http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=52635
--- Comment #3 from Mikael Pettersson <mikpe at it dot uu.se> 2012-03-20 17:26:23 UTC --- (In reply to comment #2) > Do you have an example not involving __builtin_constant_p? Unfortunately no. The example is just a cleaned up and reduced version of the one from PR52632. I've tried a few variations with __builtin_offsetof() and sizeof(), but they all work, i.e., generate diagnostics at all optimization levels. > When > optimizing, this array will be considered a VLA (i.e. the size will be > considered nonconstant) as __builtin_constant_p is only evaluated later > (after inlining, for example), long after decisions about whether arrays > are VLAs have to be made. I see. The Linux kernel also uses the following variation: #define BUILD_BUG_ON_ZERO(e) (sizeof(struct { int:-!!(e); }) which seems to work with all of __builtin_constant_p, __builtin_offsetof, sizeof, at both -O0 and -O2. Perhaps I ought to submit a kernel patch to make BUILD_BUG_ON() use the struct trick rather than the array size trick?