1 <!doctype linuxdoc system>
4 <title>cc65 Users Guide
5 <author><url url="mailto:uz@cc65.org" name="Ullrich von Bassewitz">
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 --help Help (this text)
92 --include-dir dir Set an include directory search path
93 --list-opt-steps List all optimizer steps and exit
94 --list-warnings List available warning types for -W
95 --local-strings Emit string literals immediately
96 --memory-model model Set the memory model
97 --register-space b Set space available for register variables
98 --register-vars Enable register variables
99 --rodata-name seg Set the name of the RODATA segment
100 --signed-chars Default characters are signed
101 --standard std Language standard (c89, c99, cc65)
102 --static-locals Make local variables static
103 --target sys Set the target system
104 --verbose Increase verbosity
105 --version Print the compiler version number
106 --writable-strings Make string literals writable
107 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
111 <sect1>Command line options in detail<p>
113 Here is a description of all the command line options:
117 <label id="option-bss-name">
118 <tag><tt>--bss-name seg</tt></tag>
120 Set the name of the bss segment. See also <tt/<ref id="pragma-bss-name"
121 name="#pragma bss-name">/.
124 <label id="option-check-stack">
125 <tag><tt>--check-stack</tt></tag>
127 Tells the compiler to generate code that checks for stack overflows. See
128 <tt/<ref id="pragma-check-stack" name="#pragma check-stack">/ for an
129 explanation of this feature.
132 <label id="option-code-name">
133 <tag><tt>--code-name seg</tt></tag>
135 Set the name of the code segment. See also <tt/<ref id="pragma-code-name"
136 name="#pragma code-name">/
139 <label id="option-codesize">
140 <tag><tt>--codesize x</tt></tag>
142 This options allows finer control about speed vs. size decisions in the code
143 generation and optimization phases. It gives the allowed size increase
144 factor (in percent). The default is 100 when not using <tt/-Oi/ and 200 when
145 using <tt/-Oi/ (<tt/-Oi/ is the same as <tt/-O --codesize 200/).
148 <label id="option--cpu">
149 <tag><tt>--cpu CPU</tt></tag>
151 Set the CPU, the compiler generates code for. You may specify "6502" or
152 "65C02" as the CPU. The default depends on the selected target (see option
153 <tt/<ref id="option-t" name="-t">/). It is the 6502 CPU for most targets or
154 if no target has been set. Specifying 65C02 will use a few 65C02
155 instructions when generating code. Don't expect too much from this option:
156 In most cases the difference in size and speed is just 1-2%.
159 <label id="option-create-dep">
160 <tag><tt>--create-dep name</tt></tag>
162 Tells the compiler to generate a file containing the dependency list for the
163 compiled module in makefile syntax. The output is written to a file with the
164 given name. The output does not include system include files (in angle
168 <label id="option-create-full-dep">
169 <tag><tt>--create-full-dep name</tt></tag>
171 Tells the compiler to generate a file containing the dependency list for the
172 compiled module in makefile syntax. The output is written to a file with the
173 given name. The output does include system include files (in angle
177 <label id="option-data-name">
178 <tag><tt>--data-name seg</tt></tag>
180 Set the name of the data segment. See also <tt/<ref id="pragma-data-name"
181 name="#pragma data-name">/
184 <tag><tt>-d, --debug</tt></tag>
186 Enables debug mode, something that should not be needed for mere
190 <label id="option-dep-target">
191 <tag><tt>--dep-target target</tt></tag>
193 When generating a dependency file, don't use the actual output file as the
194 target of the dependency, but the file specified with this option. The
195 option has no effect if neither <tt/<ref id="option-create-dep"
196 name="--create-dep">/ nor <tt/<ref id="option-create-full-dep"
197 name="--create-full-dep">/ is specified.
200 <tag><tt>-D sym[=definition]</tt></tag>
202 Define a macro on the command line. If no definition is given, the macro
203 is defined to the value "1".
206 <tag><tt>-g, --debug-info</tt></tag>
208 This will cause the compiler to insert a <tt/.DEBUGINFO/ command into the
209 generated assembler code. This will cause the assembler to include all
210 symbols in a special section in the object file.
213 <tag><tt>-h, --help</tt></tag>
215 Print the short option summary shown above.
218 <label id="option-list-warnings">
219 <tag><tt>--list-warnings</tt></tag>
221 List the names of warning types available for use with <tt><ref
222 id="option-W" name="-W"></tt>.
225 <label id="option-local-strings">
226 <tag><tt>--local-strings</tt></tag>
228 Emit string literals into the rodata segment as soon as they're encountered
229 in the source (even if you do nothing but get the sizeof those strings). The
230 default is to keep string literals until end of assembly, merge read only
231 literals if possible, and then output the literals into the data or rodata
232 segment that is active at that point. Use of this option prevents merging of
233 duplicate strings, but the options that change the name of one of the data
236 You can also use <tt><ref id="pragma-local-strings"
237 name="#pragma local-strings"></tt> for fine grained control.
240 <tag><tt>-o name</tt></tag>
242 Specify the name of the output file. If you don't specify a name, the
243 name of the C input file is used, with the extension replaced by ".s".
