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This chapter presents the following topics concerning Compaq C data storage and representation on OpenVMS systems:
When you define a Compaq C variable, the storage class determines not only its scope but also its location and lifetime. The lifetime of a variable is the length of time for which storage is allocated. For OpenVMS systems, storage for a Compaq C variable can be allocated in the following locations:
Variables that are placed on the stack or in a register are temporary. For example, variables of the auto and register storage classes are temporary. Their lifetimes are limited to the execution of a single block or function. All declarations of the internal storage classes ( auto and register ) are also definitions; the compiler generates code to establish storage at this point in the program.
Program sections, or psects, are used for permanent variables; the lifetime of identifiers extends through the course of the entire program. A psect represents an area of virtual memory that has a name, a size, and a series of attributes that describe the intended or permitted usage of that portion of memory. For example, the compiler places variables of the static, external, and global storage classes in psects; you have some control as to which psects contain which identifiers. All declarations of the static storage class are also definitions; the compiler creates the psect at that point in the program. In Compaq C, the first declaration of the external storage class is also a definition; the linker initializes the psect at that point in the program.
Table 4-1 shows the location and lifetime of a variable when you use each of the storage-class keywords.
| Storage Class | Location | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|
| (Internal null) | Stack or register | Temporary |
| [auto] | Stack or register | Temporary |
| register | Stack or register | Temporary |
| static | Psect | Permanent |
| extern | Psect | Permanent |
| globaldef 1 | Psect | Permanent |
| globalref 1 | Psect | Permanent |
| globalvalue 1 | No storage allocated | Permanent |
For a comparison between the global and external storage classes, see Section 4.3.2.
For more information about psects, see Section 4.8.
4.2 ANSI-Compliant Method of Controlling External Objects
Sections 4.3 and 4.4 describe the following external linkage storage-class specifiers and modifiers that are specific to Compaq C for OpenVMS Systems:
globaldef
globalref
globalvalue
noshare
readonly
_align
These keywords are supported by the Compaq C compiler for compatibility purposes, and are available only in VAX C mode (/STANDARD=VAXC) and relaxed ANSI C mode (/STANDARD=RELAXED_ANSI89).
However, the Compaq C compiler also provides an alternative, ANSI-compliant method of controlling objects that have external linkage. To take advantage of this method, use the #pragma extern_model preprocessor directive and the /EXTERN_MODEL and /[NO]SHARE_GLOBALS command-line qualifiers.
The pragma and command-line qualifiers replace the VAX C mode storage-class specifiers ( globaldef , globalref , globalvalue ) and storage-class modifiers ( noshare and readonly ). They allow you to select the implementation model of external data and control the psect usage of your programs. The _align macro is still used to ensure object alignment.
The pragma and command-line qualifier approach also has these advantages:
For a description of the #pragma extern_model preprocessor directive and its relationship to the external storage classes it replaces, see Section 5.4.5.
For a description of the _align storage-class modifier, see Section 4.4.3.
For a description of the /EXTERN_MODEL and /[NO]SHARE_GLOBALS
command-line qualifiers, see Section 1.3.4.
4.3 Global Storage Classes
In addition to the storage-class specifiers described in the
Compaq C Language Reference Manual, the VAX C compatibility mode of Compaq C provides
the
globaldef
,
globalref
, and
globalvalue
storage-class specifiers. These specifiers allow you to assign the
global storage classes to identifiers. The global storage classes are
specific to Compaq C for OpenVMS Systems and are not portable.
4.3.1 The globaldef and globalref Specifiers
Use the globaldef specifier to define a global variable. Use the globalref specifier to refer to a global variable defined elsewhere in the program.
When you use the globaldef specifier to define a global symbol, the symbol is placed in one of three program sections: the $DATA (VAX ONLY) or $DATA$ (ALPHA ONLY) psect using globaldef alone, the $CODE (VAX ONLY) or $READONLY$ (ALPHA ONLY) psect using globaldef with readonly or const , or a user-named psect. You can create a user-named psect by specifying the psect name as a string constant in braces immediately following the globaldef keyword, as shown in the following definition:
globaldef{"psect_name"} int x = 2;
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This definition creates a program section called psect_name and allocates the variable x in that psect. You can add any number of global variables to this psect by specifying the same psect name in other globaldef declarations. In addition, you can specify the noshare modifier to create the psect with the NOSHR attribute. Similarly, you can specify the readonly or const modifier to create the psect with the NOWRT attribute. For more information about the possible combinations of specifiers and modifiers, and the effects of the storage-class modifiers on program section attributes, see Section 4.8.
Variables declared with globaldef can be initialized; variables declared with globalref cannot, because these declarations refer to variables defined, and possibly initialized, elsewhere in the program. Initialization is possible only when storage is allocated for an object. This distinction is especially important when the readonly or const modifier is used; unless the global variable is initialized when the variable is defined, its permanent value is 0.
