
supported.)
-msoft-float
Do not use hardware floating point.
-mac0
Return floating-point results in ac0 (fr0 in Unix assembler syntax).
-mno-ac0
Return floating-point results in memory. This is the default.
-m40
Generate code for a PDP-11/40.
-m45
Generate code for a PDP-11/45. This is the default.
-m10
Generate code for a PDP-11/10.
-mbcopy-builtin
Use inline "movmemhi" patterns for copying memory. This is the default.
-mbcopy
Do not use inline "movmemhi" patterns for copying memory.
-mint16
-mno-int32
Use 16-bit "int". This is the default.
-mint32
-mno-int16
Use 32-bit "int".
-mfloat64
-mno-float32
Use 64-bit "float". This is the default.
-mfloat32
-mno-float64
Use 32-bit "float".
-mabshi
Use "abshi2" pattern. This is the default.
-mno-abshi
Do not use "abshi2" pattern.
-mbranch-expensive
Pretend that branches are expensive. This is for experimenting with code generation only.
-mbranch-cheap
Do not pretend that branches are expensive. This is the default.
-munix-asm
Use Unix assembler syntax. This is the default when configured for pdp11-*-bsd.
-mdec-asm
Use DEC assembler syntax. This is the default when configured for any PDP-11 target other than
pdp11-*-bsd.
picoChip Options
These -m options are defined for picoChip implementations:
-mae=ae_type
Set the instruction set, register set, and instruction scheduling parameters for array element type
ae_type. Supported values for ae_type are ANY, MUL, and MAC.
-mae=ANY selects a completely generic AE type. Code generated with this option runs on any of the
other AE types. The code is not as efficient as it would be if compiled for a specific AE type, and
some types of operation (e.g., multiplication) do not work properly on all types of AE.
-mae=MUL selects a MUL AE type. This is the most useful AE type for compiled code, and is the
default.
-mae=MAC selects a DSP-style MAC AE. Code compiled with this option may suffer from poor performance
of byte (char) manipulation, since the DSP AE does not provide hardware support for byte load/stores.
-msymbol-as-address
Enable the compiler to directly use a symbol name as an address in a load/store instruction, without
first loading it into a register. Typically, the use of this option generates larger programs, which
run faster than when the option isn't used. However, the results vary from program to program, so it
is left as a user option, rather than being permanently enabled.
-mno-inefficient-warnings
Disables warnings about the generation of inefficient code. These warnings can be generated, for
example, when compiling code that performs byte-level memory operations on the MAC AE type. The MAC
AE has no hardware support for byte-level memory operations, so all byte load/stores must be
synthesized from word load/store operations. This is inefficient and a warning is generated to
indicate that you should rewrite the code to avoid byte operations, or to target an AE type that has
the necessary hardware support. This option disables these warnings.
PowerPC Options
These are listed under
RL78 Options
-msim
Links in additional target libraries to support operation within a simulator.
-mmul=none
-mmul=g13
-mmul=rl78
Specifies the type of hardware multiplication support to be used. The default is "none", which uses
software multiplication functions. The "g13" option is for the hardware multiply/divide peripheral
only on the RL78/G13 targets. The "rl78" option is for the standard hardware multiplication defined
in the RL78 software manual.
IBM RS/6000 and PowerPC Options
These -m options are defined for the IBM RS/6000 and PowerPC:
-mpowerpc-gpopt
-mno-powerpc-gpopt
-mpowerpc-gfxopt
-mno-powerpc-gfxopt
-mpowerpc64
-mno-powerpc64
-mmfcrf
-mno-mfcrf
-mpopcntb
-mno-popcntb
-mpopcntd
-mno-popcntd
-mfprnd
-mno-fprnd
-mcmpb
-mno-cmpb
-mmfpgpr
-mno-mfpgpr
-mhard-dfp
-mno-hard-dfp
You use these options to specify which instructions are available on the processor you are using.
The default value of these options is determined when configuring GCC. Specifying the -mcpu=cpu_type
overrides the specification of these options. We recommend you use the -mcpu=cpu_type option rather
than the options listed above.
Specifying -mpowerpc-gpopt allows GCC to use the optional PowerPC architecture instructions in the
General Purpose group, including floating-point square root. Specifying -mpowerpc-gfxopt allows GCC
to use the optional PowerPC architecture instructions in the Graphics group, including floating-point
select.
The -mmfcrf option allows GCC to generate the move from condition register field instruction
implemented on the POWER4 processor and other processors that support the PowerPC V2.01 architecture.
The -mpopcntb option allows GCC to generate the popcount and double-precision FP reciprocal estimate
instruction implemented on the POWER5 processor and other processors that support the PowerPC V2.02
architecture. The -mpopcntd option allows GCC to generate the popcount instruction implemented on
the POWER7 processor and other processors that support the PowerPC V2.06 architecture. The -mfprnd
option allows GCC to generate the FP round to integer instructions implemented on the POWER5+
processor and other processors that support the PowerPC V2.03 architecture. The -mcmpb option allows
GCC to generate the compare bytes instruction implemented on the POWER6 processor and other
processors that support the PowerPC V2.05 architecture. The -mmfpgpr option allows GCC to generate
the FP move to/from general-purpose register instructions implemented on the POWER6X processor and
other processors that support the extended PowerPC V2.05 architecture. The -mhard-dfp option allows
GCC to generate the decimal floating-point instructions implemented on some POWER processors.
The -mpowerpc64 option allows GCC to generate the additional 64-bit instructions that are found in
the full PowerPC64 architecture and to treat GPRs as 64-bit, doubleword quantities. GCC defaults to
-mno-powerpc64.
-mcpu=cpu_type
Set architecture type, register usage, and instruction scheduling parameters for machine type
cpu_type. Supported values for cpu_type are 401, 403, 405, 405fp, 440, 440fp, 464, 464fp, 476,
476fp, 505, 601, 602, 603, 603e, 604, 604e, 620, 630, 740, 7400, 7450, 750, 801, 821, 823, 860, 970,
8540, a2, e300c2, e300c3, e500mc, e500mc64, e5500, e6500, ec603e, G3, G4, G5, titan, power3, power4,
power5, power5+, power6, power6x, power7, power8, powerpc, powerpc64, powerpc64le, and rs64.
-mcpu=powerpc, -mcpu=powerpc64, and -mcpu=powerpc64le specify pure 32-bit PowerPC (either endian),
64-bit big endian PowerPC and 64-bit little endian PowerPC architecture machine types, with an
appropriate, generic processor model assumed for scheduling purposes.
The other options specify a specific processor. Code generated under those options runs best on that
processor, and may not run at all on others.
The -mcpu options automatically enable or disable the following options:
-maltivec -mfprnd -mhard-float -mmfcrf -mmultiple -mpopcntb -mpopcntd -mpowerpc64
-mpowerpc-gpopt -mpowerpc-gfxopt -msingle-float -mdouble-float -msimple-fpu -mstring -mmulhw
-mdlmzb -mmfpgpr -mvsx -mcrypto -mdirect-move -mpower8-fusion -mpower8-vector -mquad-memory
-mquad-memory-atomic
The particular options set for any particular CPU varies between compiler versions, depending on what
setting seems to produce optimal code for that CPU; it doesn't necessarily reflect the actual
hardware's capabilities. If you wish to set an individual option to a particular value, you may
specify it after the -mcpu option, like -mcpu=970 -mno-altivec.
On AIX, the -maltivec and -mpowerpc64 options are not enabled or disabled by the -mcpu option at
present because AIX does not have full support for these options. You may still enable or disable
them individually if you're sure it'll work in your environment.
-mtune=cpu_type
Set the instruction scheduling parameters for machine type cpu_type, but do not set the architecture
type or register usage, as -mcpu=cpu_type does. The same values for cpu_type are used for -mtune as
for -mcpu. If both are specified, the code generated uses the architecture and registers set by
-mcpu, but the scheduling parameters set by -mtune.
-mcmodel=small
Generate PowerPC64 code for the small model: The TOC is limited to 64k.
-mcmodel=medium
Generate PowerPC64 code for the medium model: The TOC and other static data may be up to a total of
4G in size.
-mcmodel=large
Generate PowerPC64 code for the large model: The TOC may be up to 4G in size. Other data and code is
only limited by the 64-bit address space.
-maltivec
-mno-altivec
Generate code that uses (does not use) AltiVec instructions, and also enable the use of built-in
functions that allow more direct access to the AltiVec instruction set. You may also need to set
-mabi=altivec to adjust the current ABI with AltiVec ABI enhancements.
When -maltivec is used, rather than -maltivec=le or -maltivec=be, the element order for Altivec
intrinsics such as "vec_splat", "vec_extract", and "vec_insert" will match array element order
corresponding to the endianness of the target. That is, element zero identifies the leftmost element
in a vector register when targeting a big-endian platform, and identifies the rightmost element in a
vector register when targeting a little-endian platform.
-maltivec=be
Generate Altivec instructions using big-endian element order, regardless of whether the target is
big- or little-endian. This is the default when targeting a big-endian platform.
The element order is used to interpret element numbers in Altivec intrinsics such as "vec_splat",
"vec_extract", and "vec_insert". By default, these will match array element order corresponding to
the endianness for the target.
-maltivec=le
Generate Altivec instructions using little-endian element order, regardless of whether the target is
big- or little-endian. This is the default when targeting a little-endian platform. This option is
currently ignored when targeting a big-endian platform.
The element order is used to interpret element numbers in Altivec intrinsics such as "vec_splat",
"vec_extract", and "vec_insert". By default, these will match array element order corresponding to
the endianness for the target.
-mvrsave
-mno-vrsave
Generate VRSAVE instructions when generating AltiVec code.
-mgen-cell-microcode
Generate Cell microcode instructions.
-mwarn-cell-microcode
Warn when a Cell microcode instruction is emitted. An example of a Cell microcode instruction is a
variable shift.
-msecure-plt
Generate code that allows ld and ld.so to build executables and shared libraries with non-executable
".plt" and ".got" sections. This is a PowerPC 32-bit SYSV ABI option.
-mbss-plt
Generate code that uses a BSS ".plt" section that ld.so fills in, and requires ".plt" and ".got"
sections that are both writable and executable. This is a PowerPC 32-bit SYSV ABI option.
-misel
-mno-isel
This switch enables or disables the generation of ISEL instructions.
-misel=yes/no
This switch has been deprecated. Use -misel and -mno-isel instead.
-mspe
-mno-spe
This switch enables or disables the generation of SPE simd instructions.
-mpaired
-mno-paired
This switch enables or disables the generation of PAIRED simd instructions.
-mspe=yes/no
This option has been deprecated. Use -mspe and -mno-spe instead.
-mvsx
-mno-vsx
Generate code that uses (does not use) vector/scalar (VSX) instructions, and also enable the use of
built-in functions that allow more direct access to the VSX instruction set.
-mcrypto
-mno-crypto
Enable the use (disable) of the built-in functions that allow direct access to the cryptographic
instructions that were added in version 2.07 of the PowerPC ISA.
-mdirect-move
-mno-direct-move
Generate code that uses (does not use) the instructions to move data between the general purpose
registers and the vector/scalar (VSX) registers that were added in version 2.07 of the PowerPC ISA.
-mpower8-fusion
-mno-power8-fusion
Generate code that keeps (does not keeps) some integer operations adjacent so that the instructions
can be fused together on power8 and later processors.
-mpower8-vector
-mno-power8-vector
Generate code that uses (does not use) the vector and scalar instructions that were added in version
2.07 of the PowerPC ISA. Also enable the use of built-in functions that allow more direct access to
the vector instructions.
-mquad-memory
-mno-quad-memory
Generate code that uses (does not use) the non-atomic quad word memory instructions. The
-mquad-memory option requires use of 64-bit mode.
-mquad-memory-atomic
-mno-quad-memory-atomic
Generate code that uses (does not use) the atomic quad word memory instructions. The
-mquad-memory-atomic option requires use of 64-bit mode.
-mfloat-gprs=yes/single/double/no
-mfloat-gprs
This switch enables or disables the generation of floating-point operations on the general-purpose
registers for architectures that support it.
The argument yes or single enables the use of single-precision floating-point operations.
The argument double enables the use of single and double-precision floating-point operations.
The argument no disables floating-point operations on the general-purpose registers.
This option is currently only available on the MPC854x.
-m32
-m64
Generate code for 32-bit or 64-bit environments of Darwin and SVR4 targets (including GNU/Linux).
The 32-bit environment sets int, long and pointer to 32 bits and generates code that runs on any
PowerPC variant. The 64-bit environment sets int to 32 bits and long and pointer to 64 bits, and
generates code for PowerPC64, as for -mpowerpc64.
-mfull-toc
-mno-fp-in-toc
-mno-sum-in-toc
-mminimal-toc
Modify generation of the TOC (Table Of Contents), which is created for every executable file. The
-mfull-toc option is selected by default. In that case, GCC allocates at least one TOC entry for
each unique non-automatic variable reference in your program. GCC also places floating-point
constants in the TOC. However, only 16,384 entries are available in the TOC.
If you receive a linker error message that saying you have overflowed the available TOC space, you
can reduce the amount of TOC space used with the -mno-fp-in-toc and -mno-sum-in-toc options.
-mno-fp-in-toc prevents GCC from putting floating-point constants in the TOC and -mno-sum-in-toc
forces GCC to generate code to calculate the sum of an address and a constant at run time instead of
putting that sum into the TOC. You may specify one or both of these options. Each causes GCC to
produce very slightly slower and larger code at the expense of conserving TOC space.
If you still run out of space in the TOC even when you specify both of these options, specify
-mminimal-toc instead. This option causes GCC to make only one TOC entry for every file. When you
specify this option, GCC produces code that is slower and larger but which uses extremely little TOC
space. You may wish to use this option only on files that contain less frequently-executed code.
-maix64
-maix32
Enable 64-bit AIX ABI and calling convention: 64-bit pointers, 64-bit "long" type, and the
infrastructure needed to support them. Specifying -maix64 implies -mpowerpc64, while -maix32
disables the 64-bit ABI and implies -mno-powerpc64. GCC defaults to -maix32.
-mxl-compat
-mno-xl-compat
Produce code that conforms more closely to IBM XL compiler semantics when using AIX-compatible ABI.
Pass floating-point arguments to prototyped functions beyond the register save area (RSA) on the
stack in addition to argument FPRs. Do not assume that most significant double in 128-bit long
double value is properly rounded when comparing values and converting to double. Use XL symbol names
for long double support routines.