246 <label id="option-register-vars">
247 <tag><tt>-r, --register-vars</tt></tag>
249 <tt/-r/ will make the compiler honor the <tt/register/ keyword. Local
250 variables may be placed in registers (which are actually zero page
251 locations). There is some overhead involved with register variables, since
252 the old contents of the registers must be saved and restored. Since register
253 variables are of limited use without the optimizer, there is also a combined
254 switch: <tt/-Or/ will enable both, the optimizer and register variables.
256 For more information about register variables see <ref id="register-vars"
257 name="register variables">.
259 The compiler setting can also be changed within the source file by using
260 <tt/<ref id="pragma-register-vars" name="#pragma register-vars">/.
263 <label id="option-register-space">
264 <tag><tt>--register-space</tt></tag>
266 This option takes a numeric parameter and is used to specify, how much
267 zero page register space is available. Please note that just giving this
268 option will not increase or decrease by itself, it will just tell the
269 compiler about the available space. You will have to allocate that space
270 yourself using an assembler module with the necessary allocations, and a
271 linker configuration that matches the assembler module. The default value
272 for this option is 6 (bytes).
274 If you don't know what all this means, please don't use this option.
277 <label id="option-rodata-name">
278 <tag><tt>--rodata-name seg</tt></tag>
280 Set the name of the rodata segment (the segment used for readonly data).
281 See also <tt/<ref id="pragma-rodata-name" name="#pragma rodata-name">/
283 <label id="option-signed-chars">
284 <tag><tt>-j, --signed-chars</tt></tag>
286 Using this option, you can make the default characters signed. Since the
287 6502 has no provisions for sign extending characters (which is needed on
288 almost any load operation), this will make the code larger and slower. A
289 better way is to declare characters explicitly as "signed" if needed. You
290 can also use <tt><ref id="pragma-signed-chars"
291 name="#pragma signed-chars"></tt> for better control of this option.
294 <label id="option--standard">
295 <tag><tt>--standard std</tt></tag>
297 This option allows to set the language standard supported. The argument is
301 This disables anything that is illegal in C89/C90. Among those things
302 are <tt>//</tt> comments and the non-standard keywords without
303 underscores. Please note that cc65 is not a fully C89 compliant compiler
304 despite this option. A few more things (like floats) are missing.
307 This enables a few features from the C99 standard. With this option,
308 <tt>//</tt> comments are allowed. It will also cause warnings and even
309 errors in a few situations that are allowed with <tt/--standard c89/.
310 For example, a call to a function without a prototype is an error in
314 This is the default mode. It is like c99 mode, but additional features
315 are enabled. Among these are "void data", non-standard keywords without
316 the underlines, unnamed function parameters and the requirement for
317 main() to return an int.
320 Please note that the compiler does not support the C99 standard and never
321 will. c99 mode is actually c89 mode with a few selected C99 extensions.
324 <label id="option-t">
325 <tag><tt>-t target, --target target</tt></tag>
327 This option is used to set the target system. The target system determines
328 the character set that is used for strings and character constants and the
329 default CPU. The CPU setting can be overriden by use of the <tt/<ref
330 id="option--cpu" name="--cpu">/ option.
332 The following target systems are supported:
341 <item>c16 (works also for the c116 with memory up to 32K)
344 <item>cbm510 (CBM-II series with 40 column video)
345 <item>cbm610 (all CBM-II II computers with 80 column video)
351 <item>pet (all CBM PET systems except the 2001)
359 <tag><tt>-v, --verbose</tt></tag>
361 Using this option, the compiler will be somewhat more verbose if errors
362 or warnings are encountered.
365 <label id="option-writable-strings">
366 <tag><tt>--writable-strings</tt></tag>
368 Make string literals writable by placing them into the data segment instead
369 of the rodata segment. You can also use <tt><ref id="pragma-writable-strings"
370 name="#pragma writable-strings"></tt> to control this option from within
374 <label id="option-static-locals">
375 <tag><tt>-Cl, --static-locals</tt></tag>
377 Use static storage for local variables instead of storage on the stack.
378 Since the stack is emulated in software, this gives shorter and usually
379 faster code, but the code is no longer reentrant. The difference between
380 <tt/-Cl/ and declaring local variables as static yourself is, that
381 initializer code is executed each time, the function is entered. So when
392 the variable <tt/a/ will always have the value <tt/1/ when entering the
393 function and using <tt/-Cl/, while in
398 static unsigned a = 1;
403 the variable <tt/a/ will have the value <tt/1/ only the first time that the
404 function is entered, and will keep the old value from one call of the
405 function to the next.
407 You may also use <tt><ref id="pragma-static-locals"
408 name="#pragma static-locals"></tt> to change this setting in your
412 <label id="option-include-dir">
413 <tag><tt>-I dir, --include-dir dir</tt></tag>
415 Set a directory where the compiler searches for include files. You may
416 use this option multiple times to add more than one directory to the
420 <label id="option-O">
421 <tag><tt>-O, -Oi, -Or, -Os</tt></tag>
423 Enable an optimizer run over the produced code.
425 Using <tt/-Oi/, the code generator will inline some code where otherwise a
426 runtime functions would have been called, even if the generated code is
427 larger. This will not only remove the overhead for a function call, but will
428 make the code visible for the optimizer. <tt/-Oi/ is an alias for
429 <tt/-O --codesize 200/.
