Let ME try for a new topic...

[Doug Gwyn]

The #define extern /**/ trick only works if you want your extern
storage definitions to be filled with zeros.  I think it is better
to init the extern data explicitly (even if it is zero) in a module
that deals with the data.  Better still, reduce the global data to
an insignificant amount (pass arguments to functions as parameters
and collect data structure manipulators into a single module with
the data made file-static).