The AIX calling convention was extended but not initially documented to handle an obscure K&R C case
of calling a function that takes the address of its arguments with fewer arguments than declared.
IBM XL compilers access floating-point arguments that do not fit in the RSA from the stack when a
subroutine is compiled without optimization. Because always storing floating-point arguments on the
stack is inefficient and rarely needed, this option is not enabled by default and only is necessary
when calling subroutines compiled by IBM XL compilers without optimization.
-mpe
Support IBM RS/6000 SP Parallel Environment (PE). Link an application written to use message passing
with special startup code to enable the application to run. The system must have PE installed in the
standard location (/usr/lpp/ppe.poe/), or the specs file must be overridden with the -specs= option
to specify the appropriate directory location. The Parallel Environment does not support threads, so
the -mpe option and the -pthread option are incompatible.
-malign-natural
-malign-power
On AIX, 32-bit Darwin, and 64-bit PowerPC GNU/Linux, the option -malign-natural overrides the ABI-
defined alignment of larger types, such as floating-point doubles, on their natural size-based
boundary. The option -malign-power instructs GCC to follow the ABI-specified alignment rules. GCC
defaults to the standard alignment defined in the ABI.
On 64-bit Darwin, natural alignment is the default, and -malign-power is not supported.
-msoft-float
-mhard-float
Generate code that does not use (uses) the floating-point register set. Software floating-point
emulation is provided if you use the -msoft-float option, and pass the option to GCC when linking.
-msingle-float
-mdouble-float
Generate code for single- or double-precision floating-point operations. -mdouble-float implies
-msingle-float.
-msimple-fpu
Do not generate "sqrt" and "div" instructions for hardware floating-point unit.
-mfpu=name
Specify type of floating-point unit. Valid values for name are sp_lite (equivalent to -msingle-float
-msimple-fpu), dp_lite (equivalent to -mdouble-float -msimple-fpu), sp_full (equivalent to
-msingle-float), and dp_full (equivalent to -mdouble-float).
-mxilinx-fpu
Perform optimizations for the floating-point unit on Xilinx PPC 405/440.
-mmultiple
-mno-multiple
Generate code that uses (does not use) the load multiple word instructions and the store multiple
word instructions. These instructions are generated by default on POWER systems, and not generated
on PowerPC systems. Do not use -mmultiple on little-endian PowerPC systems, since those instructions
do not work when the processor is in little-endian mode. The exceptions are PPC740 and PPC750 which
permit these instructions in little-endian mode.
-mstring
-mno-string
Generate code that uses (does not use) the load string instructions and the store string word
instructions to save multiple registers and do small block moves. These instructions are generated
by default on POWER systems, and not generated on PowerPC systems. Do not use -mstring on little-
endian PowerPC systems, since those instructions do not work when the processor is in little-endian
mode. The exceptions are PPC740 and PPC750 which permit these instructions in little-endian mode.
-mupdate
-mno-update
Generate code that uses (does not use) the load or store instructions that update the base register
to the address of the calculated memory location. These instructions are generated by default. If
you use -mno-update, there is a small window between the time that the stack pointer is updated and
the address of the previous frame is stored, which means code that walks the stack frame across
interrupts or signals may get corrupted data.
-mavoid-indexed-addresses
-mno-avoid-indexed-addresses
Generate code that tries to avoid (not avoid) the use of indexed load or store instructions. These
instructions can incur a performance penalty on Power6 processors in certain situations, such as when
stepping through large arrays that cross a 16M boundary. This option is enabled by default when
targeting Power6 and disabled otherwise.
-mfused-madd
-mno-fused-madd
Generate code that uses (does not use) the floating-point multiply and accumulate instructions.
These instructions are generated by default if hardware floating point is used. The machine-
dependent -mfused-madd option is now mapped to the machine-independent -ffp-contract=fast option, and
-mno-fused-madd is mapped to -ffp-contract=off.
-mmulhw
-mno-mulhw
Generate code that uses (does not use) the half-word multiply and multiply-accumulate instructions on
the IBM 405, 440, 464 and 476 processors. These instructions are generated by default when targeting
those processors.
-mdlmzb
-mno-dlmzb
Generate code that uses (does not use) the string-search dlmzb instruction on the IBM 405, 440, 464
and 476 processors. This instruction is generated by default when targeting those processors.
-mno-bit-align
-mbit-align
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems do not (do) force structures and unions that contain bit-
fields to be aligned to the base type of the bit-field.
For example, by default a structure containing nothing but 8 "unsigned" bit-fields of length 1 is
aligned to a 4-byte boundary and has a size of 4 bytes. By using -mno-bit-align, the structure is
aligned to a 1-byte boundary and is 1 byte in size.
-mno-strict-align
-mstrict-align
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems do not (do) assume that unaligned memory references are
handled by the system.
-mrelocatable
-mno-relocatable
Generate code that allows (does not allow) a static executable to be relocated to a different address
at run time. A simple embedded PowerPC system loader should relocate the entire contents of ".got2"
and 4-byte locations listed in the ".fixup" section, a table of 32-bit addresses generated by this
option. For this to work, all objects linked together must be compiled with -mrelocatable or
-mrelocatable-lib. -mrelocatable code aligns the stack to an 8-byte boundary.
-mrelocatable-lib
-mno-relocatable-lib
Like -mrelocatable, -mrelocatable-lib generates a ".fixup" section to allow static executables to be
relocated at run time, but -mrelocatable-lib does not use the smaller stack alignment of
-mrelocatable. Objects compiled with -mrelocatable-lib may be linked with objects compiled with any
combination of the -mrelocatable options.
-mno-toc
-mtoc
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems do not (do) assume that register 2 contains a pointer to a
global area pointing to the addresses used in the program.
-mlittle
-mlittle-endian
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems compile code for the processor in little-endian mode. The
-mlittle-endian option is the same as -mlittle.
-mbig
-mbig-endian
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems compile code for the processor in big-endian mode. The
-mbig-endian option is the same as -mbig.
-mdynamic-no-pic
On Darwin and Mac OS X systems, compile code so that it is not relocatable, but that its external
references are relocatable. The resulting code is suitable for applications, but not shared
libraries.
-msingle-pic-base
Treat the register used for PIC addressing as read-only, rather than loading it in the prologue for
each function. The runtime system is responsible for initializing this register with an appropriate
value before execution begins.
-mprioritize-restricted-insns=priority
This option controls the priority that is assigned to dispatch-slot restricted instructions during
the second scheduling pass. The argument priority takes the value 0, 1, or 2 to assign no, highest,
or second-highest (respectively) priority to dispatch-slot restricted instructions.
-msched-costly-dep=dependence_type
This option controls which dependences are considered costly by the target during instruction
scheduling. The argument dependence_type takes one of the following values:
no No dependence is costly.
all All dependences are costly.
true_store_to_load
A true dependence from store to load is costly.
store_to_load
Any dependence from store to load is costly.
number
Any dependence for which the latency is greater than or equal to number is costly.
-minsert-sched-nops=scheme
This option controls which NOP insertion scheme is used during the second scheduling pass. The
argument scheme takes one of the following values:
no Don't insert NOPs.
pad Pad with NOPs any dispatch group that has vacant issue slots, according to the scheduler's
grouping.
regroup_exact
Insert NOPs to force costly dependent insns into separate groups. Insert exactly as many NOPs as
needed to force an insn to a new group, according to the estimated processor grouping.
number
Insert NOPs to force costly dependent insns into separate groups. Insert number NOPs to force an
insn to a new group.
-mcall-sysv
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems compile code using calling conventions that adhere to the
March 1995 draft of the System V Application Binary Interface, PowerPC processor supplement. This is
the default unless you configured GCC using powerpc-*-eabiaix.
-mcall-sysv-eabi
-mcall-eabi
Specify both -mcall-sysv and -meabi options.
-mcall-sysv-noeabi
Specify both -mcall-sysv and -mno-eabi options.
-mcall-aixdesc
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems compile code for the AIX operating system.
-mcall-linux
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems compile code for the Linux-based GNU system.
-mcall-freebsd
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems compile code for the FreeBSD operating system.
-mcall-netbsd
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems compile code for the NetBSD operating system.
-mcall-openbsd
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems compile code for the OpenBSD operating system.
-maix-struct-return
Return all structures in memory (as specified by the AIX ABI).
-msvr4-struct-return
Return structures smaller than 8 bytes in registers (as specified by the SVR4 ABI).
-mabi=abi-type
Extend the current ABI with a particular extension, or remove such extension. Valid values are
altivec, no-altivec, spe, no-spe, ibmlongdouble, ieeelongdouble, elfv1, elfv2.
-mabi=spe
Extend the current ABI with SPE ABI extensions. This does not change the default ABI, instead it
adds the SPE ABI extensions to the current ABI.
-mabi=no-spe
Disable Book-E SPE ABI extensions for the current ABI.
-mabi=ibmlongdouble
Change the current ABI to use IBM extended-precision long double. This is a PowerPC 32-bit SYSV ABI
option.
-mabi=ieeelongdouble
Change the current ABI to use IEEE extended-precision long double. This is a PowerPC 32-bit Linux
ABI option.
-mabi=elfv1
Change the current ABI to use the ELFv1 ABI. This is the default ABI for big-endian PowerPC 64-bit
Linux. Overriding the default ABI requires special system support and is likely to fail in
spectacular ways.
-mabi=elfv2
Change the current ABI to use the ELFv2 ABI. This is the default ABI for little-endian PowerPC
64-bit Linux. Overriding the default ABI requires special system support and is likely to fail in
spectacular ways.
-mprototype
-mno-prototype
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems assume that all calls to variable argument functions are
properly prototyped. Otherwise, the compiler must insert an instruction before every non-prototyped
call to set or clear bit 6 of the condition code register (CR) to indicate whether floating-point
values are passed in the floating-point registers in case the function takes variable arguments.
With -mprototype, only calls to prototyped variable argument functions set or clear the bit.
-msim
On embedded PowerPC systems, assume that the startup module is called sim-crt0.o and that the
standard C libraries are libsim.a and libc.a. This is the default for powerpc-*-eabisim
configurations.
-mmvme
On embedded PowerPC systems, assume that the startup module is called crt0.o and the standard C
libraries are libmvme.a and libc.a.
-mads
On embedded PowerPC systems, assume that the startup module is called crt0.o and the standard C
libraries are libads.a and libc.a.
-myellowknife
On embedded PowerPC systems, assume that the startup module is called crt0.o and the standard C
libraries are libyk.a and libc.a.
-mvxworks
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems, specify that you are compiling for a VxWorks system.
-memb
On embedded PowerPC systems, set the PPC_EMB bit in the ELF flags header to indicate that eabi
extended relocations are used.
-meabi
-mno-eabi
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems do (do not) adhere to the Embedded Applications Binary
Interface (EABI), which is a set of modifications to the System V.4 specifications. Selecting -meabi
means that the stack is aligned to an 8-byte boundary, a function "__eabi" is called from "main" to
set up the EABI environment, and the -msdata option can use both "r2" and "r13" to point to two
separate small data areas. Selecting -mno-eabi means that the stack is aligned to a 16-byte
boundary, no EABI initialization function is called from "main", and the -msdata option only uses
"r13" to point to a single small data area. The -meabi option is on by default if you configured GCC
using one of the powerpc*-*-eabi* options.
-msdata=eabi
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems, put small initialized "const" global and static data in
the .sdata2 section, which is pointed to by register "r2". Put small initialized non-"const" global
and static data in the .sdata section, which is pointed to by register "r13". Put small
uninitialized global and static data in the .sbss section, which is adjacent to the .sdata section.
The -msdata=eabi option is incompatible with the -mrelocatable option. The -msdata=eabi option also
sets the -memb option.
-msdata=sysv
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems, put small global and static data in the .sdata section,
which is pointed to by register "r13". Put small uninitialized global and static data in the .sbss
section, which is adjacent to the .sdata section. The -msdata=sysv option is incompatible with the
-mrelocatable option.
-msdata=default
-msdata
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems, if -meabi is used, compile code the same as -msdata=eabi,
otherwise compile code the same as -msdata=sysv.
-msdata=data
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems, put small global data in the .sdata section. Put small
uninitialized global data in the .sbss section. Do not use register "r13" to address small data
however. This is the default behavior unless other -msdata options are used.
-msdata=none
-mno-sdata
On embedded PowerPC systems, put all initialized global and static data in the .data section, and all
uninitialized data in the .bss section.
-mblock-move-inline-limit=num
Inline all block moves (such as calls to "memcpy" or structure copies) less than or equal to num
bytes. The minimum value for num is 32 bytes on 32-bit targets and 64 bytes on 64-bit targets. The
default value is target-specific.
-G num
On embedded PowerPC systems, put global and static items less than or equal to num bytes into the
small data or BSS sections instead of the normal data or BSS section. By default, num is 8. The -G
num switch is also passed to the linker. All modules should be compiled with the same -G num value.
-mregnames
-mno-regnames
On System V.4 and embedded PowerPC systems do (do not) emit register names in the assembly language
output using symbolic forms.
-mlongcall
-mno-longcall
By default assume that all calls are far away so that a longer and more expensive calling sequence is
required. This is required for calls farther than 32 megabytes (33,554,432 bytes) from the current
location. A short call is generated if the compiler knows the call cannot be that far away. This
setting can be overridden by the "shortcall" function attribute, or by "#pragma longcall(0)".
Some linkers are capable of detecting out-of-range calls and generating glue code on the fly. On
these systems, long calls are unnecessary and generate slower code. As of this writing, the AIX
linker can do this, as can the GNU linker for PowerPC/64. It is planned to add this feature to the
GNU linker for 32-bit PowerPC systems as well.
On Darwin/PPC systems, "#pragma longcall" generates "jbsr callee, L42", plus a branch island (glue
code). The two target addresses represent the callee and the branch island. The Darwin/PPC linker
prefers the first address and generates a "bl callee" if the PPC "bl" instruction reaches the callee
directly; otherwise, the linker generates "bl L42" to call the branch island. The branch island is
appended to the body of the calling function; it computes the full 32-bit address of the callee and
jumps to it.
On Mach-O (Darwin) systems, this option directs the compiler emit to the glue for every direct call,
and the Darwin linker decides whether to use or discard it.
In the future, GCC may ignore all longcall specifications when the linker is known to generate glue.
-mtls-markers
-mno-tls-markers
Mark (do not mark) calls to "__tls_get_addr" with a relocation specifying the function argument. The
relocation allows the linker to reliably associate function call with argument setup instructions for
TLS optimization, which in turn allows GCC to better schedule the sequence.
