AVR035: Efficient C Coding for AVR

Features Architecture Tuned for C 8-bit

• Accessing I/O Memory Locations Code
• Accessing Memory Mapped I/O
The thirty two working registers is one of
Microcontroller
• Accessing Data in Flash
• Accessing Data in EEPROM the keys to efficient C coding. These reg-
• Creating EEPROM Data Files isters have the same function as the
• Efficient use of Variables and Data traditional accumulator, except that there Application
Types are thirty two of them. In one clock cycle,
•
•
Use of Bit-field and Bit-mask
Use of Macros and Functions
AVR can feed two arbitrary registers Note
from the register file to the ALU, perform
• Eighteen Ways to Reduce Code Size
an operation, and write back the result to
• Five Ways to Reduce RAM
Requirements the register file.
• Checklist for Debugging Programs When data are stored in the thirty two
working registers there are no need to
move the data to and from memory
Introduction between each arithmetic instruction.
The C High-level Language (HLL) has Some of the registers can be combined
become increasingly popular for pro- to 16-bits pointers that efficiently access
gramming microcontrollers. The data in the data and program memories.
advantages of using C compared to For large memory sizes the memory
assembler are numer ous: reduced pointers can be combined with a third 8-
development time, easier maintainability bit register to form 24-bits pointers that
and portability, and easier to reuse code. can access 16M bytes of data, with no
The penalty is larger code size and as a paging!
result of that often reduced speed. To
reduce these penalties the AVR archi- Addressing Modes
tecture is tuned to efficiently decode and
The AVR architecture has four memory
execute instructions that are typically
pointers that are used to access data
generated by C compilers.
and program memory. The stack pointer
The C compiler development was done (SP) is dedicated for storing the return
by IAR systems before the AVR architec- address after return from a function. The
ture and instruction set specifications C compiler allocates one pointer as
were completed. The result of the co- parameter stack. The two remaining
operation between the compiler develop- pointers are general-purpose pointers
ment team and the AVR development used by the C compiler to load and store
team is a microcontroller for which highly data. The example below shows how
efficient, high performance code is efficiently the pointers are used for typi-
generated. cal pointer operations in C.
This application note describes how to
utilize the advantages of the AVR archi- char *pointer1 = &table[0];
tecture and the development tools to char *pointer2 = &table[49];
achieve more efficient C code than for
Rev. 1497A–11/99
any other microcontroller. *pointer1++ = *--pointer2;

1
This generates the following assembly code: Support for 16/32-bit Variables
The AVR instruction set includes special instructions for
LD R16,-Z; Pre-decrement Z pointer and load data
handling 16-bit numbers. This includes Add/Subtract
ST X+,R16; Store data and post increment
Immediate Values to Word (ADIW, SBIW). Arithmetic oper-
The four pointer addressing modes and examples are ations and comparison of 16-bit numbers are completed
shown below. All pointer operations are single-word with two instructions in two clock cycles. 32-bit arithmetic
instructions that execute in two clock cycles. operations and comparison are ready in four instructions
1. Indirect addressing: For addressing of arrays and and four cycles. This is more efficient than most 16-bit
pointer variables: processors!
*pointer = 0x00;
2. Indirect addressing with displacement: Allows C Code for AVR
accesses to all elements in a structure by pointing
to the first element and add displacement without
having to change the pointer value. Also used for Initializing the Stack Pointer
accessing variables on the software stack and array After power up or RESET the stack pointer needs to be set
accesses. up before any function is called. The linker command file
3. Indirect addressing with post-increment: For effi- determines the placement and size of the stack pointer.
cient addressing of arrays and pointer variables with The configuration of memory sizes and stack pointer setup
increment after access: is explained in application note AVR032 “Modifying linker
*pointer++ = 0xFF; command files”
4. Indirect addressing with pre-decrement: For effi-
cient addressing of arrays and pointer variables with Accessing I/O Memory Locations
decrement before access: The AVR I/O memory is easily accessed in C. All registers
*--pointer = 0xFF in the I/O memory are declared in a header file usually
The pointers are also used to access the flash program named “ioxxxx.h”, where xxxx is the AVR part number. The
memory. In addition to indirect addressing with pointers, code below shows examples of accessing I/O location. The
the data memory can also be accessed by direct address- assembly code generated for each line is shown below
ing. This gives access to the entire data memory in a two- each C code line.
word instruction.
#include <io8515.h> /* Include header file with symbolic names */

void C_task main(void)

