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From: baron@transys.UUCP (Joe Portman)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix
Subject: Re: What does "Infinite Spill" error message indicate?
Message-ID: <344@transys.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 16-Oct-87 22:32:34 EDT
Article-I.D.: transys.344
Posted: Fri Oct 16 22:32:34 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 18-Oct-87 09:45:34 EDT
References: <99@citcom.UUCP>
Reply-To: baron@transys.UUCP (Joe Portman)
Organization: TransSystems Inc. Bellevue, WA
Lines: 42

In article <99@citcom.UUCP> peter@citcom.UUCP (Peter Klosky) writes:
>We tried compiling a C program which gave the "Infinite Spill"
>compiler error.  Does anyone know what causes this message?
>It occurs under both  2.2 and 2.1.3 SCO.  None of the people
>here have any idea what the problem is, and a call to SCO
>did not reveal anything technical; just a lot of listening to
>recorded messages and searching for serial numbers.


I have seen this question a few times and experienced the problem a few times.

Eric Griswold of SCO explained it to me as follows:

Infinite spill errors occur when the compiler runs out of registers in which
to "spill" intermediate results in a complcated expression. This usuall occurs 
in large and huge model programs. 

The compiler will generate an error message indicating the file and line number
of the offending expression.

Cure:

	Find the offending line and break the expression into smaller discrete
	steps.

	An example:
	

	x = y->z[10].foo * y->z[9].bar;

	example cure:

	int a,b,c;

	a=y->z[10].foo;
	b=y->z[9].bar
	x=a*b;

	
This example may contain errors (so be it) but I hope you get the idea.
Complex pointer and array/structure references in large and huge model programs
will generate the error. Simplifying the expressions will cure the error.