1 <!doctype linuxdoc system>
4 <title>cc65 Users Guide
5 <author>Ullrich von Bassewitz, <htmlurl url="mailto:uz@cc65.org" name="uz@cc65.org">
6 <date>2000-09-03, 2001-10-02, 2005-08-01
9 cc65 is a C compiler for 6502 targets. It supports several 6502 based home
10 computers like the Commodore and Atari machines, but it is easily retargetable.
13 <!-- Table of contents -->
16 <!-- Begin the document -->
21 cc65 was originally a C compiler for the Atari 8-bit machines written by
22 John R. Dunning. In prior releases I've described the compiler by listing
23 up the changes made by me. I have made many more changes in the meantime
24 (and rewritten major parts of the compiler), so I will no longer do that,
25 since the list would be too large and of no use to anyone. Instead I will
26 describe the compiler in respect to the ANSI/ISO C standard.
28 There are separate documents named <url url="library.html"> and <url
29 url="funcref.html"> that cover the library that is available for the compiler.
30 If you know C, and are interested in doing actual programming, the library
31 documentation is probably of much more use than this document.
33 If you need some hints for getting the best code out of the compiler, you
34 may have a look at <url url="coding.html"> which covers some code generation
41 The compiler translates C files into files containing assembly code that
42 may be translated by the ca65 macroassembler (for more information about
43 the assembler, have a look at <url url="ca65.html">).
46 <sect1>Command line option overview<p>
48 The compiler may be called as follows:
51 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
52 Usage: cc65 [options] file
54 -Cl Make local variables static
55 -Dsym[=defn] Define a symbol
56 -E Stop after the preprocessing stage
57 -I dir Set an include directory search path
59 -Oi Optimize code, inline more code
60 -Or Enable register variables
61 -Os Inline some known functions
62 -T Include source as comment
63 -V Print the compiler version number
64 -W warning[,...] Suppress warnings
66 -g Add debug info to object file
68 -j Default characters are signed
69 -mm model Set the memory model
70 -o name Name the output file
71 -r Enable register variables
72 -t sys Set the target system
76 --add-source Include source as comment
77 --bss-name seg Set the name of the BSS segment
78 --check-stack Generate stack overflow checks
79 --code-name seg Set the name of the CODE segment
80 --codesize x Accept larger code by factor x
81 --cpu type Set cpu type (6502, 65c02)
82 --create-dep name Create a make dependency file
83 --create-full-dep name Create a full make dependency file
84 --data-name seg Set the name of the DATA segment
86 --debug-info Add debug info to object file
87 --debug-opt name Debug optimization steps
88 --dep-target target Use this dependency target
89 --disable-opt name Disable an optimization step
90 --enable-opt name Enable an optimization step
91 --forget-inc-paths Forget include search paths
92 --help Help (this text)
93 --include-dir dir Set an include directory search path
94 --list-opt-steps List all optimizer steps and exit
95 --list-warnings List available warning types for -W
96 --local-strings Emit string literals immediately
97 --memory-model model Set the memory model
98 --register-space b Set space available for register variables
99 --register-vars Enable register variables
100 --rodata-name seg Set the name of the RODATA segment
101 --signed-chars Default characters are signed
102 --standard std Language standard (c89, c99, cc65)
103 --static-locals Make local variables static
104 --target sys Set the target system
105 --verbose Increase verbosity
106 --version Print the compiler version number
107 --writable-strings Make string literals writable
108 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
112 <sect1>Command line options in detail<p>
114 Here is a description of all the command line options:
118 <label id="option-bss-name">
119 <tag><tt>--bss-name seg</tt></tag>
121 Set the name of the bss segment. See also <tt/<ref id="pragma-bss-name"
122 name="#pragma bss-name">/.
125 <label id="option-check-stack">
126 <tag><tt>--check-stack</tt></tag>
128 Tells the compiler to generate code that checks for stack overflows. See
129 <tt/<ref id="pragma-check-stack" name="#pragma check-stack">/ for an
130 explanation of this feature.
133 <label id="option-code-name">
134 <tag><tt>--code-name seg</tt></tag>
136 Set the name of the code segment. See also <tt/<ref id="pragma-code-name"
137 name="#pragma code-name">/
140 <label id="option-codesize">
141 <tag><tt>--codesize x</tt></tag>
143 This options allows finer control about speed vs. size decisions in the code
144 generation and optimization phases. It gives the allowed size increase
145 factor (in percent). The default is 100 when not using <tt/-Oi/ and 200 when
146 using <tt/-Oi/ (<tt/-Oi/ is the same as <tt/-O --codesize 200/).