{
char temp; /* Declare a temporary variable*/

/*To read and write to an I/O register*/

temp = PIND; /* Read PIND into a variable*/
// IN R16,LOW(16) ; Read I/O memory

TCCR0 = 0x4F; /* Write a value to an I/O location*/

// LDI R17,79 ; Load value
// OUT LOW(51),R17 ; Write I/O memory

/*Set and clear a single bit */

PORTB |= (1<<PIND2); /* PIND2 is pin number(0..7)in port */
// SBI LOW(24),LOW(2) ; Set bit in I/O

ADCSR &= ~(1<<ADEN); /* Clear ADEN bit in ADCSR register */

// CBI LOW(6),LOW(7) ; Clear bit in I/O
/* Set and clear a bitmask*/

2 AVR035
 AVR035

DDRD |= 0x0C; /* Set bit 2 and 3 in DDRD register*/

// IN R17,LOW(17) ; Read I/O memory
// ORI R17,LOW(12) ; Modify
// OUT LOW(17),R17 ; Write I/O memory

ACSR &= ~(0x0C); /* Clear bit 2 and 3 in ACSR register*/

// IN R17,LOW(8) ; Read I/O memory
// ANDI R17,LOW(243) ; Modify
// OUT LOW(8),R17 ; Write I/O memory

/* Test if a single bit is set or cleared */

if(USR & (1<<TXC)) /* Check if UART Tx flag is set*/
{
PORTB |= (1<<PB0);

// SBIC LOW(11),LOW(6) ; Test direct on I/O

// SBI LOW(24),LOW(0)

while(!(SPSR & (1<<WCOL))); /* Wait for WCOL flag to be set */

// ?0003:SBIS LOW(14),LOW(6) ; Test direct on I/O
// RJMP ?0003

/* Test if an I/O register equals a bitmask */

if(UDR & 0xF3) /* Check if UDR register "and" 0xF3 is non-zero */
{
}
// IN R16,LOW(12) ; Read I/O memory
// ANDI R16,LOW(243) ; "And" value
// BREQ ?0008 ; Branch if equal

//?0008:
}
/* Set and clear bits in I/O registers can also be declared as macros */

#define SETBIT(ADDRESS,BIT) (ADDRESS |= (1<<BIT))

#define CLEARBIT(ADDRESS,BIT) (ADDRESS &= ~(1<<BIT))

/* Macro for testing of a single bit in an I/O location*/

#define CHECKBIT(ADDRESS,BIT) (ADDRESS & (1<<BIT))

/* Example of usage*/
if(CHECKBIT(PORTD,PIND1)) /* Test if PIN 1 is set*/
{
CLEARBIT(PORTD,PIND1); /* Clear PIN 1 on PORTD*/
}
if(!(CHECKBIT(PORTD,PIND1))) /* Test if PIN 1 is cleared*/
{
SETBIT(PORTD,PIND1); /* Set PIN 1 on PORTD*/
}

3
Accessing Memory Mapped I/O
Some AVR devices include an external data memory inter- I/O. The following examples show how to declare, write and
face. This interface can be used to access external RAM, read memory mapped I/O:
EEPROM, or it can be used to access memory mapped
#include <io8515.h>

#define reg (* (char *) 0x8004) /* Declare a memory mapped I/O address*/

void C_task main(void)

{
char xram; /* Local temp variable */

reg = 0x05; /* Write a value to the memory mapped address */

xram = reg; /* Read the memory mapped I/O address */
}
If consecutive memory mapped addresses are accessed The example below shows how to access memory mapped
the most efficient way to access them is to declare a con- I/O this way. The generated assembly code for each
stant pointer and add an displacement value to this offset. instruction is shown in italic.
/* Define the memory mapped addresses */
#define data 0x0003
#define address_high 0x0002
#define address_low 0x0001

void C_task main(void)

{
/* Start address for memory map */
unsigned char *pointer = (unsigned char *) 0x0800;
// LDI R30,LOW(0) ; Init Z-pointer
// LDI R31,8

*(pointer+address_low) |= 0x40; /* Read and modify one address*/

// LDD R18,Z+1 ; Load variable
// ORI R18,LOW(64) ; Modify
// STD Z+1,R18 ; Store Back

*(pointer+address_high) = 0x00; /* Write an address*/

// STD Z+2,R30 ; Store zero

PORTC = *(pointer+data); /* Read an address*/

// LDD R16,Z+3 ; Load variable
// OUT LOW(21),R16 ; Output to port
}
Note that the Z-pointer is initialized before the memory is cycles. The pointer is only loaded once. Memory mapped
accessed, and the LDD and STD (Load and Store with Dis- I/O locations can be declared as volatile, this indicates that
placement) instructions are used to access the data. LDD the variable locations may be modified by hardware and
and STD are one-word instructions that execute in two the access will not be removed by optimization.

