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1.4 Compatibility with previous versions

Newer versions have usually numerous bug fixes compared with the previous version. But we also sometimes introduce some incompatibilities with older versions. Not just for the fun of it, but to make the compiler more stable, efficient and ANSI compliant (see section 8.2 for ANSI-Compliance).

- short is now equivalent to int (16 bits), it used to be equivalent to char (8 bits) which is not ANSI compliant. To maintain compatibility, old programs may be compiled using the -short-is-8bits commandline option (see lyx:-short-is-8bits).
- the default directory for gcc-builds where include, library and documentation files are stored is now in /usr/local/share.
- char type parameters to vararg functions are casted to int unless explicitly casted, e.g.:
  `char a=3;`
  `printf ("%d %c\n", a, (char)a);`
  will push a as an int and as a char resp.
- option --regextend has been removed.
- option --noregparms has been removed.
- option --stack-after-data has been removed.
- bit and sbit types now consistently behave like the C99 _Bool type with respect to type conversion. The most common incompatibility resulting from this change is related to bit toggling idioms, e.g.:
  `bit b;`
  `b = ~b; /* equivalent to b=1 instead of toggling b */`
  `b = !b; /* toggles b */`
  In previous versions, both forms would have toggled the bit.

<pending: more incompatibilities?>

Next: 1.5 System Requirements Up: 1. Introduction Previous: 1.3 Typographic conventions Contents Index