Multiple Pointer Types on HPPA

Multiple Pointer Types on HPPA

[Mark Klein]

Hi, Jeff.

Is there a way to provide integral support for multiple 
pointer types within GCC?

As you know, HPPA provides for short and long pointers.
But, the machine description only appears to support a 
single pointer type and there is only a single PMODE
and POINTER_SIZE declaration possible.

I've been providing long pointer support on MPEiX through
some wrappers that force the programmer to treat long
pointers as a struct that can only be used in calls.
I would like to consider being able to natively support
long pointers to allow programmers to dereference them
as with short pointers.

Is there a way to do this within current porting
parameters?

TIA,


M.
--
Mark Klein                                    DIS International, Ltd.
http://www.dis.com                            415-892-8400
PGP Public Key Available
--

Re: Multiple Pointer Types on HPPA

[Jeffrey A Law]

  In message < 4.1.19990621123640.00bd1be0@garfield.dis.com >you write:
  > Hi, Jeff.
  > 
  > Is there a way to provide integral support for multiple 
  > pointer types within GCC?
You mean short vs long?  Nope.  You only get one pointer size at a time.

We have neither the machine independent bits necessary for short vs long
pointers nor the machine dependent bits.

You're probably stuck with wrappers for a long time.  Particularly on
segmented targets like the PA.

Sorry,
jeff

Re: Multiple Pointer Types on HPPA

[Dima Volodin]

What about an architecture where the size for all pointers is one and the
same, but conversions between pointers to char types and pointers to word
types are not trivial?

Thanks

Dima

Jeffrey A Law wrote:

>   In message < 4.1.19990621123640.00bd1be0@garfield.dis.com >you write:
>   > Hi, Jeff.
>   >
>   > Is there a way to provide integral support for multiple
>   > pointer types within GCC?
> You mean short vs long?  Nope.  You only get one pointer size at a time.
>
> We have neither the machine independent bits necessary for short vs long
> pointers nor the machine dependent bits.
>
> You're probably stuck with wrappers for a long time.  Particularly on
> segmented targets like the PA.
>
> Sorry,
> jeff

Re: Multiple Pointer Types on HPPA

[Jeffrey A Law]

  In message < 376EC27A.71840051@dvv.org >you write:
  > What about an architecture where the size for all pointers is one and the
  > same, but conversions between pointers to char types and pointers to word
  > types are not trivial?
You're in trouble there too.

As far as gcc is concerned pointers are just a scalar type.  There is no
special meaning placed to them.  A conversion from one pointer type to
another is considered a no-op.

jeff

Re: Multiple Pointer Types on HPPA

[Jeffrey A Law]

  In message < 376EC27A.71840051@dvv.org >you write:
  > What about an architecture where the size for all pointers is one and the
  > same, but conversions between pointers to char types and pointers to word
  > types are not trivial?
You're in trouble there too.

As far as gcc is concerned pointers are just a scalar type.  There is no
special meaning placed to them.  A conversion from one pointer type to
another is considered a no-op.

jeff

Re: Multiple Pointer Types on HPPA

[Dima Volodin]

What about an architecture where the size for all pointers is one and the
same, but conversions between pointers to char types and pointers to word
types are not trivial?

Thanks

Dima

Jeffrey A Law wrote:

>   In message < 4.1.19990621123640.00bd1be0@garfield.dis.com >you write:
>   > Hi, Jeff.
>   >
>   > Is there a way to provide integral support for multiple
>   > pointer types within GCC?
> You mean short vs long?  Nope.  You only get one pointer size at a time.
>
> We have neither the machine independent bits necessary for short vs long
> pointers nor the machine dependent bits.
>
> You're probably stuck with wrappers for a long time.  Particularly on
> segmented targets like the PA.
>
> Sorry,
> jeff

Re: Multiple Pointer Types on HPPA

[Jeffrey A Law]

  In message < 4.1.19990621123640.00bd1be0@garfield.dis.com >you write:
  > Hi, Jeff.
  > 
  > Is there a way to provide integral support for multiple 
  > pointer types within GCC?
You mean short vs long?  Nope.  You only get one pointer size at a time.

We have neither the machine independent bits necessary for short vs long
pointers nor the machine dependent bits.

You're probably stuck with wrappers for a long time.  Particularly on
segmented targets like the PA.

Sorry,
jeff

Multiple Pointer Types on HPPA

[Mark Klein]

Hi, Jeff.

Is there a way to provide integral support for multiple 
pointer types within GCC?

As you know, HPPA provides for short and long pointers.
But, the machine description only appears to support a 
single pointer type and there is only a single PMODE
and POINTER_SIZE declaration possible.

I've been providing long pointer support on MPEiX through
some wrappers that force the programmer to treat long
pointers as a struct that can only be used in calls.
I would like to consider being able to natively support
long pointers to allow programmers to dereference them
as with short pointers.

Is there a way to do this within current porting
parameters?

TIA,


M.
--
Mark Klein                                    DIS International, Ltd.
http://www.dis.com                            415-892-8400
PGP Public Key Available
--