-pthread
Adds support for multithreading with the pthreads library. This option sets flags for both the
preprocessor and linker.
-mrecip
-mno-recip
This option enables use of the reciprocal estimate and reciprocal square root estimate instructions
with additional Newton-Raphson steps to increase precision instead of doing a divide or square root
and divide for floating-point arguments. You should use the -ffast-math option when using -mrecip
(or at least -funsafe-math-optimizations, -finite-math-only, -freciprocal-math and
-fno-trapping-math). Note that while the throughput of the sequence is generally higher than the
throughput of the non-reciprocal instruction, the precision of the sequence can be decreased by up to
2 ulp (i.e. the inverse of 1.0 equals 0.99999994) for reciprocal square roots.
-mrecip=opt
This option controls which reciprocal estimate instructions may be used. opt is a comma-separated
list of options, which may be preceded by a "!" to invert the option: "all": enable all estimate
instructions, "default": enable the default instructions, equivalent to -mrecip, "none": disable all
estimate instructions, equivalent to -mno-recip; "div": enable the reciprocal approximation
instructions for both single and double precision; "divf": enable the single-precision reciprocal
approximation instructions; "divd": enable the double-precision reciprocal approximation
instructions; "rsqrt": enable the reciprocal square root approximation instructions for both single
and double precision; "rsqrtf": enable the single-precision reciprocal square root approximation
instructions; "rsqrtd": enable the double-precision reciprocal square root approximation
instructions;
So, for example, -mrecip=all,!rsqrtd enables all of the reciprocal estimate instructions, except for
the "FRSQRTE", "XSRSQRTEDP", and "XVRSQRTEDP" instructions which handle the double-precision
reciprocal square root calculations.
-mrecip-precision
-mno-recip-precision
Assume (do not assume) that the reciprocal estimate instructions provide higher-precision estimates
than is mandated by the PowerPC ABI. Selecting -mcpu=power6, -mcpu=power7 or -mcpu=power8
automatically selects -mrecip-precision. The double-precision square root estimate instructions are
not generated by default on low-precision machines, since they do not provide an estimate that
converges after three steps.
-mveclibabi=type
Specifies the ABI type to use for vectorizing intrinsics using an external library. The only type
supported at present is "mass", which specifies to use IBM's Mathematical Acceleration Subsystem
(MASS) libraries for vectorizing intrinsics using external libraries. GCC currently emits calls to
"acosd2", "acosf4", "acoshd2", "acoshf4", "asind2", "asinf4", "asinhd2", "asinhf4", "atan2d2",
"atan2f4", "atand2", "atanf4", "atanhd2", "atanhf4", "cbrtd2", "cbrtf4", "cosd2", "cosf4", "coshd2",
"coshf4", "erfcd2", "erfcf4", "erfd2", "erff4", "exp2d2", "exp2f4", "expd2", "expf4", "expm1d2",
"expm1f4", "hypotd2", "hypotf4", "lgammad2", "lgammaf4", "log10d2", "log10f4", "log1pd2", "log1pf4",
"log2d2", "log2f4", "logd2", "logf4", "powd2", "powf4", "sind2", "sinf4", "sinhd2", "sinhf4",
"sqrtd2", "sqrtf4", "tand2", "tanf4", "tanhd2", and "tanhf4" when generating code for power7. Both
-ftree-vectorize and -funsafe-math-optimizations must also be enabled. The MASS libraries must be
specified at link time.
-mfriz
-mno-friz
Generate (do not generate) the "friz" instruction when the -funsafe-math-optimizations option is used
to optimize rounding of floating-point values to 64-bit integer and back to floating point. The
"friz" instruction does not return the same value if the floating-point number is too large to fit in
an integer.
-mpointers-to-nested-functions
-mno-pointers-to-nested-functions
Generate (do not generate) code to load up the static chain register (r11) when calling through a
pointer on AIX and 64-bit Linux systems where a function pointer points to a 3-word descriptor giving
the function address, TOC value to be loaded in register r2, and static chain value to be loaded in
register r11. The -mpointers-to-nested-functions is on by default. You cannot call through pointers
to nested functions or pointers to functions compiled in other languages that use the static chain if
you use the -mno-pointers-to-nested-functions.
-msave-toc-indirect
-mno-save-toc-indirect
Generate (do not generate) code to save the TOC value in the reserved stack location in the function
prologue if the function calls through a pointer on AIX and 64-bit Linux systems. If the TOC value
is not saved in the prologue, it is saved just before the call through the pointer. The
-mno-save-toc-indirect option is the default.
-mcompat-align-parm
-mno-compat-align-parm
Generate (do not generate) code to pass structure parameters with a maximum alignment of 64 bits, for
compatibility with older versions of GCC.
Older versions of GCC (prior to 4.9.0) incorrectly did not align a structure parameter on a 128-bit
boundary when that structure contained a member requiring 128-bit alignment. This is corrected in
more recent versions of GCC. This option may be used to generate code that is compatible with
functions compiled with older versions of GCC.
In this version of the compiler, the -mcompat-align-parm is the default, except when using the Linux
ELFv2 ABI.
RX Options
These command-line options are defined for RX targets:
-m64bit-doubles
-m32bit-doubles
Make the "double" data type be 64 bits (-m64bit-doubles) or 32 bits (-m32bit-doubles) in size. The
default is -m32bit-doubles. Note RX floating-point hardware only works on 32-bit values, which is
why the default is -m32bit-doubles.
-fpu
-nofpu
Enables (-fpu) or disables (-nofpu) the use of RX floating-point hardware. The default is enabled
for the RX600 series and disabled for the RX200 series.
Floating-point instructions are only generated for 32-bit floating-point values, however, so the FPU
hardware is not used for doubles if the -m64bit-doubles option is used.
Note If the -fpu option is enabled then -funsafe-math-optimizations is also enabled automatically.
This is because the RX FPU instructions are themselves unsafe.
-mcpu=name
Selects the type of RX CPU to be targeted. Currently three types are supported, the generic RX600
and RX200 series hardware and the specific RX610 CPU. The default is RX600.
The only difference between RX600 and RX610 is that the RX610 does not support the "MVTIPL"
instruction.
The RX200 series does not have a hardware floating-point unit and so -nofpu is enabled by default
when this type is selected.
-mbig-endian-data
-mlittle-endian-data
Store data (but not code) in the big-endian format. The default is -mlittle-endian-data, i.e. to
store data in the little-endian format.
-msmall-data-limit=N
Specifies the maximum size in bytes of global and static variables which can be placed into the small
data area. Using the small data area can lead to smaller and faster code, but the size of area is
limited and it is up to the programmer to ensure that the area does not overflow. Also when the
small data area is used one of the RX's registers (usually "r13") is reserved for use pointing to
this area, so it is no longer available for use by the compiler. This could result in slower and/or
larger code if variables are pushed onto the stack instead of being held in this register.
Note, common variables (variables that have not been initialized) and constants are not placed into
the small data area as they are assigned to other sections in the output executable.
The default value is zero, which disables this feature. Note, this feature is not enabled by default
with higher optimization levels (-O2 etc) because of the potentially detrimental effects of reserving
a register. It is up to the programmer to experiment and discover whether this feature is of benefit
to their program. See the description of the -mpid option for a description of how the actual
register to hold the small data area pointer is chosen.
-msim
-mno-sim
Use the simulator runtime. The default is to use the libgloss board-specific runtime.
-mas100-syntax
-mno-as100-syntax
When generating assembler output use a syntax that is compatible with Renesas's AS100 assembler.
This syntax can also be handled by the GAS assembler, but it has some restrictions so it is not
generated by default.
-mmax-constant-size=N
Specifies the maximum size, in bytes, of a constant that can be used as an operand in a RX
instruction. Although the RX instruction set does allow constants of up to 4 bytes in length to be
used in instructions, a longer value equates to a longer instruction. Thus in some circumstances it
can be beneficial to restrict the size of constants that are used in instructions. Constants that
are too big are instead placed into a constant pool and referenced via register indirection.
The value N can be between 0 and 4. A value of 0 (the default) or 4 means that constants of any size
are allowed.
-mrelax
Enable linker relaxation. Linker relaxation is a process whereby the linker attempts to reduce the
size of a program by finding shorter versions of various instructions. Disabled by default.
-mint-register=N
Specify the number of registers to reserve for fast interrupt handler functions. The value N can be
between 0 and 4. A value of 1 means that register "r13" is reserved for the exclusive use of fast
interrupt handlers. A value of 2 reserves "r13" and "r12". A value of 3 reserves "r13", "r12" and
"r11", and a value of 4 reserves "r13" through "r10". A value of 0, the default, does not reserve
any registers.
-msave-acc-in-interrupts
Specifies that interrupt handler functions should preserve the accumulator register. This is only
necessary if normal code might use the accumulator register, for example because it performs 64-bit
multiplications. The default is to ignore the accumulator as this makes the interrupt handlers
faster.
-mpid
-mno-pid
Enables the generation of position independent data. When enabled any access to constant data is
done via an offset from a base address held in a register. This allows the location of constant data
to be determined at run time without requiring the executable to be relocated, which is a benefit to
embedded applications with tight memory constraints. Data that can be modified is not affected by
this option.
Note, using this feature reserves a register, usually "r13", for the constant data base address.
This can result in slower and/or larger code, especially in complicated functions.
The actual register chosen to hold the constant data base address depends upon whether the
-msmall-data-limit and/or the -mint-register command-line options are enabled. Starting with
register "r13" and proceeding downwards, registers are allocated first to satisfy the requirements of
-mint-register, then -mpid and finally -msmall-data-limit. Thus it is possible for the small data
area register to be "r8" if both -mint-register=4 and -mpid are specified on the command line.
By default this feature is not enabled. The default can be restored via the -mno-pid command-line
option.
-mno-warn-multiple-fast-interrupts
-mwarn-multiple-fast-interrupts
Prevents GCC from issuing a warning message if it finds more than one fast interrupt handler when it
is compiling a file. The default is to issue a warning for each extra fast interrupt handler found,
as the RX only supports one such interrupt.
Note: The generic GCC command-line option -ffixed-reg has special significance to the RX port when used
with the "interrupt" function attribute. This attribute indicates a function intended to process fast
interrupts. GCC ensures that it only uses the registers "r10", "r11", "r12" and/or "r13" and only
provided that the normal use of the corresponding registers have been restricted via the -ffixed-reg or
-mint-register command-line options.
S/390 and zSeries Options
These are the -m options defined for the S/390 and zSeries architecture.
-mhard-float
-msoft-float
Use (do not use) the hardware floating-point instructions and registers for floating-point
operations. When -msoft-float is specified, functions in libgcc.a are used to perform floating-point
operations. When -mhard-float is specified, the compiler generates IEEE floating-point instructions.
This is the default.
-mhard-dfp
-mno-hard-dfp
Use (do not use) the hardware decimal-floating-point instructions for decimal-floating-point
operations. When -mno-hard-dfp is specified, functions in libgcc.a are used to perform decimal-
floating-point operations. When -mhard-dfp is specified, the compiler generates decimal-floating-
point hardware instructions. This is the default for -march=z9-ec or higher.
-mlong-double-64
-mlong-double-128
These switches control the size of "long double" type. A size of 64 bits makes the "long double" type
equivalent to the "double" type. This is the default.
-mbackchain
-mno-backchain
Store (do not store) the address of the caller's frame as backchain pointer into the callee's stack
frame. A backchain may be needed to allow debugging using tools that do not understand DWARF 2 call
frame information. When -mno-packed-stack is in effect, the backchain pointer is stored at the
bottom of the stack frame; when -mpacked-stack is in effect, the backchain is placed into the topmost
word of the 96/160 byte register save area.
In general, code compiled with -mbackchain is call-compatible with code compiled with -mmo-backchain;
however, use of the backchain for debugging purposes usually requires that the whole binary is built
with -mbackchain. Note that the combination of -mbackchain, -mpacked-stack and -mhard-float is not
supported. In order to build a linux kernel use -msoft-float.
The default is to not maintain the backchain.
-mpacked-stack
-mno-packed-stack
Use (do not use) the packed stack layout. When -mno-packed-stack is specified, the compiler uses the
all fields of the 96/160 byte register save area only for their default purpose; unused fields still
take up stack space. When -mpacked-stack is specified, register save slots are densely packed at the
top of the register save area; unused space is reused for other purposes, allowing for more efficient
use of the available stack space. However, when -mbackchain is also in effect, the topmost word of
the save area is always used to store the backchain, and the return address register is always saved
two words below the backchain.
As long as the stack frame backchain is not used, code generated with -mpacked-stack is call-
compatible with code generated with -mno-packed-stack. Note that some non-FSF releases of GCC 2.95
for S/390 or zSeries generated code that uses the stack frame backchain at run time, not just for
debugging purposes. Such code is not call-compatible with code compiled with -mpacked-stack. Also,
note that the combination of -mbackchain, -mpacked-stack and -mhard-float is not supported. In order
to build a linux kernel use -msoft-float.
The default is to not use the packed stack layout.
-msmall-exec
-mno-small-exec
Generate (or do not generate) code using the "bras" instruction to do subroutine calls. This only
works reliably if the total executable size does not exceed 64k. The default is to use the "basr"
instruction instead, which does not have this limitation.
-m64
-m31
When -m31 is specified, generate code compliant to the GNU/Linux for S/390 ABI. When -m64 is
specified, generate code compliant to the GNU/Linux for zSeries ABI. This allows GCC in particular
to generate 64-bit instructions. For the s390 targets, the default is -m31, while the s390x targets
default to -m64.
-mzarch
-mesa
When -mzarch is specified, generate code using the instructions available on z/Architecture. When
-mesa is specified, generate code using the instructions available on ESA/390. Note that -mesa is
not possible with -m64. When generating code compliant to the GNU/Linux for S/390 ABI, the default
is -mesa. When generating code compliant to the GNU/Linux for zSeries ABI, the default is -mzarch.
-mmvcle
-mno-mvcle
Generate (or do not generate) code using the "mvcle" instruction to perform block moves. When
-mno-mvcle is specified, use a "mvc" loop instead. This is the default unless optimizing for size.
-mdebug
-mno-debug
Print (or do not print) additional debug information when compiling. The default is to not print
debug information.
-march=cpu-type
Generate code that runs on cpu-type, which is the name of a system representing a certain processor
type. Possible values for cpu-type are g5, g6, z900, z990, z9-109, z9-ec, z10, z196, and zEC12.