4 AVR035
 AVR035

Accessing Data in EEPROM

The internal EEPROM in the AVR can be read and written ina90.h. The following macros are normally defined to read
during normal operation. For the IAR compiler macros to and write the EEPROM:
read and write the EEPROM are included in the file
#define _EEGET(VAR,ADR)/* Read data in EEPROM address ADR into variable VAR */ \
{ \
while(EECR & 0x02); /* Check if EEPROM is ready*/ \
EEAR = (ADR); /* Write EEPROM address register*/ \
EECR |= 0x01; /* Set the read strobe*/ \
(VAR) = EEDR; /* Read the data into variable in the next cycle */ \
}

#define _EEPUT(ADR,VAL) /* Write data in VAL into EEPROM address ADR*/\

{\
while(EECR&0x02); /* Check if EEPROM is ready*/ \
EEAR = (ADR); /* Write EEPROM address register*/ \
EEDR = (VAL); /* Write EEPROM data register*/ \
EECR |= 0x04; /* Set master write enable signal*/ \
EECR |= 0x02; /* Set write strobe*/ \
}
Example code for reading and writing to EEPROM using
predefined macros:
#include <io8515.h>
#include <ina90.h>

#define EE_ADDRESS 0x010 /* Define address constant for EEPROM data*/

void C_task main(void)

{
char temp; /* Local variable for temporary storage */

_EEGET(temp,EE_ADDRESS); /* Read data from EEPROM*/

temp += UDR; /* Add UART data to temp variable */
_EEPUT(EE_ADDRESS,temp); /* Write data to EEPROM*/
}
Note that if interrupts are enabled, they need to be disabled interrupts should be disabled also before reading the
while the EEPROM write is in progress to avoid a timeout EEPROM to avoid corruption of the EEPROM address
for the Master Write Enable (EEMWE) bit. If the program register.
includes access to the EEPROM inside interrupt routines,

Creating EEPROM Data Files

In some cases it may be convenient to place initial data in The EEPROM data and the program code are two separate
the EEPROM and access them from the C code. The IAR projects that must be compiled and linked separately. A
tools can be used for generating initial data for the header file describing the structure of the EEPROM mem-
EEPROM. By using header files for defining the structures, ory is used by both projects to ensure that the data in the
it can be assured that the structures are addressable from EEPROM memory can be referenced by their symbolic
the C program itself. names.

5
Example
The feature will be illustrated through an example. In this
example, assume the following setup of the EEPROM:
1. A character array (100 bytes)
2. An integer (2 bytes)
3. Two unsigned characters (2 bytes each)

The EEPROM Header File

The EEPROM header file is included both by the program gram accessing the EEPROM. The EEPROM header file is
defining the contents of the EEPROM data and the C pro- defined as follows:
#define EEPROMADR(x) (unsigned int) (&((TypeEEPROMStruct *)0x0000)->x)

typedef struct
{
char cArray[100]; /* The character array */
int iNumber; /* The integer */
unsigned char uMinorVersion; /* The first unsigned character */
unsigned char uMajorVersion; /* The second unsigned character */
} TypeEEPROMStruct; /* Just a type name */
The #define directive contains a macro to be used in the C the EEPROM data contents, this pointer, needs to be
program to get the addresses of the structure variables. It changed (this will also require a change in the EEPROM
contains a constant pointer (0x0000). In order to displace linker file, see below).

The EEPROM Program File

The EEPROM program file (eeprom.c) contains the initial-
ization of the structure defined in the EEPROM header file.
#include "eeprom.h" /* Include the structure type definition */
#pragma memory=constseg(EEPROM) /* Make it a named segment */

const TypeEEPROMStruct __EEPROMInitializationData =

{"Testing ", /* Initialize cArray */
0x100 , /* Initialize iNumber */
0x10 , /* Initialize uMinorVersion */
0xFF }; /* Initialize uMajorVersion */

The EEPROM Linker File

A very simple linker file (eeprom.xcl) is required for the
EEPROM program file:
-ca90 -! Define CPU (AVR) -!
-Z(CODE)EEPROM=0-1FF -! EEPROM address space(internal EEPROM memory-!
The address range is here set to 0-1FF (e.g. AT90S8515) In order to displace the contents of the EEPROM, the start
and must be changed to the match the range of the micro- address in the EEPROM segment must be changed (see
controller being used. The name of the segment is also the comment in the EEPROM header file section).
EEPROM and that matches the #pragma memory=const-
seg(EEPROM) line in the “eeprom.c” sourcefile.

