C166: Packing Bytes in Unions and Structures

Information in this article applies to:

• C166 Version 4.02 and later

SYMPTOMS

When structures or unions are defined where chars and ints are intermixed, the compiler pads the declaration with blank bytes to word align the char in memory. Why?

CAUSE

The compiler does this to optimize memory accesses for the C166 family of processors.

RESOLUTION

The compiler directive PACK() instructs the compiler to declare memory for the union or structure without the pad bytes. Just insert the line:

#pragma PACK(1)

in the file where the union or structure is declared and memory will be accessed accordingly.

MORE INFORMATION

• Refer to PACK in the C166 User's Guide.

Note: By not having the pad bytes added to the char elements code generated to access them will be much larger and slower than code written for word aligned accesses.

Last Reviewed: Thursday, February 25, 2021