https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=85751
Bug ID: 85751 Summary: RFE: option to align code using breakpoint instructions when unreachable Product: gcc Version: unknown Status: UNCONFIRMED Severity: normal Priority: P3 Component: middle-end Assignee: unassigned at gcc dot gnu.org Reporter: hpa at zytor dot com Target Milestone: --- For most (all?) targets, there exists a breakpoint or other trap instruction which can be inserted at any point in the code stream, e.g. 0xcc (int3) on x86. Currently, gcc aligns code by the default platform option, which is some kind of NOP, as the assembler can't know if a fallthrough is possible. It would be preferable to pad with a trapping instruction *if* the padding area is unreachable and not subject to fallthrough. This does not require any binutils changes, as the align directives already optionally support specifying the value of the padding bytes.