> On Feb 2, 2023, at 4:38 AM, Sven Barth <pascaldra...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> 
> Which types are passed by-value or by-reference when using const is 
> determined by the size of the record and the types of the fields based on 
> whatever the corresponding ABI defines (e.g. the x86_64 Sys V ABI is rather 
> explicit about some field combinations). The compiler will however not switch 
> between passing a specific type once by-value and another time by-reference.

So if the compiler is making the choice using const which is more efficient 
then we should be using const always I would think? What problem does constref 
solve then?

You go on to show this:

=== doc begin ===

Contrary to Delphi, no assumptions should be made about how const parameters 
are passed to the underlying routine. In particular, the assumption that 
parameters with large size are passed by reference is not correct. For this the 
constref parameter type should be used, which is available as of version 2.5.1 
of the compiler. 

=== doc end ===

Is there anytime a large record should be passed by value if the function is 
not altering the it? This is why I started using constref, i.e. "In particular, 
the assumption that parameters with large size are passed by reference is not 
correct” which makes me think if I have a record of say 64k if I don’t use 
constref it could be passed by value to a function which is called in a tight 
loop.

Regards,
Ryan Joseph

_______________________________________________
fpc-devel maillist  -  fpc-devel@lists.freepascal.org
https://lists.freepascal.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fpc-devel

Reply via email to