In the VAX MACRO programming language, it is possible to give a global variable more than one name. However, in Compaq C, only one global name can be used for a particular variable. Compaq C assumes that distinct global variable names denote distinct objects; the storage associated with different names must not overlap. |
Example 4-1 shows the use of global variables.
| Example 4-1 Using Global Variables |
|---|
/* This example shows how global variables are used * * in Compaq C programs. */ #include <stdlib.h> (1)int ex_counter = 0; (2)globaldef double velocity = 3.0e10; (3)globaldef {"distance"} long miles = 100; int main() { printf(" *** FIRST COMP UNIT ***\n"); printf("counter:\t%d\n", ex_counter); printf("velocity:\t%g\n", velocity); printf("miles:\t\t%d\n\n", miles); fn(); printf(" *** FIRST COMP UNIT ***\n"); printf("counter:\t%d\n", ex_counter); |
(4) printf("velocity:\t%g\n", velocity); printf("miles:\t\t%d\n\n", miles); exit (EXIT_SUCCESS); } /* ---------------------------------------------------- * * The following code is contained in a separate * * compilation unit. * * ---------------------------------------------------- */ static ex_counter; (5)globalref double velocity; globalref long miles; fn(void) { ++ex_counter; printf(" *** SECOND COMP UNIT ***\n"); if ( miles > 50 ) velocity = miles * 3.1 / 200 ; printf("counter:\t%d\n", ex_counter); printf("velocity:\t%g\n", velocity); printf("miles:\t\t%d\n", miles); } |
Key to Example 4-1:
Sample output from Example 4-1 is as follows:
$ RUN EXAMPLE.EXE[Return] *** FIRST COMP UNIT *** counter: 0 velocity: 3.000000e+10 miles: 100 *** SECOND COMP UNIT *** counter: 1 velocity: 1.55 miles: 100 *** FIRST COMP UNIT *** counter: 0 velocity: 1.55 miles: 100 |
The global storage-class specifiers define and declare objects that differ from external variables both in their storage allocation and in their correspondence to elements of other languages. Global variables provide a convenient and efficient way for a Compaq C function to communicate with assembly language programs, with OpenVMS system services and data structures, and with other high-level languages that support global symbol definition, such as Compaq PL/I. For more information about multilanguage programming, see Chapter 3.
Compaq C imposes no limit on the number of external variables in a single program.
There are other functional differences between the external and global variables. For example:
#ifdef __DECC #define EXPORT globaldef #define IMPORT globalref #else #define EXPORT #define IMPORT extern #endif . . . IMPORT int foo; EXPORT int foo = 53; |
One similarity between the external and global storage classes is in the way the compiler recognizes these variables internally. External and global identifiers are not case-sensitive. No matter how the external and global identifiers appear in the source code, the compiler converts them to uppercase letters (unless you compile with /NAMES=AS_IS or /NAMES=LOWERCASE). For ease in debugging programs, express all global and external variable identifiers in uppercase letters.
Another similarity between the external and global storage classes is that you can place the external variables and the global variables (optionally) in psects with a user-defined name and, to some degree, user-defined attributes. The compiler places external variables in psects of the same name as the variable identifier, viewed by the linker in uppercase letters. The compiler places globaldef {"name"} variables in psects with names specified in quotation marks, delimited by braces, and located directly after the globaldef specifier in a declaration. Again, the linker considers the psect name to be in uppercase letters.
The compiler places a variable declared using only the
globaldef
specifier and a data-type keyword into the $DATA (VAX ONLY) or
$DATA$ (ALPHA ONLY) psect.
For more information about the possible combinations of specifiers and
modifiers, and the effects of the storage-class modifiers on program
section attributes, see Section 4.8.
4.3.3 The globalvalue Specifier
A global value is an integral value whose identifier is a global symbol. Global values are useful because they allow many programmers in the same environment to refer to values by identifier, without regard to the actual value associated with the identifier. The actual values can change, as dictated by general system requirements, without requiring changes in all the programs that refer to them. If you make changes to the global value, you only have to recompile the defining compilation unit (unless it is defined in an object library), not all of the compilation units in the program that refer to those definitions.
You can use the globalvalue specifier only with identifiers of type enum , int , or with pointer variables. |
An identifier declared with globalvalue does not require storage. Instead, the linker resolves all references to the value. If an initializer appears with globalvalue , the name defines a global symbol for the given initial value. If no initializer appears, the globalvalue construct is considered a reference to some previously defined global value.
Predefined global values serve many purposes in OpenVMS system programming, such as defining status values. It is customary in OpenVMS system programming to avoid explicit references to such values as those returned by system services, and to use instead the global names for those values. Example 4-2 shows the use of the globalvalue storage-class specifier.
| Example 4-2 Using the globalvalue Specifier |
|---|
/* This program shows references to previously defined *
* globalvalue symbols. */
#include <stdio.h>
globalvalue FAILURE = 0, EOF = -1;
main()
{
char c;
/* Get a char from stdin */
while ( (c = getchar()) != EOF)
test(c);
}
/* -------------------------------------------------------- *
* The following code is contained in a separate compilation *
* unit. *
* -------------------------------------------------------- */
#include <ctype.h> /* Include proper module */
globalvalue FAILURE, EOF; /* Declare global symbols */
void test(param_c)
char param_c; /* Declare parameter */
{
/* Test to see if number is valid */
if ( (isalnum(param_c)) != FAILURE)
printf("%c\n", param_c);
return;
}
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In Example 4-2, failure and eof are defined in the first module: the values are placed into the program stream. In the second module, failure and eof are declared so that their values can be accessed. As with the external and global variables, the linker converts the global symbols as uppercase letters. For ease of debugging, express these symbols in uppercase.
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