GCC Hacks in the Linux Kernel

In-depth article on how to optimize GCC when hacking the kernel...

"GCC and Linux are a great pair. Although they are independent pieces of software, Linux is totally dependent on GCC to enable it on new architectures. Linux further exploits features in GCC, called extensions, for greater functionality and optimization. This article explores many of these important extensions and shows you how they're used within the Linux kernel.

"GCC in its current stable version (version 4.3.2) supports three versions of the C standard:

• "The original International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard of the C language (ISO C89 or C90)
• "ISO C90 with amendment 1
• "The current ISO C99 (the default standard that GCC uses and that this article assumes)" [Read more]