149 <label id="option--cpu">
150 <tag><tt>--cpu CPU</tt></tag>
152 Set the CPU, the compiler generates code for. You may specify "6502" or
153 "65C02" as the CPU. The default depends on the selected target (see option
154 <tt/<ref id="option-t" name="-t">/). It is the 6502 CPU for most targets or
155 if no target has been set. Specifying 65C02 will use a few 65C02
156 instructions when generating code. Don't expect too much from this option:
157 In most cases the difference in size and speed is just 1-2%.
160 <label id="option-create-dep">
161 <tag><tt>--create-dep name</tt></tag>
163 Tells the compiler to generate a file containing the dependency list for the
164 compiled module in makefile syntax. The output is written to a file with the
165 given name. The output does not include system include files (in angle
169 <label id="option-create-full-dep">
170 <tag><tt>--create-full-dep name</tt></tag>
172 Tells the compiler to generate a file containing the dependency list for the
173 compiled module in makefile syntax. The output is written to a file with the
174 given name. The output does include system include files (in angle
178 <label id="option-data-name">
179 <tag><tt>--data-name seg</tt></tag>
181 Set the name of the data segment. See also <tt/<ref id="pragma-data-name"
182 name="#pragma data-name">/
185 <tag><tt>-d, --debug</tt></tag>
187 Enables debug mode, something that should not be needed for mere
191 <label id="option-dep-target">
192 <tag><tt>--dep-target target</tt></tag>
194 When generating a dependency file, don't use the actual output file as the
195 target of the dependency, but the file specified with this option. The
196 option has no effect if neither <tt/<ref id="option-create-dep"
197 name="--create-dep">/ nor <tt/<ref id="option-create-full-dep"
198 name="--create-full-dep">/ is specified.
201 <tag><tt>-D sym[=definition]</tt></tag>
203 Define a macro on the command line. If no definition is given, the macro
204 is defined to the value "1".
207 <tag><tt>--forget-inc-paths</tt></tag>
209 Forget the builtin include paths. This is most useful when building
210 customized C or runtime libraries, in which case the standard header
211 files should be ignored.
214 <tag><tt>-g, --debug-info</tt></tag>
216 This will cause the compiler to insert a <tt/.DEBUGINFO/ command into the
217 generated assembler code. This will cause the assembler to include all
218 symbols in a special section in the object file.
221 <tag><tt>-h, --help</tt></tag>
223 Print the short option summary shown above.
226 <label id="option-list-warnings">
227 <tag><tt>--list-warnings</tt></tag>
229 List the names of warning types available for use with <tt><ref
230 id="option-W" name="-W"></tt>.
233 <label id="option-local-strings">
234 <tag><tt>--local-strings</tt></tag>
236 Emit string literals to the data segment when they're encountered in the
237 source. The default is to keep string literals until end of assembly, merge
238 read only literals if possible, and then output the literals into the data
239 or rodata segment that is active at that point. Use of this option prevents
240 merging of duplicate strings, but the options that change the name of one of
241 the data segments will work.
243 You can also use <tt><ref id="pragma-local-strings"
244 name="#pragma local-strings"></tt> for fine grained control.
247 <tag><tt>-o name</tt></tag>
249 Specify the name of the output file. If you don't specify a name, the
250 name of the C input file is used, with the extension replaced by ".s".
253 <label id="option-register-vars">
254 <tag><tt>-r, --register-vars</tt></tag>
256 <tt/-r/ will make the compiler honor the <tt/register/ keyword. Local
257 variables may be placed in registers (which are actually zero page
258 locations). There is some overhead involved with register variables, since
259 the old contents of the registers must be saved and restored. Since register
260 variables are of limited use without the optimizer, there is also a combined
261 switch: <tt/-Or/ will enable both, the optimizer and register variables.
263 For more information about register variables see <ref id="register-vars"
264 name="register variables">.
266 The compiler setting can also be changed within the source file by using
267 <tt/<ref id="pragma-register-vars" name="#pragma register-vars">/.
270 <label id="option-register-space">
271 <tag><tt>--register-space</tt></tag>
273 This option takes a numeric parameter and is used to specify, how much
274 zero page register space is available. Please note that just giving this
275 option will not increase or decrease by itself, it will just tell the
276 compiler about the available space. You will have to allocate that space
277 yourself using an assembler module with the necessary allocations, and a
278 linker configuration that matches the assembler module. The default value
279 for this option is 6 (bytes).
281 If you don't know what all this means, please don't use this option.
284 <label id="option-rodata-name">
285 <tag><tt>--rodata-name seg</tt></tag>
287 Set the name of the rodata segment (the segment used for readonly data).
288 See also <tt/<ref id="pragma-rodata-name" name="#pragma rodata-name">/
290 <label id="option-signed-chars">
291 <tag><tt>-j, --signed-chars</tt></tag>
293 Using this option, you can make the default characters signed. Since the
294 6502 has no provisions for sign extending characters (which is needed on
295 almost any load operation), this will make the code larger and slower. A
296 better way is to declare characters explicitly as "signed" if needed. You
297 can also use <tt><ref id="pragma-signed-chars"
298 name="#pragma signed-chars"></tt> for better control of this option.
301 <label id="option--standard">
302 <tag><tt>--standard std</tt></tag>
304 This option allows to set the language standard supported. The argument is
308 This disables anything that is illegal in C89/C90. Among those things
309 are <tt>//</tt> comments and the non-standard keywords without
310 underscores. Please note that cc65 is not a fully C89 compliant compiler
311 despite this option. A few more things (like floats) are missing.
314 This enables a few features from the C99 standard. With this option,
315 <tt>//</tt> comments are allowed. It will also cause warnings and even
316 errors in a few situations that are allowed with <tt/--standard c89/.
317 For example, a call to a function without a prototype is an error in
321 This is the default mode. It is like c99 mode, but additional features
322 are enabled. Among these are "void data", non-standard keywords without
323 the underlines, unnamed function parameters and the requirement for
324 main() to return an int.