6 AVR035
 AVR035

Building the EEPROM Intel-Hex Data File

In order to generate an Intel-Hex file with this content, the
following commands are required:
icca90 eeprom.c (note that -v1 -ms etc. are of no importance)
xlink -f eeprom.xcl -B -Fintel-standard eeprom.r90 -o eeprom.hex
During linking, the following error message is generated:
Error[46]: Undefined external ?CL0T_1_41_L08 referred in eeprom ( eeprom.r90 )
The C program references an external dummy symbol to ensures that the “eeprom.hex” file is generated even if we
make sure that a compiled program is linked with the cor- do have an error. Alternatively, the file can be linked with
rect version of the library. Since we do not have any library the following options:
to link with, we can ignore this error, and the -B option
xlink -f eeprom.xcl -D?CL0T_1_41_L08=0 -Fintel-standard eeprom.r90 -o eeprom.hex
The defined symbol is dependent on the processor version to installation (just try to link it, check which undefined sym-
(-v0, -v1 etc), the memory model (-mt, -ms, etc) and the bol it reports and use -D=0). The generated “eeprom intel-
compiler version, so the symbol can vary from installation hex” file looks like this (eeprom.h):
:1000000054657374696E67202000000000000000D2
:1000100000000000000000000000000000000000E0
:1000200000000000000000000000000000000000D0
:1000300000000000000000000000000000000000C0
:1000400000000000000000000000000000000000B0
:1000500000000000000000000000000000000000A0
:0800600000000000000110FF88
:00000001FF

Accessing the EEPROM Data Structure from a C Program

The following program uses the defined EEPROM structure
to access the EEPROM (main.c):
#include "eeprom.h" /* We use the structure and macro */
#include <io8515.h> /* Defines the EEPROM locations */

void error(void) /* An error routine to catch errors */

{
for(;;) /* Do nothing */
;
}

void C_task main(void)

{
int i; /* Used for readback of integer */

EEAR = EEPROMADR(cArray); /* Set up address to 1st element */

EECR |=1; /* Start EEPROM Read */
if(EEDR != ’T’) /* Check towards initialization */
error(); /* If not as expected -> error */
EEAR = EEPROMADR(iNumber); /* Set up address to 2nd element */
EECR |=1; /* Start EEPROM Read */
i = EEDR ; /* Set low byte of integer */
EEAR = EEPROMADR(iNumber)+1; /* Set up address to second byte */
EECR |=1; /* Start EEPROM Read */
i |= EEDR<<8; /* Set high byte of integer */

7
 if(i!=0x100) /* Check towards initialization */
error(); /* If not as expected -> error */
EEAR = EEPROMADR(uMinorVersion); /* Set up address to 4th element */
EECR |=1; /* Start EEPROM Read */
if(EEDR != 0x10) /* Check towards initialization */
error(); /* If not as expected -> error */
EEAR = EEPROMADR(uMajorVersion); /* Set up address to 3rd element */
EECR |=1; /* Start EEPROM Read */
if(EEDR != 0xFF) /* Check towards initialization */
error(); /* If not as expected -> error */
for (;;)
; /* Do nothing (success) */
}
The program can be compiled and executed in AVR Studio. into the error() routine. The EEPROM is loaded with a hex
The “eeprom.hex” file must be loaded into the EEPROM file by using the File-> Up/Download memories function
memory before the program is executed or it will go right after the program has been loaded.

