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From: vinoski@apollo.HP.COM (Stephen Vinoski)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.perl
Subject: VOLATILE in cmd.c
Message-ID: <51b2fae2.20b6d@apollo.HP.COM>
Date: 21 May 91 18:11 GMT
Sender: root@apollo.HP.COM
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Apollo Division - Chelmsford, MA
Lines: 23


Several weeks ago someone was complaining that the Apollo Domain/C
compiler gave bogus warnings about the function arguments specified as
"volatile" in the file cmd.c, and wanted to know what they could do
about it.  It might be better to ask why those function arguments are
specified as "volatile" in the first place.

What exactly does it mean to specify function arguments as volatile?
How can a stack location or a register be volatile, assuming the
computer is operating correctly and the compiler generates proper
code?  The only reason I could come up with for making the arguments
volatile would be to prevent some brain-damaged compiler from
incorrectly optimizing references to them away.

Can someone enlighten me?  I personally think our compiler is right
for barking about this strange usage of the "volatile" specifier.


thanks,
-steve

| Steve Vinoski  (508)256-0176 x5904       | Internet: vinoski@apollo.hp.com  |
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