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From: kenny@uiucdcsb.cs.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: net.lang.c++
Subject: ``this'' other than register?
Message-ID: <154000005@uiucdcsb>
Date: Tue, 21-Oct-86 14:47:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: uiucdcsb.154000005
Posted: Tue Oct 21 14:47:00 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 23-Oct-86 02:44:53 EDT
Lines: 25
Nf-ID: #N:uiucdcsb:154000005:000:1161
Nf-From: uiucdcsb.cs.uiuc.edu!kenny    Oct 21 13:47:00 1986


	The C++ compiler in use here (1.0; we have 1.1 on order but it
has yet to arrive) always declares ``this'' as a register argument.  As
Bjarne points out, if a function has little use for ``this'' (I have
one that picks up an instance variable, goes through a complex loop
that uses only local variables, and finally plugs the instance variable
back) making ``this'' a register is a loss, particularly on Vax.

	In addition, it turns out that (again on Vax) the loop in
question works out to be *much* faster if I can use a sixth register
variable (the working set just happens to be six registers).

+	Do any of the newer compilers allow ``this'' to be other than
	register?

+	Does anyone have something clever to interpose between cfront
	and cc that gets rid of the register declaration?  That gets
	rid of it for one entry function?  Yes, I'm hacker enough to
	build my own, but why re-invent the wheel?

Kevin Kenny			UUCP: {ihnp4,pur-ee,convex}!uiucdcs!kenny
Department of Computer Science	ARPA: kenny@B.CS.UIUC.EDU (kenny@UIUC.ARPA)
University of Illinois		CSNET: kenny@UIUC.CSNET
1304 W. Springfield Ave.
Urbana, Illinois, 61801		Voice: (217) 333-7980