Variables and Data Types

Data Types
As the AVR is an 8-bit microcontroller, use of 16 and 32-bit sary. The following example shows the code size for a loop
variables should be limited to where it is absolutely neces- counter for an 8-bit and 16-bit local variable:

8-bit Counter
unsigned char count8 = 5; /* Declare a varible, assign a value */
// LDI R16,5 ;Init variable

do /* Start a loop */
{
}while(--count8); /* Decrement loop counter and check for zero */
// ?0004:DEC R16 ; Decrement
// BRNE ?0004 ; Branch if not equal

16-bit Counter
unsigned int count16 = 6; /* Declare a variable, assign a value */
// LDI R24,LOW(6) ;Init variable, low byte
// LDI R25,0 ;Init variable, high byte

do /* Start a loop */
{
}while(--count16); /* Decrement loop counter and check for zero */
// ?0004:SBIW R24,LWRD(1) ; Subtract 16-bit value
// BRNE ?0004 ; Branch if not equal

Table 1. Variable and Code Size

Variable Code Size(bytes)
8-bit 6
16-bit 8
Note: Always use the smallest applicable variable type. This is especially important for global variables.

8 AVR035
 AVR035

Efficient Use of Variables

A C program is divided into many functions that execute able SRAM space. Too many global variables make the
small or big tasks. The functions receive data through code less readable and hard to modify.
parameters and may also return data. Variables used Local variables are preferably assigned to a register when
inside the function are called local variables. Variables they are declared. The local variable is kept in the same
declared outside a function are called global variables. register until the end of the function, or until it is not refer-
Variables that are local, but must be preserved between enced further. Global variables must be loaded from the
each time the function is used, should be declared as static SRAM into the working registers before they are accessed.
local variables.
The following example illustrates the difference in code
Global variables that are declared outside a function are size and execution speed for local variables compared to
assigned to an SRAM memory location. The SRAM loca- global variables.
tion is reserved for the global variable and can not be used
for other purposes, this is considered to be waste of valu-
char global; /* This is a global variable */

void C_task main(void)

{
char local; /* This is a local variable*/

global -= 45; /* Subtraction with global variable*/

// LDS R16,LWRD(global) ; Load variable from SRAM to register R16
// SUBI R16,LOW(45) ; Perform subtraction
// STS LWRD(global),R16 ; Store data back in SRAM

local -= 34; /* Subtraction with local variable*/

// SUBI R16,LOW(34) ; Perform subtraction directly on local variable in
register R16

}
Note that the LDS and STS (Load and Store direct from/to give more efficient code than global variables if the variable
SRAM) are used to access the variables in SRAM. These is accessed more than once inside the function.
are two-word instructions that execute in two cycles. To limit the use of global variables, functions can be called
with parameters and return a value which are commonly
Table 2. Code Size and Execution Time for Variables
used in C. Up to two parameters of simple data types (char,
Variable Code Size(bytes) Execution int, float, double) are passed between functions in the reg-
Time(cycles) isters R16 - R23. More than two parameters and complex
Global 10 5 data types (arrays, structs) are either placed on the soft-
ware stack or passed between functions as pointers to
Local 2 1 SRAM locations.
When global variables are required they should be col-
A local static variable is loaded into a working register at lected in structures whenever appropriate. This makes it
the start of the function and stored back to its SRAM loca- possible for the C compiler to address them indirectly. The
tion at the end of the function. Static variables will therefore following example shows the code generation for global
variable versus global structures.
typedef struct
{
char sec;
}t;
t global /* Declare a global structure*/

char min;

9
 void C_task main(void)
{
t *time = &global;
// LDI R30,LOW(global) ; Init Z pointer
// LDI R31,(global >> 8) ; Init Z high byte

if (++time->sec == 60)
{
// LDD R16,Z+2 ; Load with displacement
// INC R16; Increment
// STD Z+2,R16 ; Store with displacement
// CPI R16,LOW(60) ; Compare
// BRNE ?0005 ; Branch if not equal
}
if ( ++min == 60)
{
// LDS R16,LWRD(min) ; Load direct from SRAM
// INC R16 ; Increment
// STS LWRD(min),R16 ; Store direct to SRAM
// CPI R16,LOW(60) ; Compare
// BRNE ?0005 ; Branch if not equal
}
}
When accessing the global variables as structures the will be the same, but if the structure consists of 2 bytes or
compiler is using the Z-pointer and the LDD and STD more it will be more efficient to access the global variables
(Load/store with displacement) instructions to access the in a structure.
data. When the global variables are accessed without Unused locations in the I/O memory can be utilized for stor-
structures the compiler use LDS and STS (Load/store ing global variables when certain peripherals are not used.
direct to SRAM). The difference in code size and will be: As example, If the UART is not used the UART Baud Rate
Register (UBRR) is available, and if the EEPROM is not
Table 3. Code Size for Global Variables
used both the EEPROM data register (EEDR) and the
Variable Code Size(bytes) EEPROM Address Register (EEAR) will be available to
store global variables.
Structure 10
The I/O memory is accessed very efficiently, and locations
Non-structure 14
below 0x1F in the I/O memory are especially suited since
they are bit-accessible.
This does not include initialization of the Z-pointer (4 bytes)
for the global structure. To access one byte the code size

Bit-field versus Bit-mask

To save valuable bytes of data storage it may be necessary can either be defined as bit-mask or bit-field. Below is an
to save several single bit flags into one byte. A common example of use of bit-mask and bit-field to declare a status
use of this is bit flags that are packed in a status byte. This byte:
/* Use of bit-mask for status bits*/

/* Define bit macros, note that they are similar to the I/O macros*/

#define SETBIT(x,y) (x |= (y)) /* Set bit y in byte x*/

#define CLEARBIT(x,y) (x &= (~y)) /* Clear bit y in byte x*/
#define CHECKBIT(x,y) (x & (y)) /* Check bit y in byte x*/

10 AVR035
 AVR035

/* Define Status bit mask constants */

#define RETRANS 0x01 /* bit 0 : Retransmit Flag*/

#define WRITEFLAG 0x02 /* bit 1 : Flag set when write is due*/
#define EMPTY 0x04 /* bit 2 : Empty buffer flag*/
#define FULL 0x08 /* bit 3 : Full buffer flag*/

void C_task main(void)

{
char status; /* Declare a status byte*/

CLEARBIT(status,RETRANS); /* Clear RETRANS and WRITEFLAG*/

CLEARBIT(status,WRITEFLAG);

/*Check if RETRANS flag is cleared */

if (!(CHECKBIT(status, RETRANS)))
{
SETBIT(status,WRITEFLAG);
}
}
Bit-masks are handled very efficient by the C compiler if the tion it is used. Alternatively, use unused I/O locations with
status variable is declared as local variable within the func- bit mask.

The same function with bit-fields:

/* Use of bit-fields for status bits*/

void C_task main(void)

{
struct {
char RETRANS: 1 ; /* bit 0 : Retransmit Flag*/
char WRITEFLAG : 1 ; /* bit 1 : Flag set when write is due */
char EMPTY : 1 ; /* bit 2 : Empty buffer flag*/
char FULL : 1 ; /* bit 3 : Full buffer flag*/
} status; /* Declare a status byte*/

status.RETRANS = 0; /* Clear RETRANS and WRITEFLAG*/

status.WRITEFLAG = 0;

if (!(status.RETRANS)) /* Check if RETRANS flag is cleared*/

{
status.WRITEFLAG = 1;
}
}
Bit-fields are not stored locally in the register file within the into the byte, i.e. a bitfield placed in the MSB(Most Signifi-
function, but popped and pushed on the code stack each cant Bit) with one compiler can be placed in the LSB(Least
time it is accessed. Therefore the code generated with bit- Significant Bit) in another compiler. With bitmasks the user
masks is more efficient and faster than using bit-fields. The has complete control of the bit placement inside the
ANSI standard does not define how bitfields are packed variables.

11
Accessing Flash Memory
A common way to define a constant is:
const char max = 127;
This constant is copied from flash memory to SRAM at To save SRAM space the constant can be saved in flash
startup and remains in the SRAM for the rest of the pro- and loaded when it is needed:
gram execution. This is considered to be waste of SRAM.
flash char max = 127;
flash char string[] = "This string is stored in flash";

void main(void)
{
char flash *flashpointer; ; Declare flash pointer

flashpointer = &string[0]; ; Assign pointer to flash location

UDR = *flashpointer; ; Read data from flash and write to UART
}
When strings are stored in flash like in the latter example library routines exist for string handling, see the “IAR com-
they can be accessed directly or through pointers to the piler users manual” for details.
flash program memory. For the IAR C compiler, special

Control Flow

The Main Function

The main function usually contains the main loop of the when entering it. The main function can therefore be
program. In most cases no functions are calling the main declared as C_task. This saves stack space and code size:
function, and there are no need to preserve any registers
void C_task main(void) /* Declare main() as C_task*/
{

Loops
Eternal loops are most efficiently constructed using for( ; ;) { }:
for( ; ;)
{
/* This is an eternal loop*/
}
// ?0001:RJMP ?0001 ; Jump to label
do{ }while(expression) loops generally generates more effi- following example shows the code generated for a do{ }
cient code than while{ } and for{expr1; expr2; expr3). The while loop:
char counter = 100; /* Declare loop counter variable*/
// LDI R16,100 ; Init variable
do
{
} while(--counter); /* Decrement counter and test for zero*/
?0004:DEC R16 ; Decrement
// BRNE ?0004 ; Branch if not equal
Pre-decrement variables as loop counter gives usually the more efficient because branches are depending on the
most efficient code. Pre-decrement and post-increment is flags after decrement.

