Re: [avr-gcc-list] generic queue library for AVR GCC?

[E. Weddington]

David Brown wrote:

> The "critical" attribute doesn't hide anything more or less than a decent
> set of macros or inline functions.  It makes it harder to get it wrong,
> which is a good thing.  I suppose there is a danger of newbies mistakanly
> using "critical" when they really mean "I want this function to run as fast
> as possible".
>
>  
<snip>

> Obviously you want to minimise function calls (unless they are inlined) in a
> critical function - in fact, you want to do as little as possible during
> them.
>
>  

Something to keep in mind, everybody, is that the whole concept and 
theory of "critical sections" is very much tied to embedded systems / 
system programming. Yes, they should be used with caution. This is part 
of the theory. If a user really wants to shoot themselves in the foot, 
they can. A user has to be cautious with interrupt service routines, 
too. And we still get newbies who are new to the concept and shoot 
themselves in the foot.

But, caveat emptor. I feel that as long as it's documented well enough, 
having a "critical" function attribute is still a Good Thing, because it 
does *help* in getting things right. It would help people across the 
entire expertise spectrum.

Now all we need is a volunteer willing to code it up and able to submit 
it to GCC / FSF. ;-)

Eric