http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=59863
Bug ID: 59863 Summary: const array in function is placed on stack Product: gcc Version: 4.8.2 Status: UNCONFIRMED Severity: normal Priority: P3 Component: c Assignee: unassigned at gcc dot gnu.org Reporter: sam at gcc dot gnu.org Created attachment 31875 --> http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/attachment.cgi?id=31875&action=edit Source file to reproduce the issue This source code int f(int i) { const int a[] = {1, 2, 3, 4}; return a[i]; } int g(int i) { static const int a[] = {1, 2, 3, 4}; return a[i]; } generates different code with GCC 4.8.2 on x86_64 for f() and g(). In f(), the const array is really created on the stack, and initialized one element at a time, instead of being placed in .rodata as it is for g(). With GCC on ARM (4.7), both arrays from f() and g() are placed in .rodata, but the code to access them is different: .text .align 2 .global f .type f, %function f: @ args = 0, pretend = 0, frame = 16 @ frame_needed = 0, uses_anonymous_args = 0 @ link register save eliminated. str r4, [sp, #-4]! ldr r3, .L2 sub sp, sp, #20 mov ip, r0 ldmia r3, {r0, r1, r2, r3} add r4, sp, #16 stmdb r4, {r0, r1, r2, r3} add ip, r4, ip, asl #2 ldr r0, [ip, #-16] add sp, sp, #20 ldmfd sp!, {r4} bx lr .L3: .align 2 .L2: .word .LANCHOR0 .size f, .-f .align 2 .global g .type g, %function g: @ args = 0, pretend = 0, frame = 0 @ frame_needed = 0, uses_anonymous_args = 0 @ link register save eliminated. ldr r3, .L5 add r0, r3, r0, asl #2 ldr r0, [r0, #16] bx lr .L6: .align 2 .L5: .word .LANCHOR0 .size g, .-g .section .rodata .align 2 .set .LANCHOR0,. + 0 .LC0: .word 1 .word 2 .word 3 .word 4 .type a.4057, %object .size a.4057, 16 a.4057: .word 1 .word 2 .word 3 .word 4 Note that on x86_64, clang generates the same code for f() and g() and even unifies both const arrays in .rodata. Is there anything in the C standard preventing a const array declared in a function from being put in .rodata or are those missed optimizations?