In article <3744657E.A04ABC52@online.no>, "Tarjei Tj�stheim Jensen" <tarjei@online.no> writes:

> I seem to remember that function calls are supposed to eat
> clock cycles and should if possible be avoided.
> Especially in cases like this where I assume (I've not
> checked this so I may be horribly wrong) this is a
> frequent function call. It is hard to imagine the function call
> being any saving in either time or space
> over emitting the code inline.

Some systems have tiered costs for function calls, depending
on the degree of complexity you require for the interface.

Certainly a function call can save space over a copy loop,
depending on not only the instruction set but also the rest
of the machine design (alignment, etc.)  Is saving space
worth it ?  Some compilers let you choose between saving
space and saving time.  For copying a long string, I would
think function call overhead would be lost in the noise.
For copying a short string, obviously not. Is the string
length known at compile time ?  I prefer to shy away from
criticizing a code generation algorithm until I have a
specific program of my own that gets bitten by a problem.

Larry Kilgallen