327 Please note that the compiler does not support the C99 standard and never
328 will. c99 mode is actually c89 mode with a few selected C99 extensions.
331 <label id="option-t">
332 <tag><tt>-t target, --target target</tt></tag>
334 This option is used to set the target system. The target system determines
335 the character set that is used for strings and character constants and the
336 default CPU. The CPU setting can be overriden by use of the <tt/<ref
337 id="option--cpu" name="--cpu">/ option.
339 The following target systems are supported:
347 <item>c16 (works also for the c116 with memory up to 32K)
350 <item>cbm510 (CBM-II series with 40 column video)
351 <item>cbm610 (all CBM-II II computers with 80 column video)
356 <item>pet (all CBM PET systems except the 2001)
362 <tag><tt>-v, --verbose</tt></tag>
364 Using this option, the compiler will be somewhat more verbose if errors
365 or warnings are encountered.
368 <label id="option-writable-strings">
369 <tag><tt>--writable-strings</tt></tag>
371 Make string literals writable by placing them into the data segment instead
372 of the rodata segment. You can also use <tt><ref id="pragma-writable-strings"
373 name="#pragma writable-strings"></tt> to control this option from within
377 <label id="option-static-locals">
378 <tag><tt>-Cl, --static-locals</tt></tag>
380 Use static storage for local variables instead of storage on the stack.
381 Since the stack is emulated in software, this gives shorter and usually
382 faster code, but the code is no longer reentrant. The difference between
383 <tt/-Cl/ and declaring local variables as static yourself is, that
384 initializer code is executed each time, the function is entered. So when
395 the variable <tt/a/ will always have the value <tt/1/ when entering the
396 function and using <tt/-Cl/, while in
401 static unsigned a = 1;
406 the variable <tt/a/ will have the value <tt/1/ only the first time that the
407 function is entered, and will keep the old value from one call of the
408 function to the next.
410 You may also use <tt><ref id="pragma-static-locals"
411 name="#pragma static-locals"></tt> to change this setting in your
415 <label id="option-include-dir">
416 <tag><tt>-I dir, --include-dir dir</tt></tag>
418 Set a directory where the compiler searches for include files. You may
419 use this option multiple times to add more than one directory to the
423 <label id="option-O">
424 <tag><tt>-O, -Oi, -Or, -Os</tt></tag>
426 Enable an optimizer run over the produced code.
428 Using <tt/-Oi/, the code generator will inline some code where otherwise a
429 runtime functions would have been called, even if the generated code is
430 larger. This will not only remove the overhead for a function call, but will
431 make the code visible for the optimizer. <tt/-Oi/ is an alias for
432 <tt/-O --codesize 200/.
434 <tt/-Or/ will make the compiler honor the <tt/register/ keyword. Local
435 variables may be placed in registers (which are actually zero page
436 locations). See also the <tt/<ref id="option-register-vars"
437 name="--register-vars">/ command line option, and the <ref
438 id="register-vars" name="discussion of register variables"> below.
440 Using <tt/-Os/ will force the compiler to inline some known functions from
441 the C library like strlen. Note: This has two consequences:
444 <item>You may not use names of standard C functions in your own code. If you
445 do that, your program is not standard compliant anyway, but using
446 <tt/-Os/ will actually break things.
448 <item>The inlined string and memory functions will not handle strings or
449 memory areas larger than 255 bytes. Similarly, the inlined <tt/is..()/
450 functions will not work with values outside the char. range (such as
455 It is possible to concatenate the modifiers for <tt/-O/. For example, to
456 enable register variables and inlining of known functions, you may use
460 <tag><tt>-T, --add-source</tt></tag>
462 This include the source code as comments in the generated code. This is
466 <tag><tt>-V, --version</tt></tag>
468 Print the version number of the compiler. When submitting a bug report,
469 please include the operating system you're using, and the compiler
473 <label id="option-W">
474 <tag><tt>-W name[,name]</tt></tag>
476 This option allows to control warnings generated by the compiler. It is
477 followed by a comma separated list of warnings that should be enabled or
478 disabled. To disable a warning, its name is prefixed by a minus sign. If
479 no such prefix exists, or the name is prefixed by a plus sign, the warning
482 The following warning names are currently recognized:
484 <tag><tt/const-comparison/</tag>
485 Warn if the result of a comparison is constant.
486 <tag><tt/error/</tag>
487 Treat all warnings as errors.
488 <tag><tt/no-effect/</tag>
489 Warn about statements that don't have an effect.
490 <tag><tt/struct-param/</tag>
491 Warn when passing structs by value.
492 <tag><tt/unknown-pragma/</tag>
493 Warn about known #pragmas.
494 <tag><tt/unused-label/</tag>
495 Warn about unused labels.
496 <tag><tt/unused-param/</tag>
497 Warn about unused function parameters.
498 <tag><tt/unused-var/</tag>
499 Warn about unused variables.
502 The full list of available warning names may be retrieved by using the
503 option <tt><ref id="option-list-warnings" name="--list-warnings"></tt>.
505 You may also use <tt><ref id="pragma-warn" name="#pragma warn"></tt> to
506 control this setting for smaller pieces of code from within your code.
