Re: [patch] AVR: Sort .text.* input sections by their name.
Project / Subsystem
binutils / avr
Date
2026-07-22
Proposer
Alan Modra <amodra@gmail.com>
Source type
public_inbox
Consensus
Proposed
Sentiment
—/10
Technical tradeoffs
- • Code Locality: Balancing the potential benefits of sorting sections by name against the risk of degrading cache performance.
- • Linker Script Flexibility vs. Patch Simplicity: Offering a more powerful but complex solution (linker scripts) versus a simpler patch.
- • Target-Specific Optimization: Tailoring optimization strategies like section ordering for specific architectures (AVR) where it might be beneficial.
All attributes
- project
- binutils
- subsystem
- avr
- patch_id
- —
- discussion_id
- amCvYm3-7Yb1BxS3@squeak.grove.modra.org
- source_type
- public_inbox
- title
- Re: [patch] AVR: Sort .text.* input sections by their name.
- headline
- AVR: Sort .text.* input sections by their name.
- tldr
- Discussion on sorting .text sections in AVR binutils: maintainer suggests a better approach than originally proposed patch.
- proposer
- Alan Modra <amodra@gmail.com>
- consensus
- Proposed
- outcome
- needs_revision
- sentiment_score
- —
- technical_tradeoffs
-
- • Code Locality: Balancing the potential benefits of sorting sections by name against the risk of degrading cache performance.
- • Linker Script Flexibility vs. Patch Simplicity: Offering a more powerful but complex solution (linker scripts) versus a simpler patch.
- • Target-Specific Optimization: Tailoring optimization strategies like section ordering for specific architectures (AVR) where it might be beneficial.
- series_id
- —
- series_role
- standalone
- series_parts
- []
- tags
-
- • binutils
- • AVR
- • linker
- • code locality
- • optimization
- bugzilla_url
- —
- date
- 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
Re: [patch] AVR: Sort .text.* input sections by their name.
Alan Modra reviews a patch that sorts .text.* input sections by name for the AVR target in binutils, aiming to improve code locality. Modra expresses skepticism, believing this could worsen locality in general cases, especially with -ffunction-sections. He suggests an alternative approach using linker script directives like *(EXCLUDE_FILE(...)) and SORT(.text.*) combined with file exclusions to achieve better control over section placement and code locality.