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15<title>STABS: Stack Variables</title>
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62<a name="Stack-Variables"></a>
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64<p>
65Next: <a href="Global-Variables.html#Global-Variables" accesskey="n" rel="next">Global Variables</a>, Up: <a href="Variables.html#Variables" accesskey="u" rel="up">Variables</a> &nbsp; [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Symbol-Types-Index.html#Symbol-Types-Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
66</div>
67<hr>
68<a name="Automatic-Variables-Allocated-on-the-Stack"></a>
69<h3 class="section">4.1 Automatic Variables Allocated on the Stack</h3>
70
71<p>If a variable&rsquo;s scope is local to a function and its lifetime is only as
72long as that function executes (C calls such variables
73<em>automatic</em>), it can be allocated in a register (see <a href="Register-Variables.html#Register-Variables">Register Variables</a>) or on the stack.
74</p>
75<a name="index-N_005fLSYM_002c-for-stack-variables"></a>
76<a name="index-C_005fLSYM"></a>
77<p>Each variable allocated on the stack has a stab with the symbol
78descriptor omitted.  Since type information should begin with a digit,
79&lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;, or &lsquo;<samp>(</samp>&rsquo;, only those characters precluded from being used
80for symbol descriptors.  However, the Acorn RISC machine (ARM) is said
81to get this wrong: it puts out a mere type definition here, without the
82preceding &lsquo;<samp><var>type-number</var>=</samp>&rsquo;.  This is a bad idea; there is no
83guarantee that type descriptors are distinct from symbol descriptors.
84Stabs for stack variables use the <code>N_LSYM</code> stab type, or
85<code>C_LSYM</code> for XCOFF.
86</p>
87<p>The value of the stab is the offset of the variable within the
88local variables.  On most machines this is an offset from the frame
89pointer and is negative.  The location of the stab specifies which block
90it is defined in; see <a href="Block-Structure.html#Block-Structure">Block Structure</a>.
91</p>
92<p>For example, the following C code:
93</p>
94<div class="example">
95<pre class="example">int
96main ()
97{
98  int x;
99}
100</pre></div>
101
102<p>produces the following stabs:
103</p>
104<div class="example">
105<pre class="example">.stabs &quot;main:F1&quot;,36,0,0,_main   # <span class="roman">36 is N_FUN</span>
106.stabs &quot;x:1&quot;,128,0,0,-12        # <span class="roman">128 is N_LSYM</span>
107.stabn 192,0,0,LBB2             # <span class="roman">192 is N_LBRAC</span>
108.stabn 224,0,0,LBE2             # <span class="roman">224 is N_RBRAC</span>
109</pre></div>
110
111<p>See <a href="Procedures.html#Procedures">Procedures</a> for more information on the <code>N_FUN</code> stab, and
112<a href="Block-Structure.html#Block-Structure">Block Structure</a> for more information on the <code>N_LBRAC</code> and
113<code>N_RBRAC</code> stabs.
114</p>
115
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