When generating code using the instructions available on z/Architecture, the default is -march=z900.
Otherwise, the default is -march=g5.
-mtune=cpu-type
Tune to cpu-type everything applicable about the generated code, except for the ABI and the set of
available instructions. The list of cpu-type values is the same as for -march. The default is the
value used for -march.
-mtpf-trace
-mno-tpf-trace
Generate code that adds (does not add) in TPF OS specific branches to trace routines in the operating
system. This option is off by default, even when compiling for the TPF OS.
-mfused-madd
-mno-fused-madd
Generate code that uses (does not use) the floating-point multiply and accumulate instructions.
These instructions are generated by default if hardware floating point is used.
-mwarn-framesize=framesize
Emit a warning if the current function exceeds the given frame size. Because this is a compile-time
check it doesn't need to be a real problem when the program runs. It is intended to identify
functions that most probably cause a stack overflow. It is useful to be used in an environment with
limited stack size e.g. the linux kernel.
-mwarn-dynamicstack
Emit a warning if the function calls "alloca" or uses dynamically-sized arrays. This is generally a
bad idea with a limited stack size.
-mstack-guard=stack-guard
-mstack-size=stack-size
If these options are provided the S/390 back end emits additional instructions in the function
prologue that trigger a trap if the stack size is stack-guard bytes above the stack-size (remember
that the stack on S/390 grows downward). If the stack-guard option is omitted the smallest power of
2 larger than the frame size of the compiled function is chosen. These options are intended to be
used to help debugging stack overflow problems. The additionally emitted code causes only little
overhead and hence can also be used in production-like systems without greater performance
degradation. The given values have to be exact powers of 2 and stack-size has to be greater than
stack-guard without exceeding 64k. In order to be efficient the extra code makes the assumption that
the stack starts at an address aligned to the value given by stack-size. The stack-guard option can
only be used in conjunction with stack-size.
-mhotpatch=pre-halfwords,post-halfwords
If the hotpatch option is enabled, a "hot-patching" function prologue is generated for all functions
in the compilation unit. The funtion label is prepended with the given number of two-byte NOP
instructions (pre-halfwords, maximum 1000000). After the label, 2 * post-halfwords bytes are
appended, using the largest NOP like instructions the architecture allows (maximum 1000000).
If both arguments are zero, hotpatching is disabled.
This option can be overridden for individual functions with the "hotpatch" attribute.
Score Options
These options are defined for Score implementations:
-meb
Compile code for big-endian mode. This is the default.
-mel
Compile code for little-endian mode.
-mnhwloop
Disable generation of "bcnz" instructions.
-muls
Enable generation of unaligned load and store instructions.
-mmac
Enable the use of multiply-accumulate instructions. Disabled by default.
-mscore5
Specify the SCORE5 as the target architecture.
-mscore5u
Specify the SCORE5U of the target architecture.
-mscore7
Specify the SCORE7 as the target architecture. This is the default.
-mscore7d
Specify the SCORE7D as the target architecture.
SH Options
These -m options are defined for the SH implementations:
-m1 Generate code for the SH1.
-m2 Generate code for the SH2.
-m2e
Generate code for the SH2e.
-m2a-nofpu
Generate code for the SH2a without FPU, or for a SH2a-FPU in such a way that the floating-point unit
is not used.
-m2a-single-only
Generate code for the SH2a-FPU, in such a way that no double-precision floating-point operations are
used.
-m2a-single
Generate code for the SH2a-FPU assuming the floating-point unit is in single-precision mode by
default.
-m2a
Generate code for the SH2a-FPU assuming the floating-point unit is in double-precision mode by
default.
-m3 Generate code for the SH3.
-m3e
Generate code for the SH3e.
-m4-nofpu
Generate code for the SH4 without a floating-point unit.
-m4-single-only
Generate code for the SH4 with a floating-point unit that only supports single-precision arithmetic.
-m4-single
Generate code for the SH4 assuming the floating-point unit is in single-precision mode by default.
-m4 Generate code for the SH4.
-m4-100
Generate code for SH4-100.
-m4-100-nofpu
Generate code for SH4-100 in such a way that the floating-point unit is not used.
-m4-100-single
Generate code for SH4-100 assuming the floating-point unit is in single-precision mode by default.
-m4-100-single-only
Generate code for SH4-100 in such a way that no double-precision floating-point operations are used.
-m4-200
Generate code for SH4-200.
-m4-200-nofpu
Generate code for SH4-200 without in such a way that the floating-point unit is not used.
-m4-200-single
Generate code for SH4-200 assuming the floating-point unit is in single-precision mode by default.
-m4-200-single-only
Generate code for SH4-200 in such a way that no double-precision floating-point operations are used.
-m4-300
Generate code for SH4-300.
-m4-300-nofpu
Generate code for SH4-300 without in such a way that the floating-point unit is not used.
-m4-300-single
Generate code for SH4-300 in such a way that no double-precision floating-point operations are used.
-m4-300-single-only
Generate code for SH4-300 in such a way that no double-precision floating-point operations are used.
-m4-340
Generate code for SH4-340 (no MMU, no FPU).
-m4-500
Generate code for SH4-500 (no FPU). Passes -isa=sh4-nofpu to the assembler.
-m4a-nofpu
Generate code for the SH4al-dsp, or for a SH4a in such a way that the floating-point unit is not
used.
-m4a-single-only
Generate code for the SH4a, in such a way that no double-precision floating-point operations are
used.
-m4a-single
Generate code for the SH4a assuming the floating-point unit is in single-precision mode by default.
-m4a
Generate code for the SH4a.
-m4al
Same as -m4a-nofpu, except that it implicitly passes -dsp to the assembler. GCC doesn't generate any
DSP instructions at the moment.
-m5-32media
Generate 32-bit code for SHmedia.
-m5-32media-nofpu
Generate 32-bit code for SHmedia in such a way that the floating-point unit is not used.
-m5-64media
Generate 64-bit code for SHmedia.
-m5-64media-nofpu
Generate 64-bit code for SHmedia in such a way that the floating-point unit is not used.
-m5-compact
Generate code for SHcompact.
-m5-compact-nofpu
Generate code for SHcompact in such a way that the floating-point unit is not used.
-mb Compile code for the processor in big-endian mode.
-ml Compile code for the processor in little-endian mode.
-mdalign
Align doubles at 64-bit boundaries. Note that this changes the calling conventions, and thus some
functions from the standard C library do not work unless you recompile it first with -mdalign.
-mrelax
Shorten some address references at link time, when possible; uses the linker option -relax.
-mbigtable
Use 32-bit offsets in "switch" tables. The default is to use 16-bit offsets.
-mbitops
Enable the use of bit manipulation instructions on SH2A.
-mfmovd
Enable the use of the instruction "fmovd". Check -mdalign for alignment constraints.
-mrenesas
Comply with the calling conventions defined by Renesas.
-mno-renesas
Comply with the calling conventions defined for GCC before the Renesas conventions were available.
This option is the default for all targets of the SH toolchain.
-mnomacsave
Mark the "MAC" register as call-clobbered, even if -mrenesas is given.
-mieee
-mno-ieee
Control the IEEE compliance of floating-point comparisons, which affects the handling of cases where
the result of a comparison is unordered. By default -mieee is implicitly enabled. If
-ffinite-math-only is enabled -mno-ieee is implicitly set, which results in faster floating-point
greater-equal and less-equal comparisons. The implcit settings can be overridden by specifying
either -mieee or -mno-ieee.
-minline-ic_invalidate
Inline code to invalidate instruction cache entries after setting up nested function trampolines.
This option has no effect if -musermode is in effect and the selected code generation option (e.g.
-m4) does not allow the use of the "icbi" instruction. If the selected code generation option does
not allow the use of the "icbi" instruction, and -musermode is not in effect, the inlined code
manipulates the instruction cache address array directly with an associative write. This not only
requires privileged mode at run time, but it also fails if the cache line had been mapped via the TLB
and has become unmapped.
-misize
Dump instruction size and location in the assembly code.
-mpadstruct
This option is deprecated. It pads structures to multiple of 4 bytes, which is incompatible with the
SH ABI.
-matomic-model=model
Sets the model of atomic operations and additional parameters as a comma separated list. For details
on the atomic built-in functions see __atomic Builtins. The following models and parameters are
supported:
none
Disable compiler generated atomic sequences and emit library calls for atomic operations. This
is the default if the target is not "sh*-*-linux*".
soft-gusa
Generate GNU/Linux compatible gUSA software atomic sequences for the atomic built-in functions.
The generated atomic sequences require additional support from the interrupt/exception handling
code of the system and are only suitable for SH3* and SH4* single-core systems. This option is
enabled by default when the target is "sh*-*-linux*" and SH3* or SH4*. When the target is SH4A,
this option will also partially utilize the hardware atomic instructions "movli.l" and "movco.l"
to create more efficient code, unless strict is specified.
soft-tcb
Generate software atomic sequences that use a variable in the thread control block. This is a
variation of the gUSA sequences which can also be used on SH1* and SH2* targets. The generated
atomic sequences require additional support from the interrupt/exception handling code of the
system and are only suitable for single-core systems. When using this model, the gbr-offset=
parameter has to be specified as well.
soft-imask
Generate software atomic sequences that temporarily disable interrupts by setting "SR.IMASK =
1111". This model works only when the program runs in privileged mode and is only suitable for
single-core systems. Additional support from the interrupt/exception handling code of the system
is not required. This model is enabled by default when the target is "sh*-*-linux*" and SH1* or
SH2*.
hard-llcs
Generate hardware atomic sequences using the "movli.l" and "movco.l" instructions only. This is
only available on SH4A and is suitable for multi-core systems. Since the hardware instructions
support only 32 bit atomic variables access to 8 or 16 bit variables is emulated with 32 bit
accesses. Code compiled with this option will also be compatible with other software atomic
model interrupt/exception handling systems if executed on an SH4A system. Additional support
from the interrupt/exception handling code of the system is not required for this model.
gbr-offset=
This parameter specifies the offset in bytes of the variable in the thread control block
structure that should be used by the generated atomic sequences when the soft-tcb model has been
selected. For other models this parameter is ignored. The specified value must be an integer
multiple of four and in the range 0-1020.
strict
This parameter prevents mixed usage of multiple atomic models, even though they would be
compatible, and will make the compiler generate atomic sequences of the specified model only.
-mtas
Generate the "tas.b" opcode for "__atomic_test_and_set". Notice that depending on the particular
hardware and software configuration this can degrade overall performance due to the operand cache
line flushes that are implied by the "tas.b" instruction. On multi-core SH4A processors the "tas.b"
instruction must be used with caution since it can result in data corruption for certain cache
configurations.
-mprefergot
When generating position-independent code, emit function calls using the Global Offset Table instead
of the Procedure Linkage Table.
-musermode
-mno-usermode
Don't allow (allow) the compiler generating privileged mode code. Specifying -musermode also implies
-mno-inline-ic_invalidate if the inlined code would not work in user mode. -musermode is the default
when the target is "sh*-*-linux*". If the target is SH1* or SH2* -musermode has no effect, since
there is no user mode.
-multcost=number
Set the cost to assume for a multiply insn.
-mdiv=strategy
Set the division strategy to be used for integer division operations. For SHmedia strategy can be
one of:
fp Performs the operation in floating point. This has a very high latency, but needs only a few
instructions, so it might be a good choice if your code has enough easily-exploitable ILP to
allow the compiler to schedule the floating-point instructions together with other instructions.
Division by zero causes a floating-point exception.
inv Uses integer operations to calculate the inverse of the divisor, and then multiplies the dividend
with the inverse. This strategy allows CSE and hoisting of the inverse calculation. Division by
zero calculates an unspecified result, but does not trap.
inv:minlat
A variant of inv where, if no CSE or hoisting opportunities have been found, or if the entire
operation has been hoisted to the same place, the last stages of the inverse calculation are
intertwined with the final multiply to reduce the overall latency, at the expense of using a few
more instructions, and thus offering fewer scheduling opportunities with other code.
call
Calls a library function that usually implements the inv:minlat strategy. This gives high code
density for "m5-*media-nofpu" compilations.
call2
Uses a different entry point of the same library function, where it assumes that a pointer to a
lookup table has already been set up, which exposes the pointer load to CSE and code hoisting
optimizations.
inv:call
inv:call2
inv:fp
Use the inv algorithm for initial code generation, but if the code stays unoptimized, revert to
the call, call2, or fp strategies, respectively. Note that the potentially-trapping side effect
of division by zero is carried by a separate instruction, so it is possible that all the integer
instructions are hoisted out, but the marker for the side effect stays where it is. A
recombination to floating-point operations or a call is not possible in that case.
inv20u
inv20l
Variants of the inv:minlat strategy. In the case that the inverse calculation is not separated
from the multiply, they speed up division where the dividend fits into 20 bits (plus sign where
applicable) by inserting a test to skip a number of operations in this case; this test slows down
the case of larger dividends. inv20u assumes the case of a such a small dividend to be unlikely,
and inv20l assumes it to be likely.
For targets other than SHmedia strategy can be one of:
call-div1
Calls a library function that uses the single-step division instruction "div1" to perform the
operation. Division by zero calculates an unspecified result and does not trap. This is the
default except for SH4, SH2A and SHcompact.
call-fp
Calls a library function that performs the operation in double precision floating point.
Division by zero causes a floating-point exception. This is the default for SHcompact with FPU.
Specifying this for targets that do not have a double precision FPU will default to "call-div1".
call-table
Calls a library function that uses a lookup table for small divisors and the "div1" instruction
with case distinction for larger divisors. Division by zero calculates an unspecified result and
does not trap. This is the default for SH4. Specifying this for targets that do not have
dynamic shift instructions will default to "call-div1".
When a division strategy has not been specified the default strategy will be selected based on the
current target. For SH2A the default strategy is to use the "divs" and "divu" instructions instead
of library function calls.
-maccumulate-outgoing-args
Reserve space once for outgoing arguments in the function prologue rather than around each call.
Generally beneficial for performance and size. Also needed for unwinding to avoid changing the stack
frame around conditional code.
-mdivsi3_libfunc=name
Set the name of the library function used for 32-bit signed division to name. This only affects the
name used in the call and inv:call division strategies, and the compiler still expects the same sets
of input/output/clobbered registers as if this option were not present.
-mfixed-range=register-range
Generate code treating the given register range as fixed registers. A fixed register is one that the
register allocator can not use. This is useful when compiling kernel code. A register range is
specified as two registers separated by a dash. Multiple register ranges can be specified separated
by a comma.
