BITS_PER_UNIT larger than 8 -- word addressing

[Ian Lance Taylor]

Boris Boesler <baembel@gmx.de> writes:

>   I assume that GCC internals assume that memory can be byte (8 bits)
> addressed - for historical reasons. 

No.  gcc internals assume that memory can be addressed in units of
size BITS_PER_UNIT.  The default for BITS_PER_UNIT is 8.  I have
written backends for machines for which that is not true.

It is unusual, and there is only one official target with
BITS_PER_UNIT != 8 (c4x), so there is often some minor breakage.

Ian