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Date:      Sat, 19 Sep 1998 11:43:13 -0700
From:      John Polstra <jdp@polstra.com>
To:        Peter Wemm <peter@netplex.com.au>
Cc:        joki@kuebart.stuttgart.netsurf.de, current@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Correct names for C globals in kernel 
Message-ID:  <199809191843.LAA01747@austin.polstra.com>
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Sun, 20 Sep 1998 02:36:12 %2B0800." <199809191836.CAA14684@spinner.netplex.com.au> 

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> Also, one could use the -munderscores flag for gcc on the kernel and
> skip asnames.h altogether until it's elf-only (and then convert the
> symbols and drop the compile flag).
>
> Yes, you can have gcc's underscore prefixing is independent of
> the binary format.  You can have -mno-underscores with a.out or
> -munderscores with elf if you wish.  If we're going to transition to
> elf as default for the 3.0 kernel, we could convert the source now,
> and add -mno-underscores to the a.out kernel cc flags.

I don't want to change it that way at least until 3.0 is out.  What
we have now works, and using -mno-underscores could easily create
multiply defined symbols if assembly language code assumes (as much of
it does) that an unprefixed global name is hidden from C.

Bruce and I had a long discussion about it a year ago or more.  We
decided that the leading underscore is a useful reminder that the
symbol is a C symbol.  If it discourages the use of assembly
language, so much the better. :-)

John
--
   John Polstra                                       jdp@polstra.com
   John D. Polstra & Co., Inc.                Seattle, Washington USA
   "Self-knowledge is always bad news."                 -- John Barth

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