-mindexed-addressing
Enable the use of the indexed addressing mode for SHmedia32/SHcompact. This is only safe if the
hardware and/or OS implement 32-bit wrap-around semantics for the indexed addressing mode. The
architecture allows the implementation of processors with 64-bit MMU, which the OS could use to get
32-bit addressing, but since no current hardware implementation supports this or any other way to
make the indexed addressing mode safe to use in the 32-bit ABI, the default is
-mno-indexed-addressing.
-mgettrcost=number
Set the cost assumed for the "gettr" instruction to number. The default is 2 if -mpt-fixed is in
effect, 100 otherwise.
-mpt-fixed
Assume "pt*" instructions won't trap. This generally generates better-scheduled code, but is unsafe
on current hardware. The current architecture definition says that "ptabs" and "ptrel" trap when the
target anded with 3 is 3. This has the unintentional effect of making it unsafe to schedule these
instructions before a branch, or hoist them out of a loop. For example, "__do_global_ctors", a part
of libgcc that runs constructors at program startup, calls functions in a list which is delimited by
-1. With the -mpt-fixed option, the "ptabs" is done before testing against -1. That means that all
the constructors run a bit more quickly, but when the loop comes to the end of the list, the program
crashes because "ptabs" loads -1 into a target register.
Since this option is unsafe for any hardware implementing the current architecture specification, the
default is -mno-pt-fixed. Unless specified explicitly with -mgettrcost, -mno-pt-fixed also implies
-mgettrcost=100; this deters register allocation from using target registers for storing ordinary
integers.
-minvalid-symbols
Assume symbols might be invalid. Ordinary function symbols generated by the compiler are always
valid to load with "movi"/"shori"/"ptabs" or "movi"/"shori"/"ptrel", but with assembler and/or linker
tricks it is possible to generate symbols that cause "ptabs" or "ptrel" to trap. This option is only
meaningful when -mno-pt-fixed is in effect. It prevents cross-basic-block CSE, hoisting and most
scheduling of symbol loads. The default is -mno-invalid-symbols.
-mbranch-cost=num
Assume num to be the cost for a branch instruction. Higher numbers make the compiler try to generate
more branch-free code if possible. If not specified the value is selected depending on the processor
type that is being compiled for.
-mzdcbranch
-mno-zdcbranch
Assume (do not assume) that zero displacement conditional branch instructions "bt" and "bf" are fast.
If -mzdcbranch is specified, the compiler will try to prefer zero displacement branch code sequences.
This is enabled by default when generating code for SH4 and SH4A. It can be explicitly disabled by
specifying -mno-zdcbranch.
-mcbranchdi
Enable the "cbranchdi4" instruction pattern.
-mcmpeqdi
Emit the "cmpeqdi_t" instruction pattern even when -mcbranchdi is in effect.
-mfused-madd
-mno-fused-madd
Generate code that uses (does not use) the floating-point multiply and accumulate instructions.
These instructions are generated by default if hardware floating point is used. The machine-
dependent -mfused-madd option is now mapped to the machine-independent -ffp-contract=fast option, and
-mno-fused-madd is mapped to -ffp-contract=off.
-mfsca
-mno-fsca
Allow or disallow the compiler to emit the "fsca" instruction for sine and cosine approximations.
The option "-mfsca" must be used in combination with "-funsafe-math-optimizations". It is enabled by
default when generating code for SH4A. Using "-mno-fsca" disables sine and cosine approximations
even if "-funsafe-math-optimizations" is in effect.
-mfsrra
-mno-fsrra
Allow or disallow the compiler to emit the "fsrra" instruction for reciprocal square root
approximations. The option "-mfsrra" must be used in combination with "-funsafe-math-optimizations"
and "-ffinite-math-only". It is enabled by default when generating code for SH4A. Using
"-mno-fsrra" disables reciprocal square root approximations even if "-funsafe-math-optimizations" and
"-ffinite-math-only" are in effect.
-mpretend-cmove
Prefer zero-displacement conditional branches for conditional move instruction patterns. This can
result in faster code on the SH4 processor.
Solaris 2 Options
These -m options are supported on Solaris 2:
-mimpure-text
-mimpure-text, used in addition to -shared, tells the compiler to not pass -z text to the linker when
linking a shared object. Using this option, you can link position-dependent code into a shared
object.
-mimpure-text suppresses the "relocations remain against allocatable but non-writable sections"
linker error message. However, the necessary relocations trigger copy-on-write, and the shared
object is not actually shared across processes. Instead of using -mimpure-text, you should compile
all source code with -fpic or -fPIC.
These switches are supported in addition to the above on Solaris 2:
-pthreads
Add support for multithreading using the POSIX threads library. This option sets flags for both the
preprocessor and linker. This option does not affect the thread safety of object code produced by
the compiler or that of libraries supplied with it.
-pthread
This is a synonym for -pthreads.
SPARC Options
These -m options are supported on the SPARC:
-mno-app-regs
-mapp-regs
Specify -mapp-regs to generate output using the global registers 2 through 4, which the SPARC SVR4
ABI reserves for applications. Like the global register 1, each global register 2 through 4 is then
treated as an allocable register that is clobbered by function calls. This is the default.
To be fully SVR4 ABI-compliant at the cost of some performance loss, specify -mno-app-regs. You
should compile libraries and system software with this option.
-mflat
-mno-flat
With -mflat, the compiler does not generate save/restore instructions and uses a "flat" or single
register window model. This model is compatible with the regular register window model. The local
registers and the input registers (0--5) are still treated as "call-saved" registers and are saved on
the stack as needed.
With -mno-flat (the default), the compiler generates save/restore instructions (except for leaf
functions). This is the normal operating mode.
-mfpu
-mhard-float
Generate output containing floating-point instructions. This is the default.
-mno-fpu
-msoft-float
Generate output containing library calls for floating point. Warning: the requisite libraries are
not available for all SPARC targets. Normally the facilities of the machine's usual C compiler are
used, but this cannot be done directly in cross-compilation. You must make your own arrangements to
provide suitable library functions for cross-compilation. The embedded targets sparc-*-aout and
sparclite-*-* do provide software floating-point support.
-msoft-float changes the calling convention in the output file; therefore, it is only useful if you
compile all of a program with this option. In particular, you need to compile libgcc.a, the library
that comes with GCC, with -msoft-float in order for this to work.
-mhard-quad-float
Generate output containing quad-word (long double) floating-point instructions.
-msoft-quad-float
Generate output containing library calls for quad-word (long double) floating-point instructions.
The functions called are those specified in the SPARC ABI. This is the default.
As of this writing, there are no SPARC implementations that have hardware support for the quad-word
floating-point instructions. They all invoke a trap handler for one of these instructions, and then
the trap handler emulates the effect of the instruction. Because of the trap handler overhead, this
is much slower than calling the ABI library routines. Thus the -msoft-quad-float option is the
default.
-mno-unaligned-doubles
-munaligned-doubles
Assume that doubles have 8-byte alignment. This is the default.
With -munaligned-doubles, GCC assumes that doubles have 8-byte alignment only if they are contained
in another type, or if they have an absolute address. Otherwise, it assumes they have 4-byte
alignment. Specifying this option avoids some rare compatibility problems with code generated by
other compilers. It is not the default because it results in a performance loss, especially for
floating-point code.
-muser-mode
-mno-user-mode
Do not generate code that can only run in supervisor mode. This is relevant only for the "casa"
instruction emitted for the LEON3 processor. The default is -mno-user-mode.
-mno-faster-structs
-mfaster-structs
With -mfaster-structs, the compiler assumes that structures should have 8-byte alignment. This
enables the use of pairs of "ldd" and "std" instructions for copies in structure assignment, in place
of twice as many "ld" and "st" pairs. However, the use of this changed alignment directly violates
the SPARC ABI. Thus, it's intended only for use on targets where the developer acknowledges that
their resulting code is not directly in line with the rules of the ABI.
-mcpu=cpu_type
Set the instruction set, register set, and instruction scheduling parameters for machine type
cpu_type. Supported values for cpu_type are v7, cypress, v8, supersparc, hypersparc, leon, leon3,
leon3v7, sparclite, f930, f934, sparclite86x, sparclet, tsc701, v9, ultrasparc, ultrasparc3, niagara,
niagara2, niagara3 and niagara4.
Native Solaris and GNU/Linux toolchains also support the value native, which selects the best
architecture option for the host processor. -mcpu=native has no effect if GCC does not recognize the
processor.
Default instruction scheduling parameters are used for values that select an architecture and not an
implementation. These are v7, v8, sparclite, sparclet, v9.
Here is a list of each supported architecture and their supported implementations.
v7 cypress, leon3v7
v8 supersparc, hypersparc, leon, leon3
sparclite
f930, f934, sparclite86x
sparclet
tsc701
v9 ultrasparc, ultrasparc3, niagara, niagara2, niagara3, niagara4
By default (unless configured otherwise), GCC generates code for the V7 variant of the SPARC
architecture. With -mcpu=cypress, the compiler additionally optimizes it for the Cypress CY7C602
chip, as used in the SPARCStation/SPARCServer 3xx series. This is also appropriate for the older
SPARCStation 1, 2, IPX etc.
With -mcpu=v8, GCC generates code for the V8 variant of the SPARC architecture. The only difference
from V7 code is that the compiler emits the integer multiply and integer divide instructions which
exist in SPARC-V8 but not in SPARC-V7. With -mcpu=supersparc, the compiler additionally optimizes it
for the SuperSPARC chip, as used in the SPARCStation 10, 1000 and 2000 series.
With -mcpu=sparclite, GCC generates code for the SPARClite variant of the SPARC architecture. This
adds the integer multiply, integer divide step and scan ("ffs") instructions which exist in SPARClite
but not in SPARC-V7. With -mcpu=f930, the compiler additionally optimizes it for the Fujitsu MB86930
chip, which is the original SPARClite, with no FPU. With -mcpu=f934, the compiler additionally
optimizes it for the Fujitsu MB86934 chip, which is the more recent SPARClite with FPU.
With -mcpu=sparclet, GCC generates code for the SPARClet variant of the SPARC architecture. This
adds the integer multiply, multiply/accumulate, integer divide step and scan ("ffs") instructions
which exist in SPARClet but not in SPARC-V7. With -mcpu=tsc701, the compiler additionally optimizes
it for the TEMIC SPARClet chip.
With -mcpu=v9, GCC generates code for the V9 variant of the SPARC architecture. This adds 64-bit
integer and floating-point move instructions, 3 additional floating-point condition code registers
and conditional move instructions. With -mcpu=ultrasparc, the compiler additionally optimizes it for
the Sun UltraSPARC I/II/IIi chips. With -mcpu=ultrasparc3, the compiler additionally optimizes it
for the Sun UltraSPARC III/III+/IIIi/IIIi+/IV/IV+ chips. With -mcpu=niagara, the compiler
additionally optimizes it for Sun UltraSPARC T1 chips. With -mcpu=niagara2, the compiler
additionally optimizes it for Sun UltraSPARC T2 chips. With -mcpu=niagara3, the compiler additionally
optimizes it for Sun UltraSPARC T3 chips. With -mcpu=niagara4, the compiler additionally optimizes
it for Sun UltraSPARC T4 chips.
-mtune=cpu_type
Set the instruction scheduling parameters for machine type cpu_type, but do not set the instruction
set or register set that the option -mcpu=cpu_type does.
The same values for -mcpu=cpu_type can be used for -mtune=cpu_type, but the only useful values are
those that select a particular CPU implementation. Those are cypress, supersparc, hypersparc, leon,
leon3, leon3v7, f930, f934, sparclite86x, tsc701, ultrasparc, ultrasparc3, niagara, niagara2,
niagara3 and niagara4. With native Solaris and GNU/Linux toolchains, native can also be used.
-mv8plus
-mno-v8plus
With -mv8plus, GCC generates code for the SPARC-V8+ ABI. The difference from the V8 ABI is that the
global and out registers are considered 64 bits wide. This is enabled by default on Solaris in
32-bit mode for all SPARC-V9 processors.
-mvis
-mno-vis
With -mvis, GCC generates code that takes advantage of the UltraSPARC Visual Instruction Set
extensions. The default is -mno-vis.
-mvis2
-mno-vis2
With -mvis2, GCC generates code that takes advantage of version 2.0 of the UltraSPARC Visual
Instruction Set extensions. The default is -mvis2 when targeting a cpu that supports such
instructions, such as UltraSPARC-III and later. Setting -mvis2 also sets -mvis.
-mvis3
-mno-vis3
With -mvis3, GCC generates code that takes advantage of version 3.0 of the UltraSPARC Visual
Instruction Set extensions. The default is -mvis3 when targeting a cpu that supports such
instructions, such as niagara-3 and later. Setting -mvis3 also sets -mvis2 and -mvis.
-mcbcond
-mno-cbcond
With -mcbcond, GCC generates code that takes advantage of compare-and-branch instructions, as defined
in the Sparc Architecture 2011. The default is -mcbcond when targeting a cpu that supports such
instructions, such as niagara-4 and later.
-mpopc
-mno-popc
With -mpopc, GCC generates code that takes advantage of the UltraSPARC population count instruction.
The default is -mpopc when targeting a cpu that supports such instructions, such as Niagara-2 and
later.
-mfmaf
-mno-fmaf
With -mfmaf, GCC generates code that takes advantage of the UltraSPARC Fused Multiply-Add Floating-
point extensions. The default is -mfmaf when targeting a cpu that supports such instructions, such
as Niagara-3 and later.
-mfix-at697f
Enable the documented workaround for the single erratum of the Atmel AT697F processor (which
corresponds to erratum #13 of the AT697E processor).
-mfix-ut699
Enable the documented workarounds for the floating-point errata and the data cache nullify errata of
the UT699 processor.
These -m options are supported in addition to the above on SPARC-V9 processors in 64-bit environments:
-m32
-m64
Generate code for a 32-bit or 64-bit environment. The 32-bit environment sets int, long and pointer
to 32 bits. The 64-bit environment sets int to 32 bits and long and pointer to 64 bits.
-mcmodel=which
Set the code model to one of
medlow
The Medium/Low code model: 64-bit addresses, programs must be linked in the low 32 bits of
memory. Programs can be statically or dynamically linked.
medmid
The Medium/Middle code model: 64-bit addresses, programs must be linked in the low 44 bits of
memory, the text and data segments must be less than 2GB in size and the data segment must be
located within 2GB of the text segment.
medany
The Medium/Anywhere code model: 64-bit addresses, programs may be linked anywhere in memory, the
text and data segments must be less than 2GB in size and the data segment must be located within
2GB of the text segment.
embmedany
The Medium/Anywhere code model for embedded systems: 64-bit addresses, the text and data segments
must be less than 2GB in size, both starting anywhere in memory (determined at link time). The
global register %g4 points to the base of the data segment. Programs are statically linked and
PIC is not supported.
