ANSII C, optimization, and "hardware registers"

[Henry Spencer]

A paranoid compiler could, presumably, assume that "volatile" meant not
only that the location might change underfoot, but also that there was
something strange about it and it had better be accessed in the most
straightforward way possible.  My own thought would be that the special
keyword ("volatile" is perhaps not an ideal choice, it's too specific)
should simply mean that the compiler should be as paranoid as possible
on the given architecture.  I suspect that trying to pin down the exact
semantics is both difficult and unwise.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry