Alpha g++ 2.95.2 optimizer doesn't scale?

[Scott Davies <scottd at cs dot cmu dot edu>]

After the g++ on the Alpha I use was upgraded to 2.95.2, one of my
source files now causes the compiler (namely, the cc1plus process) to
exhaust the machine's virtual memory when compiled with optimization
on ("-O").  This is on a monster machine with 4 gigabytes of RAM and
many more gigabytes of swap space, and the source file is only 6200
lines long.  The file compiles fine with optimization turned off, and
fine under Linux g++ 2.95.2 with optimization either on or off.

A friend of mine tells me that a new optimizer has recently been added
to the Alpha version of g++, and that its memory usage tends to
explode on long functions.  There is indeed a 700-line-long function
in the problematic sourcefile.  Still, 700 isn't *that* large, and
the fact that it brings a 4 GB machine to its knees is a bit
disconcerting.

If the new optimizer is indeed the problem and doesn't scale, will
there at least be a command-line option to turn the darn thing off 
and go back to the old one?

Thanks,

-- Scott