Allocation Order - GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) Internals
Description: GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) Internals

Next: Values in Registers, Previous: Register Basics, Up: Registers

#### 17.7.2 Order of Allocation of Registers

Registers are allocated in order.

— Macro: REG_ALLOC_ORDER

> If defined, an initializer for a vector of integers, containing the numbers of hard registers in the order in which GCC should prefer to use them (from most preferred to least).

> If this macro is not defined, registers are used lowest numbered first (all else being equal).

> One use of this macro is on machines where the highest numbered registers must always be saved and the save-multiple-registers instruction supports only sequences of consecutive registers. On such machines, define `REG_ALLOC_ORDER` to be an initializer that lists the highest numbered allocable register first.

— Macro: ADJUST_REG_ALLOC_ORDER

> A C statement (sans semicolon) to choose the order in which to allocate hard registers for pseudo-registers local to a basic block.

> Store the desired register order in the array `reg_alloc_order`. Element 0 should be the register to allocate first; element 1, the next register; and so on.

> The macro body should not assume anything about the contents of `reg_alloc_order` before execution of the macro.

> On most machines, it is not necessary to define this macro.

— Macro: HONOR_REG_ALLOC_ORDER

> Normally, IRA tries to estimate the costs for saving a register in the prologue and restoring it in the epilogue. This discourages it from using call-saved registers. If a machine wants to ensure that IRA allocates registers in the order given by REG_ALLOC_ORDER even if some call-saved registers appear earlier than call-used ones, this macro should be defined.

— Macro: IRA_HARD_REGNO_ADD_COST_MULTIPLIER (regno)

> In some case register allocation order is not enough for the Integrated Register Allocator (IRA) to generate a good code. If this macro is defined, it should return a floating point value based on regno. The cost of using regno for a pseudo will be increased by approximately the pseudo's usage frequency times the value returned by this macro. Not defining this macro is equivalent to having it always return `0.0`.

> On most machines, it is not necessary to define this macro.