-mmemory-model=mem-model
Set the memory model in force on the processor to one of
default
The default memory model for the processor and operating system.
rmo Relaxed Memory Order
pso Partial Store Order
tso Total Store Order
sc Sequential Consistency
These memory models are formally defined in Appendix D of the Sparc V9 architecture manual, as set in
the processor's "PSTATE.MM" field.
-mstack-bias
-mno-stack-bias
With -mstack-bias, GCC assumes that the stack pointer, and frame pointer if present, are offset by
-2047 which must be added back when making stack frame references. This is the default in 64-bit
mode. Otherwise, assume no such offset is present.
SPU Options
These -m options are supported on the SPU:
-mwarn-reloc
-merror-reloc
The loader for SPU does not handle dynamic relocations. By default, GCC gives an error when it
generates code that requires a dynamic relocation. -mno-error-reloc disables the error, -mwarn-reloc
generates a warning instead.
-msafe-dma
-munsafe-dma
Instructions that initiate or test completion of DMA must not be reordered with respect to loads and
stores of the memory that is being accessed. With -munsafe-dma you must use the "volatile" keyword
to protect memory accesses, but that can lead to inefficient code in places where the memory is known
to not change. Rather than mark the memory as volatile, you can use -msafe-dma to tell the compiler
to treat the DMA instructions as potentially affecting all memory.
-mbranch-hints
By default, GCC generates a branch hint instruction to avoid pipeline stalls for always-taken or
probably-taken branches. A hint is not generated closer than 8 instructions away from its branch.
There is little reason to disable them, except for debugging purposes, or to make an object a little
bit smaller.
-msmall-mem
-mlarge-mem
By default, GCC generates code assuming that addresses are never larger than 18 bits. With
-mlarge-mem code is generated that assumes a full 32-bit address.
-mstdmain
By default, GCC links against startup code that assumes the SPU-style main function interface (which
has an unconventional parameter list). With -mstdmain, GCC links your program against startup code
that assumes a C99-style interface to "main", including a local copy of "argv" strings.
-mfixed-range=register-range
Generate code treating the given register range as fixed registers. A fixed register is one that the
register allocator cannot use. This is useful when compiling kernel code. A register range is
specified as two registers separated by a dash. Multiple register ranges can be specified separated
by a comma.
-mea32
-mea64
Compile code assuming that pointers to the PPU address space accessed via the "__ea" named address
space qualifier are either 32 or 64 bits wide. The default is 32 bits. As this is an ABI-changing
option, all object code in an executable must be compiled with the same setting.
-maddress-space-conversion
-mno-address-space-conversion
Allow/disallow treating the "__ea" address space as superset of the generic address space. This
enables explicit type casts between "__ea" and generic pointer as well as implicit conversions of
generic pointers to "__ea" pointers. The default is to allow address space pointer conversions.
-mcache-size=cache-size
This option controls the version of libgcc that the compiler links to an executable and selects a
software-managed cache for accessing variables in the "__ea" address space with a particular cache
size. Possible options for cache-size are 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128. The default cache size is 64KB.
-matomic-updates
-mno-atomic-updates
This option controls the version of libgcc that the compiler links to an executable and selects
whether atomic updates to the software-managed cache of PPU-side variables are used. If you use
atomic updates, changes to a PPU variable from SPU code using the "__ea" named address space
qualifier do not interfere with changes to other PPU variables residing in the same cache line from
PPU code. If you do not use atomic updates, such interference may occur; however, writing back cache
lines is more efficient. The default behavior is to use atomic updates.
-mdual-nops
-mdual-nops=n
By default, GCC inserts nops to increase dual issue when it expects it to increase performance. n
can be a value from 0 to 10. A smaller n inserts fewer nops. 10 is the default, 0 is the same as
-mno-dual-nops. Disabled with -Os.
-mhint-max-nops=n
Maximum number of nops to insert for a branch hint. A branch hint must be at least 8 instructions
away from the branch it is affecting. GCC inserts up to n nops to enforce this, otherwise it does
not generate the branch hint.
-mhint-max-distance=n
The encoding of the branch hint instruction limits the hint to be within 256 instructions of the
branch it is affecting. By default, GCC makes sure it is within 125.
-msafe-hints
Work around a hardware bug that causes the SPU to stall indefinitely. By default, GCC inserts the
"hbrp" instruction to make sure this stall won't happen.
Options for System V
These additional options are available on System V Release 4 for compatibility with other compilers on
those systems:
-G Create a shared object. It is recommended that -symbolic or -shared be used instead.
-Qy Identify the versions of each tool used by the compiler, in a ".ident" assembler directive in the
output.
-Qn Refrain from adding ".ident" directives to the output file (this is the default).
-YP,dirs
Search the directories dirs, and no others, for libraries specified with -l.
-Ym,dir
Look in the directory dir to find the M4 preprocessor. The assembler uses this option.
TILE-Gx Options
These -m options are supported on the TILE-Gx:
-mcmodel=small
Generate code for the small model. The distance for direct calls is limited to 500M in either
direction. PC-relative addresses are 32 bits. Absolute addresses support the full address range.
-mcmodel=large
Generate code for the large model. There is no limitation on call distance, pc-relative addresses,
or absolute addresses.
-mcpu=name
Selects the type of CPU to be targeted. Currently the only supported type is tilegx.
-m32
-m64
Generate code for a 32-bit or 64-bit environment. The 32-bit environment sets int, long, and pointer
to 32 bits. The 64-bit environment sets int to 32 bits and long and pointer to 64 bits.
TILEPro Options
These -m options are supported on the TILEPro:
-mcpu=name
Selects the type of CPU to be targeted. Currently the only supported type is tilepro.
-m32
Generate code for a 32-bit environment, which sets int, long, and pointer to 32 bits. This is the
only supported behavior so the flag is essentially ignored.
V850 Options
These -m options are defined for V850 implementations:
-mlong-calls
-mno-long-calls
Treat all calls as being far away (near). If calls are assumed to be far away, the compiler always
loads the function's address into a register, and calls indirect through the pointer.
-mno-ep
-mep
Do not optimize (do optimize) basic blocks that use the same index pointer 4 or more times to copy
pointer into the "ep" register, and use the shorter "sld" and "sst" instructions. The -mep option is
on by default if you optimize.
-mno-prolog-function
-mprolog-function
Do not use (do use) external functions to save and restore registers at the prologue and epilogue of
a function. The external functions are slower, but use less code space if more than one function
saves the same number of registers. The -mprolog-function option is on by default if you optimize.
-mspace
Try to make the code as small as possible. At present, this just turns on the -mep and
-mprolog-function options.
-mtda=n
Put static or global variables whose size is n bytes or less into the tiny data area that register
"ep" points to. The tiny data area can hold up to 256 bytes in total (128 bytes for byte
references).
-msda=n
Put static or global variables whose size is n bytes or less into the small data area that register
"gp" points to. The small data area can hold up to 64 kilobytes.
-mzda=n
Put static or global variables whose size is n bytes or less into the first 32 kilobytes of memory.
-mv850
Specify that the target processor is the V850.
-mv850e3v5
Specify that the target processor is the V850E3V5. The preprocessor constant __v850e3v5__ is defined
if this option is used.
-mv850e2v4
Specify that the target processor is the V850E3V5. This is an alias for the -mv850e3v5 option.
-mv850e2v3
Specify that the target processor is the V850E2V3. The preprocessor constant __v850e2v3__ is defined
if this option is used.
-mv850e2
Specify that the target processor is the V850E2. The preprocessor constant __v850e2__ is defined if
this option is used.
-mv850e1
Specify that the target processor is the V850E1. The preprocessor constants __v850e1__ and __v850e__
are defined if this option is used.
-mv850es
Specify that the target processor is the V850ES. This is an alias for the -mv850e1 option.
-mv850e
Specify that the target processor is the V850E. The preprocessor constant __v850e__ is defined if
this option is used.
If neither -mv850 nor -mv850e nor -mv850e1 nor -mv850e2 nor -mv850e2v3 nor -mv850e3v5 are defined
then a default target processor is chosen and the relevant __v850*__ preprocessor constant is
defined.
The preprocessor constants __v850 and __v851__ are always defined, regardless of which processor
variant is the target.
-mdisable-callt
-mno-disable-callt
This option suppresses generation of the "CALLT" instruction for the v850e, v850e1, v850e2, v850e2v3
and v850e3v5 flavors of the v850 architecture.
This option is enabled by default when the RH850 ABI is in use (see -mrh850-abi), and disabled by
default when the GCC ABI is in use. If "CALLT" instructions are being generated then the C
preprocessor symbol "__V850_CALLT__" will be defined.
-mrelax
-mno-relax
Pass on (or do not pass on) the -mrelax command line option to the assembler.
-mlong-jumps
-mno-long-jumps
Disable (or re-enable) the generation of PC-relative jump instructions.
-msoft-float
-mhard-float
Disable (or re-enable) the generation of hardware floating point instructions. This option is only
significant when the target architecture is V850E2V3 or higher. If hardware floating point
instructions are being generated then the C preprocessor symbol "__FPU_OK__" will be defined,
otherwise the symbol "__NO_FPU__" will be defined.
-mloop
Enables the use of the e3v5 LOOP instruction. The use of this instruction is not enabled by default
when the e3v5 architecture is selected because its use is still experimental.
-mrh850-abi
-mghs
Enables support for the RH850 version of the V850 ABI. This is the default. With this version of
the ABI the following rules apply:
• Integer sized structures and unions are returned via a memory pointer rather than a register.
• Large structures and unions (more than 8 bytes in size) are passed by value.
• Functions are aligned to 16-bit boundaries.
• The -m8byte-align command line option is supported.
• The -mdisable-callt command line option is enabled by default. The -mno-disable-callt command
line option is not supported.
When this version of the ABI is enabled the C preprocessor symbol "__V850_RH850_ABI__" is defined.
-mgcc-abi
Enables support for the old GCC version of the V850 ABI. With this version of the ABI the following
rules apply:
• Integer sized structures and unions are returned in register "r10".
• Large structures and unions (more than 8 bytes in size) are passed by reference.
• Functions are aligned to 32-bit boundaries, unless optimizing for size.
• The -m8byte-align command line option is not supported.
• The -mdisable-callt command line option is supported but not enabled by default.
When this version of the ABI is enabled the C preprocessor symbol "__V850_GCC_ABI__" is defined.
-m8byte-align
-mno-8byte-align
Enables support for "doubles" and "long long" types to be aligned on 8-byte boundaries. The default
is to restrict the alignment of all objects to at most 4-bytes. When -m8byte-align is in effect the
C preprocessor symbol "__V850_8BYTE_ALIGN__" will be defined.
-mbig-switch
Generate code suitable for big switch tables. Use this option only if the assembler/linker complain
about out of range branches within a switch table.
-mapp-regs
This option causes r2 and r5 to be used in the code generated by the compiler. This setting is the
default.
-mno-app-regs
This option causes r2 and r5 to be treated as fixed registers.
VAX Options
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 the GNU assembler is being used.
-mg Output code for G-format floating-point numbers instead of D-format.
VMS Options
These -m options are defined for the VMS implementations:
-mvms-return-codes
Return VMS condition codes from "main". The default is to return POSIX-style condition (e.g. error)
codes.
-mdebug-main=prefix
Flag the first routine whose name starts with prefix as the main routine for the debugger.
-mmalloc64
Default to 64-bit memory allocation routines.
-mpointer-size=size
Set the default size of pointers. Possible options for size are 32 or short for 32 bit pointers, 64
or long for 64 bit pointers, and no for supporting only 32 bit pointers. The later option disables
"pragma pointer_size".
VxWorks Options
The options in this section are defined for all VxWorks targets. Options specific to the target hardware
are listed with the other options for that target.
-mrtp
GCC can generate code for both VxWorks kernels and real time processes (RTPs). This option switches
from the former to the latter. It also defines the preprocessor macro "__RTP__".
-non-static
Link an RTP executable against shared libraries rather than static libraries. The options -static
and -shared can also be used for RTPs; -static is the default.
-Bstatic
-Bdynamic
These options are passed down to the linker. They are defined for compatibility with Diab.
-Xbind-lazy
Enable lazy binding of function calls. This option is equivalent to -Wl,-z,now and is defined for
compatibility with Diab.
-Xbind-now
Disable lazy binding of function calls. This option is the default and is defined for compatibility
with Diab.
x86-64 Options
These are listed under
Xstormy16 Options
These options are defined for Xstormy16:
-msim
Choose startup files and linker script suitable for the simulator.
Xtensa Options
These options are supported for Xtensa targets:
-mconst16
-mno-const16
Enable or disable use of "CONST16" instructions for loading constant values. The "CONST16"
instruction is currently not a standard option from Tensilica. When enabled, "CONST16" instructions
are always used in place of the standard "L32R" instructions. The use of "CONST16" is enabled by
default only if the "L32R" instruction is not available.
-mfused-madd
-mno-fused-madd
Enable or disable use of fused multiply/add and multiply/subtract instructions in the floating-point
option. This has no effect if the floating-point option is not also enabled. Disabling fused
multiply/add and multiply/subtract instructions forces the compiler to use separate instructions for
the multiply and add/subtract operations. This may be desirable in some cases where strict IEEE
754-compliant results are required: the fused multiply add/subtract instructions do not round the
intermediate result, thereby producing results with more bits of precision than specified by the IEEE
standard. Disabling fused multiply add/subtract instructions also ensures that the program output is
not sensitive to the compiler's ability to combine multiply and add/subtract operations.
-mserialize-volatile
-mno-serialize-volatile
When this option is enabled, GCC inserts "MEMW" instructions before "volatile" memory references to
guarantee sequential consistency. The default is -mserialize-volatile. Use -mno-serialize-volatile
to omit the "MEMW" instructions.
-mforce-no-pic
For targets, like GNU/Linux, where all user-mode Xtensa code must be position-independent code (PIC),
this option disables PIC for compiling kernel code.
-mtext-section-literals
-mno-text-section-literals
Control the treatment of literal pools. The default is -mno-text-section-literals, which places
literals in a separate section in the output file. This allows the literal pool to be placed in a
data RAM/ROM, and it also allows the linker to combine literal pools from separate object files to
remove redundant literals and improve code size. With -mtext-section-literals, the literals are
interspersed in the text section in order to keep them as close as possible to their references.