511 <sect>Input and output<p>
513 The compiler will accept one C file per invocation and create a file with
514 the same base name, but with the extension replaced by ".s". The output
515 file contains assembler code suitable for the use with the ca65 macro
518 Include files in single quotes are searched in the following places:
520 <item>The current directory.
521 <item>The value of the environment variable <tt/CC65_INC/ if it is defined.
522 <item>Any directory added with the <tt/-I/ option on the command line.
525 Include files in angle brackets are searched in the following places:
527 <item>A compiled in directory which is often <tt>/usr/lib/cc65/include</tt> on
529 <item>The value of the environment variable <tt/CC65_INC/ if it is defined.
530 <item>A subdirectory named <tt/include/ of the directory defined in the
531 environment variable <tt/CC65_HOME/, if it is defined.
532 <item>Any directory added with the <tt/-I/ option on the command line.
537 <sect>Differences to the ISO standard<p>
539 Apart from the things listed below, the compiler does support additional
540 keywords, has several functions in the standard headers with names outside the
541 reserved namespace and a few syntax extensions. All these can be disabled with
542 the <tt><ref id="option--standard" name="--standard"></tt> command line
543 option. Its use for maximum standards compatibility is advised.
545 Here is a list of differences between the language, the compiler accepts,
546 and the one defined by the ISO standard:
550 <item> The datatypes "float" and "double" are not available.
552 <item> C Functions may not return structs (or unions), and structs may not
553 be passed as parameters by value. However, struct assignment *is*
556 <item> Part of the C library is available only with fastcall calling
557 conventions (see below). It means that you must not mix pointers to
558 those functions with pointers to user-written, not-fastcall functions.
560 <item> The <tt/volatile/ keyword doesn't have an effect. This is not as bad
561 as it sounds, since the 6502 has so few registers that it isn't
562 possible to keep values in registers anyway.
566 There may be some more minor differences I'm currently not aware of. The
567 biggest problem is the missing float data type. With this limitation in
568 mind, you should be able to write fairly portable code.
574 This cc65 version has some extensions to the ISO C standard.
578 <item> The compiler allows to insert assembler statements into the output
582 asm (<string literal>[, optional parameters]) ;
586 __asm__ (<string literal>[, optional parameters]) ;
589 The first form is in the user namespace and is disabled if the <tt/-A/
592 There is a whole section covering inline assembler statements,
593 <ref id="inline-asm" name="see there">.
596 <item> There is a special calling convention named "fastcall".
597 The syntax for a function declaration using fastcall is
600 <return type> fastcall <function name> (<parameter list>)
604 <return type> __fastcall__ <function name> (<parameter list>)
608 void __fastcall__ f (unsigned char c)
610 The first form of the fastcall keyword is in the user namespace and can
611 therefore be disabled with the <tt><ref id="option--standard"
612 name="--standard"></tt> command line option.
614 For functions declared as <tt/fastcall/, the rightmost parameter is not
615 pushed on the stack but left in the primary register when the function
616 is called. This will reduce the cost when calling assembler functions
617 significantly, especially when the function itself is rather small.
620 <item> There are two pseudo variables named <tt/__AX__/ and <tt/__EAX__/.
621 Both refer to the primary register that is used by the compiler to
622 evaluate expressions or return function results. <tt/__AX__/ is of
623 type <tt/unsigned int/ and <tt/__EAX__/ of type <tt/long unsigned int/
624 respectively. The pseudo variables may be used as lvalue and rvalue as
625 every other variable. They are most useful together with short
626 sequences of assembler code. For example, the macro
636 will give the high byte of any unsigned value.
639 <item> Inside a function, the identifier <tt/__func__/ gives the name of the
640 current function as a string. Outside of functions, <tt/__func__/ is
645 #define PRINT_DEBUG(s) printf ("%s: %s\n", __func__, s);
648 The macro will print the name of the current function plus a given
652 <item> cc65 allows the initialization of <tt/void/ variables. This may be
653 used to create variable structures that are more compatible with
654 interfaces written for assembler languages. Here is an example:
657 void GCmd = { (char)3, (unsigned)0x2000, (unsigned)0x3000 };
660 This will be translated as follows:
669 Since the variable is of type <tt/void/ you may not use it as is.
670 However, taking the address of the variable results in a <tt/void*/
671 which may be passed to any function expecting a pointer.
673 See the <url url="geos.html" name="GEOS library document"> for examples
674 on how to use this feature.
677 <item> cc65 implements flexible array struct members as defined in the C99 ISO
678 standard. As an extension, these fields may be initialized. There are
679 several exceptions, however (which is probably the reason why the
680 standard does not define this feature, because it is highly
681 unorthogonal). Flexible array members cannot be initialized ...
684 <item>... when defining an array of structs with flexible
686 <item>... if such a struct is a member field of another struct
687 which is not the last field.
688 <item>... if the struct which contains a flexible array member is
689 declared as <tt/register/, and the size and compiler settings
690 do allow the compiler actually to place the struct into the
691 register bank in the zero page.
694 Please note that -- as defined in the ISO C standard -- the <tt/sizeof/
695 operator returns the struct size with the flexible array member having
696 size zero, even if it is initialized.
