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(gcc-295.info)Local Reg Vars

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Specifying Registers for Local Variables
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   You can define a local register variable with a specified register
like this:

     register int *foo asm ("a5");

Here `a5' is the name of the register which should be used.  Note that
this is the same syntax used for defining global register variables,
but for a local variable it would appear within a function.

   Naturally the register name is cpu-dependent, but this is not a
problem, since specific registers are most often useful with explicit
assembler instructions (Note: Extended Asm.).  Both of these things
generally require that you conditionalize your program according to cpu
type.

   In addition, operating systems on one type of cpu may differ in how
they name the registers; then you would need additional conditionals.
For example, some 68000 operating systems call this register `%a5'.

   Defining such a register variable does not reserve the register; it
remains available for other uses in places where flow control determines
the variable's value is not live.  However, these registers are made
unavailable for use in the reload pass; excessive use of this feature
leaves the compiler too few available registers to compile certain
functions.

   This option does not guarantee that GNU CC will generate code that
has this variable in the register you specify at all times.  You may not
code an explicit reference to this register in an `asm' statement and
assume it will always refer to this variable.

   Stores into local register variables may be deleted when they appear
to be dead according to dataflow analysis.  References to local
register variables may be deleted or moved or simplified.