12 AVR035
 AVR035

Macros versus Functions

Functions that assemble into 3-4 lines of assembly code or code and gives higher speed to use macros than to call a
less can in some cases be handled more efficiently as function.
macros. When using macros the macro name will be The example below shows how a task can be executed in a
replaced by the actual code inside the macro at compile function and as a macro.
time. For very small functions the compiler generates less
/* Main function to call the task*/
void C_task main(void)
{
UDR = read_and_convert(); /* Read value and write to UART*/
}

/* Function to read pin value and convert it to ASCII*/

char read_and_convert(void)
{
return (PINB + 0x48); /* Return the value as ASCII character */
}

/* A macro to do the same task*/

#define read_and_convert (PINB + 0x48)
The code with function assemble into the following code:
main:
// RCALL read_and_convert ; Call function
// OUT LOW(12),R16 ; Write to I/O memory

read_and_convert:
// IN R16,LOW(22) ; Read I/O memory
// SUBI R16,LOW(184) ; Add 48 to value
// RET ; Return
The code with macro assemble into this code:
main:
// IN R16,LOW(22) ; Read I/O memory
// SUBI R16,LOW(184) ; Add 48 to value
// OUT LOW(12),R16 ; Write I/O memory

Table 4. Code Size and Execution Time for Macros and Functions.
Variable Code Size(bytes) Execution Time(cycles)
Function 10 10
Macro 6 3

13
Eighteen Hints to Reduce Code Size on a module by module basis to investigate what
gives the best result;
1. Compile with full size optimization;
18. Optimize C_startup to not initialize unused seg-
2. Use local variables whenever possible; ments(i.e. IDATA0 or IDATA1 if all variables are tiny
3. Use the smallest applicable data type. Use or small);
unsigned if applicable;
4. If a non-local variable is only referenced within one
function, it should be declared static;
Five Hints to Reduce RAM
5. Collect non-local data in structures whenever natu- Requirements
ral. This increases the possibility of indirect 1. All constants and literals should be placed in flash
addressing without pointer reload; by using the flash keyword;
6. Use pointers with offset or declare structures to 2. Avoid using global variables if the variables are local
access memory mapped I/O; in nature. This also saves code space. Local vari-
7. Use for(;;) { } for eternal loops; ables are allocated from the stack dynamically and
8. Use do { } while(expression) if applicable; are removed when the function goes out of scope;

9. Use descending loop counters and pre-decrement if 3. If using large functions with variables with a limited
applicable; lifetime within the function, the use of subscopes
can be beneficial;
10. Access I/O memory directly (i.e. do not use
pointers); 4. Get good estimates of the sizes of the software
stack and return stack (linker file);
11. If the _EEPUT/_EEGET macros are being used,
replace the EECR = ; with EECR |= ; 5. Do not waste space for the IDATA0 and UDATA0
segments unless you are using tiny variables (linker
12. Use bit masks on unsigned chars or unsigned ints file);
instead of bitfields;
13. Declare main as C_task if not called from anywhere
in the program; Checklist for Debugging Programs
14. Use macros instead of functions for tasks that gen- 1. Ensure that the CSTACK segment is sufficiently
erates less than 2-3 lines assembly code; large;
15. Reduce the size of the interrupt vector segment 2. Ensure that the RSTACK segment is sufficiently
(INTVEC) to what is actually needed by the applica- large;
tion. Alternatively, concatenate all the CODE 3. Ensure that the external memory interface is
segments into one declaration and it will be done enabled if it should be enabled and disabled if it
automatically; should be disabled;
16. Code reuse is intra-modular. Collect several func- 4. If a regular function and an interrupt routine are
tions in one module (i.e. in one file) to increase code communicating through a global variable, make
reuse factor; sure this variable is declared volatile to ensure that
17. In some cases, full speed optimization results in it is reread from RAM each time it is checked;
lower code size than full size optimization. Compile

14 AVR035
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