703 <sect>Predefined macros<p>
705 The compiler defines several macros at startup:
708 <tag><tt>__APPLE2__</tt></tag>
710 This macro is defined if the target is the Apple ][ (-t apple2).
712 <tag><tt>__APPLE2ENH__</tt></tag>
714 This macro is defined if the target is the enhanced Apple //e (-t apple2enh).
716 <tag><tt>__ATARI__</tt></tag>
718 This macro is defined if the target is one of the Atari computers
719 (400/800/130XL/800XL).
721 <tag><tt>__ATMOS__</tt></tag>
723 This macro is defined if the target is the Oric Atmos (-t atmos).
725 <tag><tt>__C128__</tt></tag>
727 This macro is defined if the target is the c128 (-t c128).
729 <tag><tt>__C16__</tt></tag>
731 This macro is defined if the target is the c16 (-t c16).
733 <tag><tt>__C64__</tt></tag>
735 This macro is defined if the target is the c64 (-t c64).
737 <tag><tt>__CBM__</tt></tag>
739 This macro is defined if the target system is one of the CBM targets.
741 <tag><tt>__CBM510__</tt></tag>
743 This macro is defined if the target is the CBM 500 series of computers.
745 <tag><tt>__CBM610__</tt></tag>
747 This macro is defined if the target is one of the CBM 600/700 family of
748 computers (called B series in the US).
750 <tag><tt>__CC65__</tt></tag>
752 This macro is always defined. Its value is the version number of the
753 compiler in hex. For example, version 2.10.1 of the compiler has this macro
754 defined as <tt/0x02A1/.
756 <tag><tt>__CC65_STD__</tt></tag>
758 This macro is defined to one of the following depending on the <tt><ref
759 id="option--standard" name="--standard"></tt> command line option:
761 <item><tt/__CC65_STD_C89__/
762 <item><tt/__CC65_STD_C99__/
763 <item><tt/__CC65_STD_CC65__/
766 <tag><tt>__DATE__</tt></tag>
768 This macro expands to the date of translation of the preprocessing
769 translation unit in the form "Mmm dd yyyy".
771 <tag><tt>__FILE__</tt></tag>
773 This macro expands to a string containing the name of the C source file.
775 <tag><tt>__GEOS__</tt></tag>
777 This macro is defined if you are compiling for the GEOS system (-t geos).
779 <tag><tt>__LINE__</tt></tag>
781 This macro expands to the current line number.
783 <tag><tt>__LUNIX__</tt></tag>
785 This macro is defined if you are compiling for the LUnix system (-t lunix).
787 <tag><tt>__LYNX__</tt></tag>
789 This macro is defined if the target is the Atari Lynx (-t lynx).
791 <tag><tt>__NES__</tt></tag>
793 This macro is defined if the target is the NES (-t nes).
795 <tag><tt>__OPT__</tt></tag>
797 Is defined if the compiler was called with the <tt/-O/ command line option.
799 <tag><tt>__OPT_i__</tt></tag>
801 Is defined if the compiler was called with the <tt/-Oi/ command line option.
803 <tag><tt>__OPT_r__</tt></tag>
805 Is defined if the compiler was called with the <tt/-Or/ command line option.
807 <tag><tt>__OPT_s__</tt></tag>
809 Is defined if the compiler was called with the <tt/-Os/ command line option.
811 <tag><tt>__PET__</tt></tag>
813 This macro is defined if the target is the PET family of computers (-t pet).
815 <tag><tt>__PLUS4__</tt></tag>
817 This macro is defined if the target is the plus/4 (-t plus4).
819 <tag><tt>__STDC_HOSTED__</tt></tag>
821 This macro is expands to the integer constant 1.
823 <tag><tt>__SUPERVISION__</tt></tag>
825 This macro is defined if the target is the supervision (-t supervision).
827 <tag><tt>__TIME__</tt></tag>
829 This macro expands to the time of translation of the preprocessing
830 translation unit in the form "hh:mm:ss".
832 <tag><tt>__VIC20__</tt></tag>
834 This macro is defined if the target is the vic20 (-t vic20).
838 <sect>#pragmas<label id="pragmas"><p>
840 The compiler understands some pragmas that may be used to change code
841 generation and other stuff. Some of these pragmas understand a special form:
842 If the first parameter is <tt/push/, the old value is saved onto a stack
843 before changing it. The value may later be restored by using the <tt/pop/
844 parameter with the <tt/#pragma/.
846 <sect1><tt>#pragma bss-name ([push,] <name>)</tt><label id="pragma-bss-name"><p>
848 This pragma changes the name used for the BSS segment (the BSS segment
849 is used to store uninitialized data). The argument is a string enclosed
852 Note: The default linker configuration file does only map the standard
853 segments. If you use other segments, you have to create a new linker
856 Beware: The startup code will zero only the default BSS segment. If you
857 use another BSS segment, you have to do that yourself, otherwise
858 uninitialized variables do not have the value zero.
860 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
864 #pragma bss-name ("MyBSS")
868 <sect1><tt>#pragma charmap (<index>, <code>)</tt><label id="pragma-charmap"><p>
870 Each literal string and each literal character in the source is translated
871 by use of a translation table. This translation table is preset when the
872 compiler is started depending on the target system, for example to map
873 ISO-8859-1 characters into PETSCII if the target is a commodore machine.
875 This pragma allows to change entries in the translation table, so the
876 translation for individual characters, or even the complete table may be
879 Both arguments are assumed to be unsigned characters with a valid range of
882 Beware of two pitfalls:
885 <item>The character index is actually the code of the character in the
886 C source, so character mappings do always depend on the source
887 character set. This means that <tt/#pragma charmap/ is not
888 portable -- it depends on the build environment.