431 <tt/-Or/ will make the compiler honor the <tt/register/ keyword. Local
432 variables may be placed in registers (which are actually zero page
433 locations). See also the <tt/<ref id="option-register-vars"
434 name="--register-vars">/ command line option, and the <ref
435 id="register-vars" name="discussion of register variables"> below.
437 Using <tt/-Os/ will force the compiler to inline some known functions from
438 the C library like strlen. Note: This has two consequences:
441 <item>You may not use names of standard C functions in your own code. If you
442 do that, your program is not standard compliant anyway, but using
443 <tt/-Os/ will actually break things.
445 <item>The inlined string and memory functions will not handle strings or
446 memory areas larger than 255 bytes. Similarly, the inlined <tt/is..()/
447 functions will not work with values outside the char. range (such as
452 It is possible to concatenate the modifiers for <tt/-O/. For example, to
453 enable register variables and inlining of known functions, you may use
457 <tag><tt>-T, --add-source</tt></tag>
459 This include the source code as comments in the generated code. This is
463 <tag><tt>-V, --version</tt></tag>
465 Print the version number of the compiler. When submitting a bug report,
466 please include the operating system you're using, and the compiler
470 <label id="option-W">
471 <tag><tt>-W name[,name]</tt></tag>
473 This option allows to control warnings generated by the compiler. It is
474 followed by a comma separated list of warnings that should be enabled or
475 disabled. To disable a warning, its name is prefixed by a minus sign. If
476 no such prefix exists, or the name is prefixed by a plus sign, the warning
479 The following warning names are currently recognized:
481 <tag><tt/const-comparison/</tag>
482 Warn if the result of a comparison is constant.
483 <tag><tt/error/</tag>
484 Treat all warnings as errors.
485 <tag><tt/no-effect/</tag>
486 Warn about statements that don't have an effect.
487 <tag><tt/struct-param/</tag>
488 Warn when passing structs by value.
489 <tag><tt/unknown-pragma/</tag>
490 Warn about known #pragmas.
491 <tag><tt/unused-label/</tag>
492 Warn about unused labels.
493 <tag><tt/unused-param/</tag>
494 Warn about unused function parameters.
495 <tag><tt/unused-var/</tag>
496 Warn about unused variables.
499 The full list of available warning names may be retrieved by using the
500 option <tt><ref id="option-list-warnings" name="--list-warnings"></tt>.
502 You may also use <tt><ref id="pragma-warn" name="#pragma warn"></tt> to
503 control this setting for smaller pieces of code from within your code.
508 <sect>Input and output<p>
510 The compiler will accept one C file per invocation and create a file with
511 the same base name, but with the extension replaced by ".s". The output
512 file contains assembler code suitable for use with the ca65 macro
515 Include files in quotes are searched in the following places:
517 <item>The current file's directory.
518 <item>Any directory added with the <tt/-I/ option on the command line.
519 <item>The value of the environment variable <tt/CC65_INC/ if it is defined.
522 Include files in angle brackets are searched in the following places:
524 <item>Any directory added with the <tt/-I/ option on the command line.
525 <item>The value of the environment variable <tt/CC65_INC/ if it is defined.
526 <item>A subdirectory named <tt/include/ of the directory defined in the
527 environment variable <tt/CC65_HOME/, if it is defined.
528 <item>An optionally compiled-in directory.
533 <sect>Differences to the ISO standard<p>
535 Apart from the things listed below, the compiler does support additional
536 keywords, has several functions in the standard headers with names outside the
537 reserved namespace and a few syntax extensions. All these can be disabled with
538 the <tt><ref id="option--standard" name="--standard"></tt> command line
539 option. Its use for maximum standards compatibility is advised.
541 Here is a list of differences between the language, the compiler accepts,
542 and the one defined by the ISO standard:
546 <item> The datatypes "float" and "double" are not available.
548 <item> C Functions may not return structs (or unions), and structs may not
549 be passed as parameters by value. However, struct assignment *is*
552 <item> Most of the C library is available only with the fastcall calling
553 convention (see below). It means that you must not mix pointers to
554 those functions with pointers to user-written, cdecl functions.
556 <item> The <tt/volatile/ keyword doesn't have an effect. This is not as bad
557 as it sounds, since the 6502 has so few registers that it isn't
558 possible to keep values in registers anyway.
562 There may be some more minor differences I'm currently not aware of. The
563 biggest problem is the missing float data type. With this limitation in
564 mind, you should be able to write fairly portable code.
570 This cc65 version has some extensions to the ISO C standard.
574 <item> The compiler allows to insert assembler statements into the output
578 asm (<string literal>[, optional parameters]) ;
582 __asm__ (<string literal>[, optional parameters]) ;
585 The first form is in the user namespace and is disabled if the <tt/-A/
588 There is a whole section covering inline assembler statements,
589 <ref id="inline-asm" name="see there">.
