add item to missing features

[craig at jcb-sc dot com]

Committed, to both mainline and release branch.

        tq vm, (burley)


Fri Jun  4 10:09:50 1999  Craig Burley  <craig@jcb-sc.com>

	* g77.texi (Missing Features): Add `Better Warnings'
	item.

*** g77-e/gcc/f/g77.texi.~1~	Wed May 26 13:50:13 1999
--- g77-e/gcc/f/g77.texi	Fri Jun  4 10:00:38 1999
***************
*** 3,7 ****
  @setfilename g77.info
  
! @set last-update 1999-05-28
  @set copyrights-g77 1995-1999
  
--- 3,7 ----
  @setfilename g77.info
  
! @set last-update 1999-06-04
  @set copyrights-g77 1995-1999
  
*************** New facilities:
*** 11429,11432 ****
--- 11429,11433 ----
  
  Better diagnostics:
+ * Better Warnings::
  * Gracefully Handle Sensible Bad Code::
  * Non-standard Conversions::
*************** are thread-safe, nor does @code{g77} hav
*** 12174,12177 ****
--- 12175,12234 ----
  processors).
  A package such as PVM might help here.
+ 
+ @node Better Warnings
+ @subsection Better Warnings
+ 
+ Because of how @code{g77} generates code via the back end,
+ it doesn't always provide warnings the user wants.
+ Consider:
+ 
+ @smallexample
+ PROGRAM X
+ PRINT *, A
+ END
+ @end smallexample
+ 
+ Currently, the above is not flagged as a case of
+ using an uninitialized variable,
+ because @code{g77} generates a run-time library call that looks,
+ to the GBE, like it might actually @emph{modify} @samp{A} at run time.
+ (And, in fact, depending on the previous run-time library call,
+ it would!)
+ 
+ Fixing this requires one of the following:
+ 
+ @itemize @bullet
+ @item
+ Switch to new library, @code{libg77}, that provides
+ a more ``clean'' interface,
+ vis-a-vis input, output, and modified arguments,
+ so the GBE can tell what's going on.
+ 
+ This would provide a pretty big performance improvement,
+ at least theoretically, and, ultimately, in practice,
+ for some types of code.
+ 
+ @item
+ Have @code{g77} pass a pointer to a temporary
+ containing a copy of @samp{A},
+ instead of to @samp{A} itself.
+ The GBE would then complain about the copy operation
+ involving a potentially uninitialized variable.
+ 
+ This might also provide a performance boost for some code,
+ because @samp{A} might then end up living in a register,
+ which could help with inner loops.
+ 
+ @item
+ Have @code{g77} use a GBE construct similar to @code{ADDR_EXPR}
+ but with extra information on the fact that the
+ item pointed to won't be modified
+ (a la @code{const} in C).
+ 
+ Probably the best solution for now, but not quite trivial
+ to implement in the general case.
+ Worth considering after @code{g77} 0.6 is considered
+ pretty solid.
+ @end itemize
  
  @node Gracefully Handle Sensible Bad Code