889 <item>While it is possible to use character literals as indices, the
890 result may be somewhat unexpected, since character literals are
891 itself translated. For this reason I would suggest to avoid
892 character literals and use numeric character codes instead.
897 /* Use a space wherever an 'a' occurs in ISO-8859-1 source */
898 #pragma charmap (0x61, 0x20);
902 <sect1><tt>#pragma check-stack ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-check-stack"><p>
904 Tells the compiler to insert calls to a stack checking subroutine to detect
905 stack overflows. The stack checking code will lead to somewhat larger and
906 slower programs, so you may want to use this pragma when debugging your
907 program and switch it off for the release version. If a stack overflow is
908 detected, the program is aborted.
910 If the argument is "off", stack checks are disabled (the default), otherwise
913 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
915 <sect1><tt>#pragma code-name ([push,] <name>)</tt><label id="pragma-code-name"><p>
917 This pragma changes the name used for the CODE segment (the CODE segment
918 is used to store executable code). The argument is a string enclosed in
921 Note: The default linker configuration file does only map the standard
922 segments. If you use other segments, you have to create a new linker
925 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
929 #pragma code-name ("MyCODE")
933 <sect1><tt>#pragma codesize ([push,] <int>)</tt><label id="pragma-codesize"><p>
935 This pragma allows finer control about speed vs. size decisions in the code
936 generation and optimization phase. It gives the allowed size increase factor
937 (in percent). The default is can be changed by use of the <tt/<ref
938 id="option-codesize" name="--codesize">/ compiler option.
940 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
943 <sect1><tt>#pragma data-name ([push,] <name>)</tt><label id="pragma-data-name"><p>
945 This pragma changes the name used for the DATA segment (the DATA segment
946 is used to store initialized data). The argument is a string enclosed in
949 Note: The default linker configuration file does only map the standard
950 segments. If you use other segments, you have to create a new linker
953 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
957 #pragma data-name ("MyDATA")
961 <sect1><tt>#pragma local-strings ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-local-strings"><p>
963 When "on", emit string literals to the data segment when they're encountered
964 in the source. The default ("off") is to keep string literals until end of
965 assembly, merge read only literals if possible, and then output the literals
966 into the data or rodata segment that is active at that point.
968 Using this <tt/#pragma/ it is possible to control the behaviour from within
969 the source. When <tt/#pragma local-strings/ is active, string literals are
970 output immediately, which means that they go into the currently active data
971 or rodata segment, but cannot be merged. When inactive, string literals are
972 remembered and output as a whole when translation is finished.
975 <sect1><tt>#pragma optimize ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-optimize"><p>
977 Switch optimization on or off. If the argument is "off", optimization is
978 disabled, otherwise it is enabled. Please note that this pragma only effects
979 whole functions. The setting in effect when the function is encountered will
980 determine if the generated code is optimized or not.
982 Optimization and code generation is also controlled by the <ref
983 id="pragma-codesize" name="codesize pragma">.
985 The default is "off", but may be changed with the <tt/<ref name="-O"
986 id="option-O">/ compiler option.
988 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
991 <sect1><tt>#pragma rodata-name ([push,] <name>)</tt><label id="pragma-rodata-name"><p>
993 This pragma changes the name used for the RODATA segment (the RODATA
994 segment is used to store readonly data). The argument is a string
995 enclosed in double quotes.
997 Note: The default linker configuration file does only map the standard
998 segments. If you use other segments, you have to create a new linker
1001 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1005 #pragma rodata-name ("MyRODATA")
1009 <sect1><tt>#pragma regvaraddr ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-regvaraddr"><p>
1011 The compiler does not allow to take the address of register variables.
1012 The regvaraddr pragma changes this. Taking the address of a register
1013 variable is allowed after using this pragma with "on" as argument.
1014 Using "off" as an argument switches back to the default behaviour.
1016 Beware: The C standard does not allow taking the address of a variable
1017 declared as register. So your programs become non-portable if you use
1018 this pragma. In addition, your program may not work. This is usually the
1019 case if a subroutine is called with the address of a register variable,
1020 and this subroutine (or a subroutine called from there) uses
1021 register variables. So be careful with this #pragma.
1023 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1027 #pragma regvaraddr(on) /* Allow taking the address
1028 * of register variables
1033 <sect1><tt>#pragma register-vars ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-register-vars"><p>
1035 Enables or disables use of register variables. If register variables are
1036 disabled (the default), the <tt/register/ keyword is ignored. Register
1037 variables are explained in more detail in <ref id="register-vars" name="a separate
1040 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1043 <sect1><tt>#pragma signed-chars ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-signed-chars"><p>
1045 Changes the signedness of the default character type. If the argument is
1046 "on", default characters are signed, otherwise characters are unsigned. The
1047 compiler default is to make characters unsigned since this creates a lot
1048 better code. This default may be overridden by the <tt/<ref
1049 name="--signed-chars" id="option-signed-chars">/ command line option.