592 <item> The normal calling convention -- for non-variadic functions -- is
593 named "fastcall". The syntax for a function declaration that
594 <em/explicitly/ uses fastcall is
597 <return type> fastcall <function name> (<parameter list>)
601 <return type> __fastcall__ <function name> (<parameter list>)
605 void __fastcall__ f (unsigned char c)
607 The first form of the fastcall keyword is in the user namespace and can
608 therefore be disabled with the <tt><ref id="option--standard"
609 name="--standard"></tt> command line option.
611 For functions that are <tt/fastcall/, the rightmost parameter is not
612 pushed on the stack but left in the primary register when the function
613 is called. That significantly reduces the cost of calling functions.
616 <item> There is another calling convention named "cdecl". Variadic functions
617 (their prototypes have an ellipsis [<tt/.../]) always use this
618 convention. The syntax for a function declaration using cdecl is
621 <return type> cdecl <function name> (<parameter list>)
625 <return type> __cdecl__ <function name> (<parameter list>)
629 void __cdecl__ f (unsigned char c)
631 The first form of the cdecl keyword is in the user namespace and can
632 therefore be disabled with the <tt><ref id="option--standard"
633 name="--standard"></tt> command line option.
635 For functions that are <tt/cdecl/, the rightmost parameter is pushed
636 onto the stack before the function is called. That increases the cost
637 of calling those functions, especially when they are called from many
641 <item> There are two pseudo variables named <tt/__AX__/ and <tt/__EAX__/.
642 Both refer to the primary register that is used by the compiler to
643 evaluate expressions or return function results. <tt/__AX__/ is of
644 type <tt/unsigned int/ and <tt/__EAX__/ of type <tt/long unsigned int/
645 respectively. The pseudo variables may be used as lvalue and rvalue as
646 every other variable. They are most useful together with short
647 sequences of assembler code. For example, the macro
657 will give the high byte of any unsigned value.
660 <item> Inside a function, the identifier <tt/__func__/ gives the name of the
661 current function as a string. Outside of functions, <tt/__func__/ is
666 #define PRINT_DEBUG(s) printf ("%s: %s\n", __func__, s);
669 The macro will print the name of the current function plus a given
673 <item> cc65 allows the initialization of <tt/void/ variables. This may be
674 used to create variable structures that are more compatible with
675 interfaces written for assembler languages. Here is an example:
678 void GCmd = { (char)3, (unsigned)0x2000, (unsigned)0x3000 };
681 This will be translated as follows:
690 Since the variable is of type <tt/void/ you may not use it as is.
691 However, taking the address of the variable results in a <tt/void */
692 which may be passed to any function expecting a pointer.
694 See the <url url="geos.html" name="GEOS library document"> for examples
695 on how to use this feature.
698 <item> cc65 implements flexible array struct members as defined in the C99 ISO
699 standard. As an extension, these fields may be initialized. There are
700 several exceptions, however (which is probably the reason why the
701 standard does not define this feature, because it is highly
702 unorthogonal). Flexible array members cannot be initialized ...
705 <item>... when defining an array of structs with flexible
707 <item>... if such a struct is a member field of another struct
708 which is not the last field.
709 <item>... if the struct which contains a flexible array member is
710 declared as <tt/register/, and the size and compiler settings
711 do allow the compiler actually to place the struct into the
712 register bank in the zero page.
715 Please note that -- as defined in the ISO C standard -- the <tt/sizeof/
716 operator returns the struct size with the flexible array member having
717 size zero, even if it is initialized.
724 <sect>Predefined macros<p>
726 The compiler defines several macros at startup:
729 <tag><tt>__APPLE2__</tt></tag>
731 This macro is defined if the target is the Apple ][ (-t apple2) or the enhanced Apple //e (-t apple2enh).
733 <tag><tt>__APPLE2ENH__</tt></tag>
735 This macro is defined if the target is the enhanced Apple //e (-t apple2enh).
737 <tag><tt>__ATARI5200__</tt></tag>
739 This macro is defined if the target is the Atari 5200 game console.
741 <tag><tt>__ATARI__</tt></tag>
743 This macro is defined if the target is the Atari 400/800 (-t atari) or the Atari 800XL/130XE (-t atarixl).
745 <tag><tt>__ATARIXL__</tt></tag>
747 This macro is defined if the target is the Atari 800XL/130XE (-t atarixl).
749 <tag><tt>__ATMOS__</tt></tag>
751 This macro is defined if the target is the Oric Atmos (-t atmos).
753 <tag><tt>__C128__</tt></tag>
755 This macro is defined if the target is the Commodore 128 (-t c128).
757 <tag><tt>__C16__</tt></tag>
759 This macro is defined if the target is the Commodore 16/116 (-t c16) or the Commodore Plus/4 (-t plus4).
761 <tag><tt>__C64__</tt></tag>
763 This macro is defined if the target is the Commodore 64 (-t c64).
765 <tag><tt>__CBM__</tt></tag>
767 This macro is defined if the target system is one of the CBM targets.
769 <tag><tt>__CBM510__</tt></tag>
771 This macro is defined if the target is the CBM 500 series of computers.
773 <tag><tt>__CBM610__</tt></tag>
775 This macro is defined if the target is one of the CBM 600/700 family of
776 computers (called B series in the US).