This may be necessary for large assembly files.
-mtarget-align
-mno-target-align
When this option is enabled, GCC instructs the assembler to automatically align instructions to
reduce branch penalties at the expense of some code density. The assembler attempts to widen density
instructions to align branch targets and the instructions following call instructions. If there are
not enough preceding safe density instructions to align a target, no widening is performed. The
default is -mtarget-align. These options do not affect the treatment of auto-aligned instructions
like "LOOP", which the assembler always aligns, either by widening density instructions or by
inserting NOP instructions.
-mlongcalls
-mno-longcalls
When this option is enabled, GCC instructs the assembler to translate direct calls to indirect calls
unless it can determine that the target of a direct call is in the range allowed by the call
instruction. This translation typically occurs for calls to functions in other source files.
Specifically, the assembler translates a direct "CALL" instruction into an "L32R" followed by a
"CALLX" instruction. The default is -mno-longcalls. This option should be used in programs where
the call target can potentially be out of range. This option is implemented in the assembler, not
the compiler, so the assembly code generated by GCC still shows direct call instructions---look at
the disassembled object code to see the actual instructions. Note that the assembler uses an
indirect call for every cross-file call, not just those that really are out of range.
zSeries Options
These are listed under
Options for Code Generation Conventions
These machine-independent options control the interface conventions used in code generation.
Most of them have both positive and negative forms; the negative form of -ffoo is -fno-foo. In the table
below, only one of the forms is listed---the one that is not the default. You can figure out the other
form by either removing no- or adding it.
-fbounds-check
For front ends that support it, generate additional code to check that indices used to access arrays
are within the declared range. This is currently only supported by the Java and Fortran front ends,
where this option defaults to true and false respectively.
-fstack-reuse=reuse-level
This option controls stack space reuse for user declared local/auto variables and compiler generated
temporaries. reuse_level can be all, named_vars, or none. all enables stack reuse for all local
variables and temporaries, named_vars enables the reuse only for user defined local variables with
names, and none disables stack reuse completely. The default value is all. The option is needed when
the program extends the lifetime of a scoped local variable or a compiler generated temporary beyond
the end point defined by the language. When a lifetime of a variable ends, and if the variable lives
in memory, the optimizing compiler has the freedom to reuse its stack space with other temporaries or
scoped local variables whose live range does not overlap with it. Legacy code extending local
lifetime will likely to break with the stack reuse optimization.
For example,
int *p;
{
int local1;
p = &local1;
local1 = 10;
....
}
{
int local2;
local2 = 20;
...
}
if (*p == 10) // out of scope use of local1
{
}
Another example:
struct A
{
A(int k) : i(k), j(k) { }
int i;
int j;
};
A *ap;
void foo(const A& ar)
{
ap = &ar;
}
void bar()
{
foo(A(10)); // temp object's lifetime ends when foo returns
{
A a(20);
....
}
ap->i+= 10; // ap references out of scope temp whose space
// is reused with a. What is the value of ap->i?
}
The lifetime of a compiler generated temporary is well defined by the C++ standard. When a lifetime
of a temporary ends, and if the temporary lives in memory, the optimizing compiler has the freedom to
reuse its stack space with other temporaries or scoped local variables whose live range does not
overlap with it. However some of the legacy code relies on the behavior of older compilers in which
temporaries' stack space is not reused, the aggressive stack reuse can lead to runtime errors. This
option is used to control the temporary stack reuse optimization.
-ftrapv
This option generates traps for signed overflow on addition, subtraction, multiplication operations.
-fwrapv
This option instructs the compiler to assume that signed arithmetic overflow of addition, subtraction
and multiplication wraps around using twos-complement representation. This flag enables some
optimizations and disables others. This option is enabled by default for the Java front end, as
required by the Java language specification.
-fexceptions
Enable exception handling. Generates extra code needed to propagate exceptions. For some targets,
this implies GCC generates frame unwind information for all functions, which can produce significant
data size overhead, although it does not affect execution. If you do not specify this option, GCC
enables it by default for languages like C++ that normally require exception handling, and disables
it for languages like C that do not normally require it. However, you may need to enable this option
when compiling C code that needs to interoperate properly with exception handlers written in C++.
You may also wish to disable this option if you are compiling older C++ programs that don't use
exception handling.
-fnon-call-exceptions
Generate code that allows trapping instructions to throw exceptions. Note that this requires
platform-specific runtime support that does not exist everywhere. Moreover, it only allows trapping
instructions to throw exceptions, i.e. memory references or floating-point instructions. It does not
allow exceptions to be thrown from arbitrary signal handlers such as "SIGALRM".
-fdelete-dead-exceptions
Consider that instructions that may throw exceptions but don't otherwise contribute to the execution
of the program can be optimized away. This option is enabled by default for the Ada front end, as
permitted by the Ada language specification. Optimization passes that cause dead exceptions to be
removed are enabled independently at different optimization levels.
-funwind-tables
Similar to -fexceptions, except that it just generates any needed static data, but does not affect
the generated code in any other way. You normally do not need to enable this option; instead, a
language processor that needs this handling enables it on your behalf.
-fasynchronous-unwind-tables
Generate unwind table in DWARF 2 format, if supported by target machine. The table is exact at each
instruction boundary, so it can be used for stack unwinding from asynchronous events (such as
debugger or garbage collector).
-fno-gnu-unique
On systems with recent GNU assembler and C library, the C++ compiler uses the "STB_GNU_UNIQUE"
binding to make sure that definitions of template static data members and static local variables in
inline functions are unique even in the presence of "RTLD_LOCAL"; this is necessary to avoid problems
with a library used by two different "RTLD_LOCAL" plugins depending on a definition in one of them
and therefore disagreeing with the other one about the binding of the symbol. But this causes
"dlclose" to be ignored for affected DSOs; if your program relies on reinitialization of a DSO via
"dlclose" and "dlopen", you can use -fno-gnu-unique.
-fpcc-struct-return
Return "short" "struct" and "union" values in memory like longer ones, rather than in registers.
This convention is less efficient, but it has the advantage of allowing intercallability between GCC-
compiled files and files compiled with other compilers, particularly the Portable C Compiler (pcc).
The precise convention for returning structures in memory depends on the target configuration macros.
Short structures and unions are those whose size and alignment match that of some integer type.
Warning: code compiled with the -fpcc-struct-return switch is not binary compatible with code
compiled with the -freg-struct-return switch. Use it to conform to a non-default application binary
interface.
-freg-struct-return
Return "struct" and "union" values in registers when possible. This is more efficient for small
structures than -fpcc-struct-return.
If you specify neither -fpcc-struct-return nor -freg-struct-return, GCC defaults to whichever
convention is standard for the target. If there is no standard convention, GCC defaults to
-fpcc-struct-return, except on targets where GCC is the principal compiler. In those cases, we can
choose the standard, and we chose the more efficient register return alternative.
Warning: code compiled with the -freg-struct-return switch is not binary compatible with code
compiled with the -fpcc-struct-return switch. Use it to conform to a non-default application binary
interface.
-fshort-enums
Allocate to an "enum" type only as many bytes as it needs for the declared range of possible values.
Specifically, the "enum" type is equivalent to the smallest integer type that has enough room.
Warning: the -fshort-enums switch causes GCC to generate code that is not binary compatible with code
generated without that switch. Use it to conform to a non-default application binary interface.
-fshort-double
Use the same size for "double" as for "float".
Warning: the -fshort-double switch causes GCC to generate code that is not binary compatible with
code generated without that switch. Use it to conform to a non-default application binary interface.
-fshort-wchar
Override the underlying type for wchar_t to be short unsigned int instead of the default for the
target. This option is useful for building programs to run under WINE.
Warning: the -fshort-wchar switch causes GCC to generate code that is not binary compatible with code
generated without that switch. Use it to conform to a non-default application binary interface.
-fno-common
In C code, controls the placement of uninitialized global variables. Unix C compilers have
traditionally permitted multiple definitions of such variables in different compilation units by
placing the variables in a common block. This is the behavior specified by -fcommon, and is the
default for GCC on most targets. On the other hand, this behavior is not required by ISO C, and on
some targets may carry a speed or code size penalty on variable references. The -fno-common option
specifies that the compiler should place uninitialized global variables in the data 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 get a multiple-definition
error when you link them. In this case, you must compile with -fcommon instead. Compiling with
-fno-common is useful on targets for which it provides better performance, or if you wish to verify
that the program will work on other systems that always treat uninitialized variable declarations
this way.
-fno-ident
Ignore the #ident directive.
-finhibit-size-directive
Don't output a ".size" assembler directive, or anything else that would cause trouble if the function
is split in the middle, and the two halves are placed at locations far apart in memory. This option
is used when compiling crtstuff.c; you should not need to use it for anything else.
-fverbose-asm
Put extra commentary information in the generated assembly code to make it more readable. This
option is generally only of use to those who actually need to read the generated assembly code
(perhaps while debugging the compiler itself).
-fno-verbose-asm, the default, causes the extra information to be omitted and is useful when
comparing two assembler files.
-frecord-gcc-switches
This switch causes the command line used to invoke the compiler to be recorded into the object file
that is being created. This switch is only implemented on some targets and the exact format of the
recording is target and binary file format dependent, but it usually takes the form of a section
containing ASCII text. This switch is related to the -fverbose-asm switch, but that switch only
records information in the assembler output file as comments, so it never reaches the object file.
See also -grecord-gcc-switches for another way of storing compiler options into the object file.
-fpic
Generate position-independent code (PIC) suitable for use in a shared library, if supported for the
target machine. Such code accesses all constant addresses through a global offset table (GOT). The
dynamic loader resolves the GOT entries when the program starts (the dynamic loader is not part of
GCC; it is part of the operating system). If the GOT size for the linked executable exceeds a
machine-specific maximum size, you get an error message from the linker indicating that -fpic does
not work; in that case, recompile with -fPIC instead. (These maximums are 8k on the SPARC and 32k on
the m68k and RS/6000. The 386 has no such limit.)
Position-independent code requires special support, and therefore works only on certain machines.
For the 386, GCC supports PIC for System V but not for the Sun 386i. Code generated for the IBM
RS/6000 is always position-independent.
When this flag is set, the macros "__pic__" and "__PIC__" are defined to 1.
-fPIC
If supported for the target machine, emit position-independent code, suitable for dynamic linking and
avoiding any limit on the size of the global offset table. This option makes a difference on the
m68k, PowerPC and SPARC.
Position-independent code requires special support, and therefore works only on certain machines.
When this flag is set, the macros "__pic__" and "__PIC__" are defined to 2.
-fpie
-fPIE
These options are similar to -fpic and -fPIC, but generated position independent code can be only
linked into executables. Usually these options are used when -pie GCC option is used during linking.
-fpie and -fPIE both define the macros "__pie__" and "__PIE__". The macros have the value 1 for
-fpie and 2 for -fPIE.
-fno-jump-tables
Do not use jump tables for switch statements even where it would be more efficient than other code
generation strategies. This option is of use in conjunction with -fpic or -fPIC for building code
that forms part of a dynamic linker and cannot reference the address of a jump table. On some
targets, jump tables do not require a GOT and this option is not needed.
-ffixed-reg
Treat the register named reg as a fixed register; generated code should never refer to it (except
perhaps as a stack pointer, frame pointer or in some other fixed role).
reg 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-reg
Treat the register named reg as an allocable register that is clobbered by function calls. It may be
allocated for temporaries or variables that do not live across a call. Functions compiled this way
do not save and restore the register reg.
It is an error to use this flag with the frame pointer or stack pointer. Use of this flag for other
registers that have fixed pervasive roles in the machine's execution model produces disastrous
results.
This flag does not have a negative form, because it specifies a three-way choice.
-fcall-saved-reg
Treat the register named reg as an allocable register saved by functions. It may be allocated even
for temporaries or variables that live across a call. Functions compiled this way save and restore
the register reg if they use it.
It is an error to use this flag with the frame pointer or stack pointer. Use of this flag for other
registers that have fixed pervasive roles in the machine's execution model produces disastrous
results.
A different sort of disaster results 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.
-fpack-struct[=n]
Without a value specified, pack all structure members together without holes. When a value is
specified (which must be a small power of two), pack structure members according to this value,
representing the maximum alignment (that is, objects with default alignment requirements larger than
this are output potentially unaligned at the next fitting location.
Warning: the -fpack-struct switch causes GCC to generate code that is not binary compatible with code
generated without that switch. Additionally, it makes the code suboptimal. Use it to conform to a
non-default application binary interface.
-finstrument-functions
Generate instrumentation calls for entry and exit to functions. Just after function entry and just
before function exit, the following profiling functions are called with the address of the current
function and its call site. (On some platforms, "__builtin_return_address" does not work beyond the
current function, so the call site information may not be available to the profiling functions
otherwise.)
void __cyg_profile_func_enter (void *this_fn,
void *call_site);
void __cyg_profile_func_exit (void *this_fn,
void *call_site);
The first argument is the address of the start of the current function, which may be looked up
exactly in the symbol table.
This instrumentation is also done for functions expanded inline in other functions. The profiling
calls indicate where, conceptually, the inline function is entered and exited. This means that
addressable versions of such functions must be available. If all your uses of a function are
expanded inline, this may mean an additional expansion of code size. If you use extern inline in
your C code, an addressable version of such functions must be provided. (This is normally the case
anyway, but if you get lucky and the optimizer always expands the functions inline, you might have
gotten away without providing static copies.)
A function may be given the attribute "no_instrument_function", in which case this instrumentation is
not done. This can be used, for example, for the profiling functions listed above, high-priority
interrupt routines, and any functions from which the profiling functions cannot safely be called
(perhaps signal handlers, if the profiling routines generate output or allocate memory).
-finstrument-functions-exclude-file-list=file,file,...
Set the list of functions that are excluded from instrumentation (see the description of
"-finstrument-functions"). If the file that contains a function definition matches with one of file,
then that function is not instrumented. The match is done on substrings: if the file parameter is a
substring of the file name, it is considered to be a match.
For example:
-finstrument-functions-exclude-file-list=/bits/stl,include/sys
excludes any inline function defined in files whose pathnames contain "/bits/stl" or "include/sys".
If, for some reason, you want to include letter ',' in one of sym, write ','. For example,
"-finstrument-functions-exclude-file-list=',,tmp'" (note the single quote surrounding the option).