1051 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1054 <sect1><tt>#pragma static-locals ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-static-locals"<p>
1056 Use variables in the bss segment instead of variables on the stack. This
1057 pragma changes the default set by the compiler option <tt/<ref
1058 name="--static-locals" id="option-static-locals">/. If the argument is "on",
1059 local variables are allocated in the BSS segment, leading to shorter and in
1060 most cases faster, but non-reentrant code.
1062 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1065 <sect1><tt>#pragma warn (name, [push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-warn"><p>
1067 Switch compiler warnings on or off. "name" is the name of a warning (see the
1068 <tt/<ref name="-W" id="option-W">/ compiler option for a list). The name is
1069 either followed by "pop", which restores the last pushed state, or by "on" or
1070 "off", optionally preceeded by "push" to push the current state before
1075 /* Don't warn about the unused parameter in function func */
1076 #pragma warn (unused-param, push, off)
1077 static int func (int unused)
1081 #pragma warn (unused-param, pop)
1084 <sect1><tt>#pragma writable-strings ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-writable-strings"><p>
1086 Changes the storage location of string literals. For historical reasons,
1087 the C standard defines that string literals are of type "char[]", but
1088 writing to such a literal causes undefined behaviour. Most compilers
1089 (including cc65) place string literals in the read-only data segment, which
1090 may cause problems with old C code that writes to string literals.
1092 Using this pragma (or the corresponding command line option <tt/<ref
1093 name="--writable-strings" id="option-writable-strings">/) causes the
1094 literals to be placed in the data segment so they can be written to without
1097 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1100 <sect1><tt>#pragma zpsym (<name>)</tt><p>
1102 Tell the compiler that the -- previously as external declared -- symbol with
1103 the given name is a zero page symbol (usually from an assembler file).
1104 The compiler will create a matching import declaration for the assembler.
1109 #pragma zpsym ("foo"); /* foo is in the zeropage */
1115 <sect>Register variables<label id="register-vars"><p>
1117 The runtime for all supported platforms has 6 bytes of zero page space
1118 available for register variables (this could be increased, but I think it's a
1119 good value). So you can declare register variables up to a total size of 6 per
1120 function. The compiler will allocate register space on a "first come, first
1121 served" base and convert any <tt/register/ declarations that exceed the
1122 available register space silently to <tt/auto/. Parameters can also be
1123 declared as <tt/register/, this will in fact give slightly shorter code than
1124 using a register variable.
1126 Since a function must save the current values of the registers on entry and
1127 restore them on exit, there is an overhead associated with register variables,
1128 and this overhead is quite high (about 20 bytes per variable). This means that
1129 just declaring anything as <tt/register/ is not a good idea.
1131 The best use for register variables are pointers, especially those that point
1132 to structures. The magic number here is about 3 uses of a struct field: If the
1133 function contains this number or even more, the generated code will be usually
1134 shorter and faster when using a register variable for the struct pointer. The
1135 reason for this is that the register variable can in many cases be used as a
1136 pointer directly. Having a pointer in an auto variable means that this pointer
1137 must first be copied into a zero page location, before it can be dereferenced.
1139 Second best use for register variables are counters. However, there is not
1140 much difference in the code generated for counters, so you will need at least
1141 100 operations on this variable (for example in a loop) to make it worth the
1142 trouble. The only savings you get here are by the use of a zero page variable
1143 instead of one on the stack or in the data segment.
1145 Register variables must be explicitly enabled, either by using <tt/<ref
1146 name="-Or" id="option-O">/ or <tt/<ref name="--register-vars"
1147 id="option-register-vars">/ on the command line or by use of <tt/<ref
1148 name="#pragma register-vars" id="pragma-register-vars">/. Register variables
1149 are only accepted on function top level, register variables declared in
1150 interior blocks are silently converted to <tt/auto/. With register variables
1151 disabled, all variables declared as <tt/register/ are actually auto variables.
1153 Please take care when using register variables: While they are helpful and can
1154 lead to a tremendous speedup when used correctly, improper usage will cause
1155 bloated code and a slowdown.
1159 <sect>Inline assembler<label id="inline-asm"><p>
1161 The compiler allows to insert assembler statements into the output file. The
1165 asm (<string literal>[, optional parameters]) ;
1169 __asm__ (<string literal>[, optional parameters]) ;
1173 The first form is in the user namespace and is disabled by <tt><ref
1174 id="option--standard" name="--standard"></tt> if the argument is not <tt/cc65/.
1176 The asm statement may be used inside a function and on global file level. An
1177 inline assembler statement is a primary expression, so it may also be used as
1178 part of an expression. Please note however that the result of an expression
1179 containing just an inline assembler statement is always of type <tt/void/.
1181 The contents of the string literal are preparsed by the compiler and inserted
1182 into the generated assembly output, so that the can be further processed by
1183 the backend and especially the optimizer. For this reason, the compiler does
1184 only allow regular 6502 opcodes to be used with the inline assembler. Pseudo
1185 instructions (like <tt/.import/, <tt/.byte/ and so on) are <em/not/ allowed,
1186 even if the ca65 assembler (which is used to translate the generated assembler
1187 code) would accept them. The builtin inline assembler is not a replacement for
1188 the full blown macro assembler which comes with the compiler.