778 <tag><tt>__CC65__</tt></tag>
780 This macro is always defined. Its value is the version number of the
781 compiler in hex. For example, version 2.14 of the compiler has this macro
782 defined as <tt/0x02E0/.
784 <tag><tt>__CC65_STD__</tt></tag>
786 This macro is defined to one of the following depending on the <tt><ref
787 id="option--standard" name="--standard"></tt> command line option:
789 <item><tt/__CC65_STD_C89__/
790 <item><tt/__CC65_STD_C99__/
791 <item><tt/__CC65_STD_CC65__/
794 <tag><tt>__DATE__</tt></tag>
796 This macro expands to the date of translation of the preprocessing
797 translation unit in the form "Mmm dd yyyy".
799 <tag><tt>__FILE__</tt></tag>
801 This macro expands to a string containing the name of the C source file.
803 <tag><tt>__GEOS__</tt></tag>
805 This macro is defined if you are compiling for one of the GEOS systems.
807 <tag><tt>__GEOS_APPLE__</tt></tag>
809 This macro is defined if you are compiling for the Apple GEOS system (-t geos-apple).
811 <tag><tt>__GEOS_CBM__</tt></tag>
813 This macro is defined if you are compiling for the GEOS 64/128 system (-t geos-cbm).
815 <tag><tt>__LINE__</tt></tag>
817 This macro expands to the current line number.
819 <tag><tt>__LUNIX__</tt></tag>
821 This macro is defined if you are compiling for the LUnix system (-t lunix).
823 <tag><tt>__LYNX__</tt></tag>
825 This macro is defined if the target is the Atari Lynx (-t lynx).
827 <tag><tt>__NES__</tt></tag>
829 This macro is defined if the target is the Nintendo Entertainment System (-t nes).
831 <tag><tt>__OPT__</tt></tag>
833 Is defined if the compiler was called with the <tt/-O/ command line option.
835 <tag><tt>__OPT_i__</tt></tag>
837 Is defined if the compiler was called with the <tt/-Oi/ command line option.
839 <tag><tt>__OPT_r__</tt></tag>
841 Is defined if the compiler was called with the <tt/-Or/ command line option.
843 <tag><tt>__OPT_s__</tt></tag>
845 Is defined if the compiler was called with the <tt/-Os/ command line option.
847 <tag><tt>__PET__</tt></tag>
849 This macro is defined if the target is the PET family of computers (-t pet).
851 <tag><tt>__PLUS4__</tt></tag>
853 This macro is defined if the target is the Commodore Plus/4 (-t plus4).
855 <tag><tt>__STDC_HOSTED__</tt></tag>
857 This macro is expands to the integer constant 1.
859 <tag><tt>__SIM6502__</tt></tag>
861 This macro is defined if the target is sim65 in 6502 mode (-t sim6502).
863 <tag><tt>__SIM65C02__</tt></tag>
864 This macro is defined if the target is sim65 in 65C02 mode (-t sim65c02).
866 <tag><tt>__SUPERVISION__</tt></tag>
868 This macro is defined if the target is the Supervision (-t supervision).
870 <tag><tt>__TIME__</tt></tag>
872 This macro expands to the time of translation of the preprocessing
873 translation unit in the form "hh:mm:ss".
875 <tag><tt>__VIC20__</tt></tag>
877 This macro is defined if the target is the Commodore VIC20 (-t vic20).
881 <sect>#pragmas<label id="pragmas"><p>
883 The compiler understands some pragmas that may be used to change code
884 generation and other stuff. Some of these pragmas understand a special form:
885 If the first parameter is <tt/push/, the old value is saved onto a stack
886 before changing it. The value may later be restored by using the <tt/pop/
887 parameter with the <tt/#pragma/.
889 <sect1><tt>#pragma bss-name ([push,] <name>)</tt><label id="pragma-bss-name"><p>
891 This pragma changes the name used for the BSS segment (the BSS segment
892 is used to store uninitialized data). The argument is a string enclosed
895 Note: The default linker configuration file does only map the standard
896 segments. If you use other segments, you have to create a new linker
899 Beware: The startup code will zero only the default BSS segment. If you
900 use another BSS segment, you have to do that yourself, otherwise
901 uninitialized variables do not have the value zero.
903 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
907 #pragma bss-name ("MyBSS")
911 <sect1><tt>#pragma charmap (<index>, <code>)</tt><label id="pragma-charmap"><p>
913 Each literal string and each literal character in the source is translated
914 by use of a translation table. This translation table is preset when the
915 compiler is started depending on the target system, for example to map
916 ISO-8859-1 characters into PETSCII if the target is a commodore machine.
918 This pragma allows to change entries in the translation table, so the
919 translation for individual characters, or even the complete table may be
922 Both arguments are assumed to be unsigned characters with a valid range of
925 Beware of two pitfalls:
928 <item>The character index is actually the code of the character in the
929 C source, so character mappings do always depend on the source
930 character set. This means that <tt/#pragma charmap/ is not
931 portable -- it depends on the build environment.