-finstrument-functions-exclude-function-list=sym,sym,...
This is similar to "-finstrument-functions-exclude-file-list", but this option sets the list of
function names to be excluded from instrumentation. The function name to be matched is its user-
visible name, such as "vector<int> blah(const vector<int> &)", not the internal mangled name (e.g.,
"_Z4blahRSt6vectorIiSaIiEE"). The match is done on substrings: if the sym parameter is a substring
of the function name, it is considered to be a match. For C99 and C++ extended identifiers, the
function name must be given in UTF-8, not using universal character names.
-fstack-check
Generate code to verify that you do not go beyond the boundary of the stack. You should specify this
flag if you are running in an environment with multiple threads, but you only rarely need to specify
it in a single-threaded environment since stack overflow is automatically detected on nearly all
systems if there is only one stack.
Note that this switch does not actually cause checking to be done; the operating system or the
language runtime must do that. The switch causes generation of code to ensure that they see the
stack being extended.
You can additionally specify a string parameter: "no" means no checking, "generic" means force the
use of old-style checking, "specific" means use the best checking method and is equivalent to bare
-fstack-check.
Old-style checking is a generic mechanism that requires no specific target support in the compiler
but comes with the following drawbacks:
1. Modified allocation strategy for large objects: they are always allocated dynamically if their
size exceeds a fixed threshold.
2. Fixed limit on the size of the static frame of functions: when it is topped by a particular
function, stack checking is not reliable and a warning is issued by the compiler.
3. Inefficiency: because of both the modified allocation strategy and the generic implementation,
code performance is hampered.
Note that old-style stack checking is also the fallback method for "specific" if no target support
has been added in the compiler.
-fstack-limit-register=reg
-fstack-limit-symbol=sym
-fno-stack-limit
Generate code to ensure that the stack does not grow beyond a certain value, either the value of a
register or the address of a symbol. If a larger stack is required, a signal is raised at run time.
For most targets, the signal is raised before the stack overruns the boundary, so it is possible to
catch the signal without taking special precautions.
For instance, if the stack starts at absolute address 0x80000000 and grows downwards, you can use the
flags -fstack-limit-symbol=__stack_limit and -Wl,--defsym,__stack_limit=0x7ffe0000 to enforce a stack
limit of 128KB. Note that this may only work with the GNU linker.
-fsplit-stack
Generate code to automatically split the stack before it overflows. The resulting program has a
discontiguous stack which can only overflow if the program is unable to allocate any more memory.
This is most useful when running threaded programs, as it is no longer necessary to calculate a good
stack size to use for each thread. This is currently only implemented for the i386 and x86_64 back
ends running GNU/Linux.
When code compiled with -fsplit-stack calls code compiled without -fsplit-stack, there may not be
much stack space available for the latter code to run. If compiling all code, including library
code, with -fsplit-stack is not an option, then the linker can fix up these calls so that the code
compiled without -fsplit-stack always has a large stack. Support for this is implemented in the gold
linker in GNU binutils release 2.21 and later.
-fleading-underscore
This option and its counterpart, -fno-leading-underscore, forcibly change the way C symbols are
represented in the object file. One use is to help link with legacy assembly code.
Warning: the -fleading-underscore switch causes GCC to generate code that is not binary compatible
with code generated without that switch. Use it to conform to a non-default application binary
interface. Not all targets provide complete support for this switch.
-ftls-model=model
Alter the thread-local storage model to be used. The model argument should be one of
"global-dynamic", "local-dynamic", "initial-exec" or "local-exec".
The default without -fpic is "initial-exec"; with -fpic the default is "global-dynamic".
-fvisibility=default|internal|hidden|protected
Set the default ELF image symbol visibility to the specified option---all symbols are marked with
this unless overridden within the code. Using this feature can very substantially improve linking
and load times of shared object libraries, produce more optimized code, provide near-perfect API
export and prevent symbol clashes. It is strongly recommended that you use this in any shared
objects you distribute.
Despite the nomenclature, "default" always means public; i.e., available to be linked against from
outside the shared object. "protected" and "internal" are pretty useless in real-world usage so the
only other commonly used option is "hidden". The default if -fvisibility isn't specified is
"default", i.e., make every symbol public---this causes the same behavior as previous versions of
GCC.
A good explanation of the benefits offered by ensuring ELF symbols have the correct visibility is
given by "How To Write Shared Libraries" by Ulrich Drepper (which can be found at
<http://people.redhat.com/~drepper/>)---however a superior solution made possible by this option to
marking things hidden when the default is public is to make the default hidden and mark things
public. This is the norm with DLLs on Windows and with -fvisibility=hidden and "__attribute__
((visibility("default")))" instead of "__declspec(dllexport)" you get almost identical semantics with
identical syntax. This is a great boon to those working with cross-platform projects.
For those adding visibility support to existing code, you may find #pragma GCC visibility of use.
This works by you enclosing the declarations you wish to set visibility for with (for example)
#pragma GCC visibility push(hidden) and #pragma GCC visibility pop. Bear in mind that symbol
visibility should be viewed as part of the API interface contract and thus all new code should always
specify visibility when it is not the default; i.e., declarations only for use within the local DSO
should always be marked explicitly as hidden as so to avoid PLT indirection overheads---making this
abundantly clear also aids readability and self-documentation of the code. Note that due to ISO C++
specification requirements, "operator new" and "operator delete" must always be of default
visibility.
Be aware that headers from outside your project, in particular system headers and headers from any
other library you use, may not be expecting to be compiled with visibility other than the default.
You may need to explicitly say #pragma GCC visibility push(default) before including any such
headers.
extern declarations are not affected by -fvisibility, so a lot of code can be recompiled with
-fvisibility=hidden with no modifications. However, this means that calls to "extern" functions with
no explicit visibility use the PLT, so it is more effective to use "__attribute ((visibility))"
and/or "#pragma GCC visibility" to tell the compiler which "extern" declarations should be treated as
hidden.
Note that -fvisibility does affect C++ vague linkage entities. This means that, for instance, an
exception class that is be thrown between DSOs must be explicitly marked with default visibility so
that the type_info nodes are unified between the DSOs.
An overview of these techniques, their benefits and how to use them is at
<http://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/Visibility>.
-fstrict-volatile-bitfields
This option should be used if accesses to volatile bit-fields (or other structure fields, although
the compiler usually honors those types anyway) should use a single access of the width of the
field's type, aligned to a natural alignment if possible. For example, targets with memory-mapped
peripheral registers might require all such accesses to be 16 bits wide; with this flag you can
declare all peripheral bit-fields as "unsigned short" (assuming short is 16 bits on these targets) to
force GCC to use 16-bit accesses instead of, perhaps, a more efficient 32-bit access.
If this option is disabled, the compiler uses the most efficient instruction. In the previous
example, that might be a 32-bit load instruction, even though that accesses bytes that do not contain
any portion of the bit-field, or memory-mapped registers unrelated to the one being updated.
If the target requires strict alignment, and honoring the field type would require violating this
alignment, a warning is issued. If the field has "packed" attribute, the access is done without
honoring the field type. If the field doesn't have "packed" attribute, the access is done honoring
the field type. In both cases, GCC assumes that the user knows something about the target hardware
that it is unaware of.
The default value of this option is determined by the application binary interface for the target
processor.
-fsync-libcalls
This option controls whether any out-of-line instance of the "__sync" family of functions may be used
to implement the C++11 "__atomic" family of functions.
The default value of this option is enabled, thus the only useful form of the option is
-fno-sync-libcalls. This option is used in the implementation of the libatomic runtime library.
ENVIRONMENT
This section describes several environment variables that affect how GCC operates. Some of them work by
specifying directories or prefixes to use when searching for various kinds of files. Some are used to
specify other aspects of the compilation environment.
Note that you can also specify places to search using options such as -B, -I and -L. These take
precedence over places specified using environment variables, which in turn take precedence over those
specified by the configuration of GCC.
LANG
LC_CTYPE
LC_MESSAGES
LC_ALL
These environment variables control the way that GCC uses localization information which allows GCC
to work with different national conventions. GCC inspects the locale categories LC_CTYPE and
LC_MESSAGES if it has been configured to do so. These locale categories can be set to any value
supported by your installation. A typical value is en_GB.UTF-8 for English in the United Kingdom
encoded in UTF-8.
The LC_CTYPE environment variable specifies character classification. GCC uses it to determine the
character boundaries in a string; this is needed for some multibyte encodings that contain quote and
escape characters that are otherwise interpreted as a string end or escape.
The LC_MESSAGES environment variable specifies the language to use in diagnostic messages.
If the LC_ALL environment variable is set, it overrides the value of LC_CTYPE and LC_MESSAGES;
otherwise, LC_CTYPE and LC_MESSAGES default to the value of the LANG environment variable. If none
of these variables are set, GCC defaults to traditional C English behavior.
TMPDIR
If TMPDIR is set, it specifies the directory to use for temporary files. GCC uses temporary files to
hold the output of one stage of compilation which is to be used as input to the next stage: for
example, the output of the preprocessor, which is the input to the compiler proper.
GCC_COMPARE_DEBUG
Setting GCC_COMPARE_DEBUG is nearly equivalent to passing -fcompare-debug to the compiler driver.
See the documentation of this option for more details.
GCC_EXEC_PREFIX
If GCC_EXEC_PREFIX is set, it specifies a prefix to use in the names of the subprograms executed by
the compiler. No slash is added when this prefix is combined with the name of a subprogram, but you
can specify a prefix that ends with a slash if you wish.
If GCC_EXEC_PREFIX is not set, GCC attempts to figure out an appropriate prefix to use based on the
pathname it is invoked with.
If GCC cannot find the subprogram using the specified prefix, it tries looking in the usual places
for the subprogram.
The default value of GCC_EXEC_PREFIX is prefix/lib/gcc/ where prefix is the prefix to the installed
compiler. In many cases prefix is the value of "prefix" when you ran the configure script.
Other prefixes specified with -B take precedence over this prefix.
This prefix is also used for finding files such as crt0.o that are used for linking.
In addition, the prefix is used in an unusual way in finding the directories to search for header
files. For each of the standard directories whose name normally begins with /usr/local/lib/gcc (more
precisely, with the value of GCC_INCLUDE_DIR), GCC tries replacing that beginning with the specified
prefix to produce an alternate directory name. Thus, with -Bfoo/, GCC searches foo/bar just before
it searches the standard directory /usr/local/lib/bar. If a standard directory begins with the
configured prefix then the value of prefix is replaced by GCC_EXEC_PREFIX when looking for header
files.
COMPILER_PATH
The value of COMPILER_PATH is a colon-separated list of directories, much like PATH. GCC tries the
directories thus specified when searching for subprograms, if it can't find the subprograms using
GCC_EXEC_PREFIX.
LIBRARY_PATH
The value of LIBRARY_PATH is a colon-separated list of directories, much like PATH. When configured
as a native compiler, GCC tries the directories thus specified when searching for special linker
files, if it can't find them using GCC_EXEC_PREFIX. Linking using GCC also uses these directories
when searching for ordinary libraries for the -l option (but directories specified with -L come
first).
LANG
This variable is used to pass locale information to the compiler. One way in which this information
is used is to determine the character set to be used when character literals, string literals and
comments are parsed in C and C++. When the compiler is configured to allow multibyte characters, the
following values for LANG are recognized:
C-JIS
Recognize JIS characters.
C-SJIS
Recognize SJIS characters.
C-EUCJP
Recognize EUCJP characters.
If LANG is not defined, or if it has some other value, then the compiler uses "mblen" and "mbtowc" as
defined by the default locale to recognize and translate multibyte characters.
Some additional environment variables affect the behavior of the preprocessor.
CPATH
C_INCLUDE_PATH
CPLUS_INCLUDE_PATH
OBJC_INCLUDE_PATH
Each variable's value is a list of directories separated by a special character, much like PATH, in
which to look for header files. The special character, "PATH_SEPARATOR", is target-dependent and
determined at GCC build time. For Microsoft Windows-based targets it is a semicolon, and for almost
all other targets it is a colon.
CPATH specifies a list of directories to be searched as if specified with -I, but after any paths
given with -I options on the command line. This environment variable is used regardless of which
language is being preprocessed.
The remaining environment variables apply only when preprocessing the particular language indicated.
Each specifies a list of directories to be searched as if specified with -isystem, but after any
paths given with -isystem options on the command line.
In all these variables, an empty element instructs the compiler to search its current working
directory. Empty elements can appear at the beginning or end of a path. For instance, if the value
of CPATH is ":/special/include", that has the same effect as -I. -I/special/include.
DEPENDENCIES_OUTPUT
If this variable is set, its value specifies how to output dependencies for Make based on the non-
system header files processed by the compiler. System header files are ignored in the dependency
output.
The value of DEPENDENCIES_OUTPUT can be just a file name, in which case the Make rules are written to
that file, guessing the target name from the source file name. Or the value can have the form file
target, in which case the rules are written to file file using target as the target name.
In other words, this environment variable is equivalent to combining the options -MM and -MF, with an
optional -MT switch too.
SUNPRO_DEPENDENCIES
This variable is the same as DEPENDENCIES_OUTPUT (see above), except that system header files are not
ignored, so it implies -M rather than -MM. However, the dependence on the main input file is
omitted.
BUGS
For instructions on reporting bugs, see <file:///usr/share/doc/gcc-4.8/README.Bugs>.
FOOTNOTES
1. On some systems, gcc -shared needs to build supplementary stub code for constructors to work. On
multi-libbed systems, gcc -shared must select the correct support libraries to link against. Failing
to supply the correct flags may lead to subtle defects. Supplying them in cases where they are not
necessary is innocuous.
SEE ALSO
gpl(7), gfdl(7), fsf-funding(7), cpp(1), gcov(1), as(1), ld(1), gdb(1), adb(1), dbx(1), sdb(1) and the
Info entries for gcc, cpp, as, ld, binutils and gdb.
AUTHOR
See the Info entry for gcc, or <http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Contributors.html>, for contributors to
GCC.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 1988-2015 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free
Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with
the Invariant Sections being "GNU General Public License" and "Funding Free Software", the Front-Cover
texts being (a) (see below), and with the Back-Cover Texts being (b) (see below). A copy of the license
is included in the gfdl(7) man page.
(a) The FSF's Front-Cover Text is:
A GNU Manual
(b) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is:
You have freedom to copy and modify this GNU Manual, like GNU
software. Copies published by the Free Software Foundation raise
funds for GNU development.
gcc-4.8 2015-06-23 GCC(1)