1190 Note: Inline assembler statements are subject to all optimizations done by the
1191 compiler. There is currently no way to protect an inline assembler statement
1192 from being moved or removed completely by the optimizer. If in doubt, check
1193 the generated assembler output, or disable optimizations.
1195 The string literal may contain format specifiers from the following list. For
1196 each format specifier, an argument is expected which is inserted instead of
1197 the format specifier before passing the assembly code line to the backend.
1200 <item><tt/%b/ - Numerical 8-bit value
1201 <item><tt/%w/ - Numerical 16-bit value
1202 <item><tt/%l/ - Numerical 32-bit value
1203 <item><tt/%v/ - Assembler name of a global variable or function
1204 <item><tt/%o/ - Stack offset of a local variable
1205 <item><tt/%g/ - Assembler name of a C label
1206 <item><tt/%s/ - The argument is converted to a string
1207 <item><tt/%%/ - The % sign itself
1210 Using these format specifiers, you can access C <tt/#defines/, variables or
1211 similar stuff from the inline assembler. For example, to load the value of
1212 a C <tt/#define/ into the Y register, one would use
1216 __asm__ ("ldy #%b", OFFS);
1219 Or, to access a struct member of a static variable:
1225 unsigned char color;
1227 static pixel_t pixel;
1228 __asm__ ("ldy #%b", offsetof(pixel_t, color));
1229 __asm__ ("lda %v,y", pixel);
1232 The next example shows how to use global variables to exchange data between C
1233 an assembler and how to handle assembler jumps:
1236 unsigned char globalSubA, globalSubB, globalSubResult;
1238 /* return a-b, return 255 if b>a */
1239 unsigned char sub (unsigned char a, unsigned char b)
1244 __asm__ ("lda %v", globalSubA);
1245 __asm__ ("sbc %v", globalSubB);
1246 __asm__ ("bcs %g", jumpSubNoError);
1247 __asm__ ("lda #$FF");
1249 __asm__ ("sta %v", globalSubResult);
1250 return globalSubResult;
1255 Arrays can also be accessed:
1258 unsigned char globalSquareTable[] = {
1259 0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81,
1260 100, 121, 144, 169, 196, 225
1262 unsigned char globalSquareA, globalSquareResult;
1264 /* return a*a for a<16, else 255 */
1265 unsigned char square (unsigned char a)
1271 __asm__ ("ldx %v", globalSquareA);
1272 __asm__ ("lda %v,x", globalSquareTable);
1273 __asm__ ("sta %v", globalSquareResult);
1274 return globalSquareResult;
1279 Note: Do not embed the assembler labels that are used as names of global
1280 variables or functions into your asm statements. Code like this
1284 int bar () { return 1; }
1285 __asm__ ("lda _foo"); /* DON'T DO THAT! */
1287 __asm__ ("jsr _bar"); /* DON'T DO THAT EITHER! */
1291 may stop working if the way, the compiler generates these names is changed in
1292 a future version. Instead use the format specifiers from the table above:
1295 __asm__ ("lda %v", foo); /* OK */
1297 __asm__ ("jsr %v", bar); /* OK */
1302 <sect>Implementation-defined behavior<p>
1304 This section describes the behavior of cc65 when the standard describes the
1305 behavior as implementation-defined.
1309 <sect>Bugs/Feedback<p>
1311 If you have problems using the compiler, if you find any bugs, or if you're
1312 doing something interesting with it, I would be glad to hear from you. Feel
1313 free to contact me by email (<htmlurl url="mailto:uz@cc65.org"
1314 name="uz@cc65.org">).
1320 This is the original compiler copyright:
1323 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
1326 This is the copyright notice for RA65, LINK65, LIBR65, and other
1327 Atari 8-bit programs. Said programs are Copyright 1989, by John R.
1328 Dunning. All rights reserved, with the following exceptions:
1330 Anyone may copy or redistribute these programs, provided that:
1332 1: You don't charge anything for the copy. It is permissable to
1333 charge a nominal fee for media, etc.
1335 2: All source code and documentation for the programs is made
1336 available as part of the distribution.
1338 3: This copyright notice is preserved verbatim, and included in
1341 You are allowed to modify these programs, and redistribute the
1342 modified versions, provided that the modifications are clearly noted.
1344 There is NO WARRANTY with this software, it comes as is, and is
1345 distributed in the hope that it may be useful.
1347 This copyright notice applies to any program which contains
1348 this text, or the refers to this file.
1350 This copyright notice is based on the one published by the Free
1351 Software Foundation, sometimes known as the GNU project. The idea
1352 is the same as theirs, ie the software is free, and is intended to
1353 stay that way. Everybody has the right to copy, modify, and re-
1354 distribute this software. Nobody has the right to prevent anyone
1355 else from copying, modifying or redistributing it.
1357 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
1360 Small parts of the compiler (parts of the preprocessor and main parser) are
1361 still covered by this copyright. The main portion is covered by the usual
1362 cc65 license, which reads:
1364 This software is provided 'as-is', without any expressed or implied
1365 warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages
1366 arising from the use of this software.
1368 Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose,
1369 including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it
1370 freely, subject to the following restrictions:
1373 <item> The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not
1374 claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software
1375 in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be
1376 appreciated but is not required.
1377 <item> Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not
1378 be misrepresented as being the original software.
1379 <item> This notice may not be removed or altered from any source