932 <item>While it is possible to use character literals as indices, the
933 result may be somewhat unexpected, since character literals are
934 itself translated. For this reason I would suggest to avoid
935 character literals and use numeric character codes instead.
940 /* Use a space wherever an 'a' occurs in ISO-8859-1 source */
941 #pragma charmap (0x61, 0x20);
945 <sect1><tt>#pragma check-stack ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-check-stack"><p>
947 Tells the compiler to insert calls to a stack checking subroutine to detect
948 stack overflows. The stack checking code will lead to somewhat larger and
949 slower programs, so you may want to use this pragma when debugging your
950 program and switch it off for the release version. If a stack overflow is
951 detected, the program is aborted.
953 If the argument is "off", stack checks are disabled (the default), otherwise
956 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
958 <sect1><tt>#pragma code-name ([push,] <name>)</tt><label id="pragma-code-name"><p>
960 This pragma changes the name used for the CODE segment (the CODE segment
961 is used to store executable code). The argument is a string enclosed in
964 Note: The default linker configuration file does only map the standard
965 segments. If you use other segments, you have to create a new linker
968 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
972 #pragma code-name ("MyCODE")
976 <sect1><tt>#pragma codesize ([push,] <int>)</tt><label id="pragma-codesize"><p>
978 This pragma allows finer control about speed vs. size decisions in the code
979 generation and optimization phase. It gives the allowed size increase factor
980 (in percent). The default is can be changed by use of the <tt/<ref
981 id="option-codesize" name="--codesize">/ compiler option.
983 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
986 <sect1><tt>#pragma data-name ([push,] <name>)</tt><label id="pragma-data-name"><p>
988 This pragma changes the name used for the DATA segment (the DATA segment
989 is used to store initialized data). The argument is a string enclosed in
992 Note: The default linker configuration file does only map the standard
993 segments. If you use other segments, you have to create a new linker
996 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1000 #pragma data-name ("MyDATA")
1004 <sect1><tt>#pragma local-strings ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-local-strings"><p>
1006 When "on", emit string literals to the data segment when they're encountered
1007 in the source. The default ("off") is to keep string literals until end of
1008 assembly, merge read only literals if possible, and then output the literals
1009 into the data or rodata segment that is active at that point.
1011 Using this <tt/#pragma/ it is possible to control the behaviour from within
1012 the source. When <tt/#pragma local-strings/ is active, string literals are
1013 output immediately, which means that they go into the currently active data
1014 or rodata segment, but cannot be merged. When inactive, string literals are
1015 remembered and output as a whole when translation is finished.
1018 <sect1><tt>#pragma optimize ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-optimize"><p>
1020 Switch optimization on or off. If the argument is "off", optimization is
1021 disabled, otherwise it is enabled. Please note that this pragma only effects
1022 whole functions. The setting in effect when the function is encountered will
1023 determine if the generated code is optimized or not.
1025 Optimization and code generation is also controlled by the <ref
1026 id="pragma-codesize" name="codesize pragma">.
1028 The default is "off", but may be changed with the <tt/<ref name="-O"
1029 id="option-O">/ compiler option.
1031 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1034 <sect1><tt>#pragma rodata-name ([push,] <name>)</tt><label id="pragma-rodata-name"><p>
1036 This pragma changes the name used for the RODATA segment (the RODATA
1037 segment is used to store readonly data). The argument is a string
1038 enclosed in double quotes.
1040 Note: The default linker configuration file does only map the standard
1041 segments. If you use other segments, you have to create a new linker
1044 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1048 #pragma rodata-name ("MyRODATA")
1052 <sect1><tt>#pragma regvaraddr ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-regvaraddr"><p>
1054 The compiler does not allow to take the address of register variables.
1055 The regvaraddr pragma changes this. Taking the address of a register
1056 variable is allowed after using this pragma with "on" as argument.
1057 Using "off" as an argument switches back to the default behaviour.
1059 Beware: The C standard does not allow taking the address of a variable
1060 declared as register. So your programs become non-portable if you use
1061 this pragma. In addition, your program may not work. This is usually the
1062 case if a subroutine is called with the address of a register variable,
1063 and this subroutine (or a subroutine called from there) uses
1064 register variables. So be careful with this #pragma.
1066 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1070 #pragma regvaraddr(on) /* Allow taking the address
1071 * of register variables
1076 <sect1><tt>#pragma register-vars ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-register-vars"><p>
1078 Enables or disables use of register variables. If register variables are
1079 disabled (the default), the <tt/register/ keyword is ignored. Register
1080 variables are explained in more detail in <ref id="register-vars" name="a separate
1083 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1086 <sect1><tt>#pragma signed-chars ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-signed-chars"><p>
1088 Changes the signedness of the default character type. If the argument is
1089 "on", default characters are signed, otherwise characters are unsigned. The
1090 compiler default is to make characters unsigned since this creates a lot
1091 better code. This default may be overridden by the <tt/<ref
1092 name="--signed-chars" id="option-signed-chars">/ command line option.
