6.11.4 Compiler options

The menu ”Options—Compiler” allow the setting of options that affect the compilers behavior. When this menu item is chosen, a dialog pops up that displays several tabs.

There are six tabs:

Syntax

Here options can be set that affect the various syntax aspects of the code. They correspond mostly to the -S option on the command line (section 5.1.5, page 119).

Code generation

These options control the generated code; they are mostly concerned with the -C and -X command line options.

Verbose

These set the verbosity of the compiler when compiling. The messages of the compiler are shown in the compiler messages window (can be called with F12).

Browser

Options concerning the generated browser information. Browser information needs to be generated for the symbol browser to work.

Assembler

Options concerning the reading of assembler blocks (-R on the command line) and the generated assembler (-A on the command line)

Processor

Here the target processor can be selected.

On each tab page, there are two entry boxes: the first for Conditional defines and the second for additional compiler arguments. The symbols, and arguments, should be separated with semi-colons.

The syntax tab of the compiler options dialog is shown in figure (6.23).

In the syntax options dialog, the following options can be set:

Stop after first error

when checked, the compiler stops after the first error. Normally the compiler continues compiling till a fatal error is reached. (-Se (see page 121) on the command line)

Allow label and goto

Allow the use of label declarations and goto statements (-Sg (see page 122) on the command line).

Enable macros

Allow the use of macros (-Sm (see page 123)).

Allow inline

Allow the use of inlined functions (-Sc (see page 121) on the command line).

Include assertion code

Include Assert statements in the code.

Load kylix compat. unit

Load the Kylix compatibility unit.

Allow STATIC in objects

Allow the Static modifier for object methods (-St (see page 123) on the command line)

C-like operators

Allows the use of some extended operators such as +=, -= etc. (-Sc (see page 121) on the command line).

Compiler mode

select the appropriate compiler mode:

Free Pascal Dialect

The default Free Pascal compiler mode (FPC).

Object pascal extensions on

Enables the use of classes and exceptions (-Sd (see page 121) on the command line).

Turbo pascal compatible

Try to be more Turbo Pascal compatible (-So (see page 123) on the command line).

Delphi compatible

Try to be more Delphi compatible (-Sd (see page 121) on the command line).

Macintosh Pascal dialect

Try to be Macintosh pascal compatible.

The code generation tab of the compiler options dialog is shown in figure (6.24).

In the code generation dialog, the following options can be set:

Run-time checks

Controls what run-time checking code is generated. If such a check fails, a run-time error is generated. The following checking code can be generated:

Range checking

Checks the results of enumeration and subset type operations (-Cr (see page 111) command line option).

Stack checking

Checks whether the stack limit is not reached (-Cs (see page 111) command line option).

I/O checking

Checks the result of IO operations (-Ci (see page 111) command line option).

Integer overflow checking

Checks the result of integer operations (-Co (see page 111) command line option).

Object method call checking

Check the validity of the method pointer prior to calling it.

Position independent code

Generate PIC code.

Create smartlinkable units

Create smartlinkable units.

Optimizations

What optimizations should be used when compiling:

Generate faster code

Corresponds to the -OG command line option.

Generate smaller code

Corresponds to the -Og command line option.

More information on these switches can be found in section 5.1.4, page 109.

The processor tab of the compiler options dialog is shown in figure (6.25).

In the processor dialog, the target processor can be set. The compiler can use different optimizations for different processors.

The verbose tab of the compiler options dialog is shown in figure (6.26).

In this dialog, the following verbosity options can be set (on the command line: -v (see page 105)):

Warnings

Generate warnings. Corresponds to -vw on the command line.

Notes

Generate notes. Corresponds to -vn on the command line.

Hints

Generate hints. Corresponds to -vh on the command line.

General info

Generate general information. Corresponds to -vi on the command line.

User,tried info

Generate information on used and tried files. Corresponds to -vut on the command line.

All

Switch on full verbosity. Corresponds to -va on the command line.

Show all procedures if error

If an error using overloaded procedure occurs, show all procedures. Corresponds to -vb on the command line.

The browser tab of the compiler options dialog is shown in figure (6.27).

In this dialog, the browser options can be set:

No browser

(default) No browser information is generated by the compiler.

Only global browser

Browser information is generated for global symbols only, i.e. symbols defined not in a procedure or function (-b on the command line)

Local and global browser

Browser information is generated for all symbols, i.e. also for symbols that are defined in procedures or functions (-bl on the command line)

Remark If no browser information is generated, the symbol browser of the IDE will not work.

The assembler tab of the compiler options dialog is shown in figure (6.28). The actual dialog may vary, as it depends on the target CPU the IDE was compiled for.

In this dialog, the assembler reader and writer options can be set:

Assembler reader

This permits setting the style of the assembler blocks in the sources:

AT&T assembler

The assembler is written in AT&T style assembler (-Ratt on the command line).

Intel style assembler

The assembler is written in Intel style assembler blocks (-Rintel on the command line).

remark that this option is global, but locally the assembler style can be changed with compiler directives.

Assembler info

When writing assembler files, this option decides which extra information is written to the assembler file in comments:

List source

The source lines are written to the assembler files together with the generated assembler (-al on the command line).

List register allocation

The compiler’s internal register allocation/deallocation information is written to the assembler file (-ar on the command line).

List temp allocation

The temporary register allocation/deallocation is written to the assembler file. (-at on the command line).

List node allocation

The node allocation/deallocation is written to the assembler file. (-an on the command line).

use pipe with assembler

use a pipe on unix systems when feeding the assembler code to an external assembler.

The latter three of these options are mainly useful for debugging the compiler itself, it should rarely be necessary to use these.

Assembler output

This option tells the compiler what assembler output should be generated.

Use default output

This depends on the target.

Use GNU as

Assemble using gnu as (-Aas on the command line).

Use NASM coff

Produce NASM coff assembler (go32v2, -Anasmcoff on the command line)

Use NASM elf

Produce NASM elf assembler (linux, -Anasmelf on the command line).

Use NASM obj

Produce NASM obj assembler (-Anasmobj on the command line).

Use MASM

Produce MASM (Microsoft assembler) assembler (-Amasm on the command line).

Use TASM

Produce TASM (Turbo Assembler) assembler (-Atasm on the command line).

Use coff

Write binary coff files directly using the internal assembler (go32v2, -Acoff on the command line).

Use pecoff

Write binary pecoff files files directly using the internal writer. (Win32)