1094 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1097 <sect1><tt>#pragma static-locals ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-static-locals"<p>
1099 Use variables in the bss segment instead of variables on the stack. This
1100 pragma changes the default set by the compiler option <tt/<ref
1101 name="--static-locals" id="option-static-locals">/. If the argument is "on",
1102 local variables are allocated in the BSS segment, leading to shorter and in
1103 most cases faster, but non-reentrant code.
1105 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1108 <sect1><tt>#pragma warn (name, [push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-warn"><p>
1110 Switch compiler warnings on or off. "name" is the name of a warning (see the
1111 <tt/<ref name="-W" id="option-W">/ compiler option for a list). The name is
1112 either followed by "pop", which restores the last pushed state, or by "on" or
1113 "off", optionally preceeded by "push" to push the current state before
1118 /* Don't warn about the unused parameter in function func */
1119 #pragma warn (unused-param, push, off)
1120 static int func (int unused)
1124 #pragma warn (unused-param, pop)
1127 <sect1><tt>#pragma writable-strings ([push,] on|off)</tt><label id="pragma-writable-strings"><p>
1129 Changes the storage location of string literals. For historical reasons,
1130 the C standard defines that string literals are of type "char[]", but
1131 writing to such a literal causes undefined behaviour. Most compilers
1132 (including cc65) place string literals in the read-only data segment, which
1133 may cause problems with old C code that writes to string literals.
1135 Using this pragma (or the corresponding command line option <tt/<ref
1136 name="--writable-strings" id="option-writable-strings">/) causes the
1137 literals to be placed in the data segment so they can be written to without
1140 The <tt/#pragma/ understands the push and pop parameters as explained above.
1143 <sect1><tt>#pragma zpsym (<name>)</tt><p>
1145 Tell the compiler that the -- previously as external declared -- symbol with
1146 the given name is a zero page symbol (usually from an assembler file).
1147 The compiler will create a matching import declaration for the assembler.
1152 #pragma zpsym ("foo"); /* foo is in the zeropage */
1158 <sect>Register variables<label id="register-vars"><p>
1160 The runtime for all supported platforms has 6 bytes of zero page space
1161 available for register variables (this could be increased, but I think it's a
1162 good value). So you can declare register variables up to a total size of 6 per
1163 function. The compiler will allocate register space on a "first come, first
1164 served" base and convert any <tt/register/ declarations that exceed the
1165 available register space silently to <tt/auto/. Parameters can also be
1166 declared as <tt/register/, this will in fact give slightly shorter code than
1167 using a register variable.
1169 Since a function must save the current values of the registers on entry and
1170 restore them on exit, there is an overhead associated with register variables,
1171 and this overhead is quite high (about 20 bytes per variable). This means that
1172 just declaring anything as <tt/register/ is not a good idea.
1174 The best use for register variables are pointers, especially those that point
1175 to structures. The magic number here is about 3 uses of a struct field: If the
1176 function contains this number or even more, the generated code will be usually
1177 shorter and faster when using a register variable for the struct pointer. The
1178 reason for this is that the register variable can in many cases be used as a
1179 pointer directly. Having a pointer in an auto variable means that this pointer
1180 must first be copied into a zero page location, before it can be dereferenced.
1182 Second best use for register variables are counters. However, there is not
1183 much difference in the code generated for counters, so you will need at least
1184 100 operations on this variable (for example in a loop) to make it worth the
1185 trouble. The only savings you get here are by the use of a zero page variable
1186 instead of one on the stack or in the data segment.
1188 Register variables must be explicitly enabled, either by using <tt/<ref
1189 name="-Or" id="option-O">/ or <tt/<ref name="--register-vars"
1190 id="option-register-vars">/ on the command line or by use of <tt/<ref
1191 name="#pragma register-vars" id="pragma-register-vars">/. Register variables
1192 are only accepted on function top level, register variables declared in
1193 interior blocks are silently converted to <tt/auto/. With register variables
1194 disabled, all variables declared as <tt/register/ are actually auto variables.
1196 Please take care when using register variables: While they are helpful and can
1197 lead to a tremendous speedup when used correctly, improper usage will cause
1198 bloated code and a slowdown.
1202 <sect>Inline assembler<label id="inline-asm"><p>
1204 The compiler allows to insert assembler statements into the output file. The
1208 asm (<string literal>[, optional parameters]) ;
1212 __asm__ (<string literal>[, optional parameters]) ;
1216 The first form is in the user namespace and is disabled by <tt><ref
1217 id="option--standard" name="--standard"></tt> if the argument is not <tt/cc65/.
1219 The asm statement may be used inside a function and on global file level. An
1220 inline assembler statement is a primary expression, so it may also be used as
1221 part of an expression. Please note however that the result of an expression
1222 containing just an inline assembler statement is always of type <tt/void/.
1224 The contents of the string literal are preparsed by the compiler and inserted
1225 into the generated assembly output, so that the can be further processed by
1226 the backend and especially the optimizer. For this reason, the compiler does
1227 only allow regular 6502 opcodes to be used with the inline assembler. Pseudo
1228 instructions (like <tt/.import/, <tt/.byte/ and so on) are <em/not/ allowed,
1229 even if the ca65 assembler (which is used to translate the generated assembler
1230 code) would accept them. The builtin inline assembler is not a replacement for
1231 the full blown macro assembler which comes with the compiler.
1233 Note: Inline assembler statements are subject to all optimizations done by the
1234 compiler. There is currently no way to protect an inline assembler statement
1235 from being moved or removed completely by the optimizer. If in doubt, check
1236 the generated assembler output, or disable optimizations.
1238 The string literal may contain format specifiers from the following list. For
1239 each format specifier, an argument is expected which is inserted instead of
1240 the format specifier before passing the assembly code line to the backend.
1243 <item><tt/%b/ - Numerical 8-bit value
1244 <item><tt/%w/ - Numerical 16-bit value
1245 <item><tt/%l/ - Numerical 32-bit value
1246 <item><tt/%v/ - Assembler name of a global variable or function
1247 <item><tt/%o/ - Stack offset of a local variable
1248 <item><tt/%g/ - Assembler name of a C label
1249 <item><tt/%s/ - The argument is converted to a string
1250 <item><tt/%%/ - The % sign itself
1253 Using these format specifiers, you can access C <tt/#defines/, variables or
1254 similar stuff from the inline assembler. For example, to load the value of
1255 a C <tt/#define/ into the Y register, one would use
1259 __asm__ ("ldy #%b", OFFS);
1262 Or, to access a struct member of a static variable:
1268 unsigned char color;
1270 static pixel_t pixel;
1271 __asm__ ("ldy #%b", offsetof(pixel_t, color));
1272 __asm__ ("lda %v,y", pixel);
1275 The next example shows how to use global variables to exchange data between C
1276 an assembler and how to handle assembler jumps:
1279 unsigned char globalSubA, globalSubB, globalSubResult;
1281 /* return a-b, return 255 if b>a */
1282 unsigned char sub (unsigned char a, unsigned char b)
1287 __asm__ ("lda %v", globalSubA);
1288 __asm__ ("sbc %v", globalSubB);
1289 __asm__ ("bcs %g", jumpSubNoError);
1290 __asm__ ("lda #$FF");
1292 __asm__ ("sta %v", globalSubResult);
1293 return globalSubResult;
1298 Arrays can also be accessed:
1301 unsigned char globalSquareTable[] = {
1302 0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81,
1303 100, 121, 144, 169, 196, 225
1305 unsigned char globalSquareA, globalSquareResult;
1307 /* return a*a for a<16, else 255 */
1308 unsigned char square (unsigned char a)
1314 __asm__ ("ldx %v", globalSquareA);
1315 __asm__ ("lda %v,x", globalSquareTable);
1316 __asm__ ("sta %v", globalSquareResult);
1317 return globalSquareResult;
1322 Note: Do not embed the assembler labels that are used as names of global
1323 variables or functions into your asm statements. Code like this
1327 int bar () { return 1; }
1328 __asm__ ("lda _foo"); /* DON'T DO THAT! */
1330 __asm__ ("jsr _bar"); /* DON'T DO THAT EITHER! */
1334 may stop working if the way, the compiler generates these names is changed in
1335 a future version. Instead use the format specifiers from the table above:
1338 __asm__ ("lda %v", foo); /* OK */
1340 __asm__ ("jsr %v", bar); /* OK */
1345 <sect>Implementation-defined behavior<p>
1347 This section describes the behavior of cc65 when the standard describes the
1348 behavior as implementation-defined.
1354 This is the original compiler copyright:
1357 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
1360 This is the copyright notice for RA65, LINK65, LIBR65, and other
1361 Atari 8-bit programs. Said programs are Copyright 1989, by John R.
1362 Dunning. All rights reserved, with the following exceptions:
1364 Anyone may copy or redistribute these programs, provided that:
1366 1: You don't charge anything for the copy. It is permissable to
1367 charge a nominal fee for media, etc.
1369 2: All source code and documentation for the programs is made
1370 available as part of the distribution.
1372 3: This copyright notice is preserved verbatim, and included in
1375 You are allowed to modify these programs, and redistribute the
1376 modified versions, provided that the modifications are clearly noted.
1378 There is NO WARRANTY with this software, it comes as is, and is
1379 distributed in the hope that it may be useful.
1381 This copyright notice applies to any program which contains
1382 this text, or the refers to this file.
1384 This copyright notice is based on the one published by the Free
1385 Software Foundation, sometimes known as the GNU project. The idea
1386 is the same as theirs, ie the software is free, and is intended to
1387 stay that way. Everybody has the right to copy, modify, and re-
1388 distribute this software. Nobody has the right to prevent anyone
1389 else from copying, modifying or redistributing it.
1391 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
1394 Small parts of the compiler (parts of the preprocessor and main parser) are
1395 still covered by this copyright. The main portion is covered by the usual
1396 cc65 license, which reads:
1398 This software is provided 'as-is', without any expressed or implied
1399 warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages
1400 arising from the use of this software.
1402 Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose,
1403 including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it
1404 freely, subject to the following restrictions:
1407 <item> The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not
1408 claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software
1409 in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be
1410 appreciated but is not required.
1411 <item> Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not
1412 be misrepresented as being the original software.
1413 <item> This notice may not be removed or altered from any source