List of Batch Compiler Options and Their Defaults

This page lists all VisualAge C++ batch compiler options, specifying each compiler option's type and if it exists, default value. Where a * appears beside the default value for a compiler option, see the description for that option for special notes regarding the default value.

To get detailed information on any option listed, click on the that option's name in the table.

The compiler options pages describe each of the compiler options, including:

The command-line syntax of the compiler option. The first line under the Syntax heading specifies the command-line or configuration-file method of specification. The second line, if one appears, is the #pragma options keyword for use in your source file.
The default setting of the option if you do not specify the option on the command line, in the configuration file, or in a #pragma directive within your program.
The purpose of the option and additional information about its behavior.

Uppercase letters in the option, suboption, or #pragma options keyword syntax represent its valid abbreviation. For example, both of the following are acceptable specifications of the LANGlvl option in a source file:

#pragma options lang=ansi
#pragma options langlvl=ansi

Options that appear entirely in lowercase must be entered in full.

Option Name	Type	Default	Description
+	-flag	-	Compiles any file, filename.nnn, as a C++ language file, where nnn is any suffix other than .o, .a, or .s.
#	-flag	-	Traces the compilation without doing anything.
32, 64	-qopt	32	Selects 32- or 64-bit compiler mode.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
aggrcopy	-opt	See aggrcopy.	Enables destructive copy operations for structures and unions.
alias	-qopt	See alias.	Specifies which type-based aliasing is to be used during optimization.
align	-qopt	align=full	Specifies what aggregate alignment rules the compiler uses for file compilation.
alloca	-qopt	-	Substitutes inline code for calls to function alloca as if #pragma alloca directives are in the source code.
ansialias	-qopt	ansialias*	Specifies whether type-based aliasing is to be used during optimization.
arch	-qopt	arch=com	Specifies the architecture on which the executable program will be run.
assert	-qopt	noassert	Requests the compiler to apply aliasing assertions to your compilation unit.
attr	-qopt	noattr	Produces a compiler listing that includes an attribute listing for all identifiers.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
B	-flag	-	Determines substitute path names for the compiler, assembler, linkage editor, and preprocessor.
bitfields	-flag	unsigned	Specifies if bitfields are signed.
bmaxdata	-flag	0	Sets the size of the heap in bytes.
brtl	-flag	-	Enables runtime linking.
bstatic, bdynamic, bshared	-flag	bdynamic	Instructs the linker to process subsequent shared objects as either dynamic (shared) or static.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
C	-flag	-	Preserves comments in preprocessed output.
c	-flag	-	Instructs the compiler to pass source files to the compiler only.
cache	-qopt	-	Specify a cache configuration for a specific execution machine.
chars	-qopt	chars=unsigned	Instructs the compiler to treat all variables of type char as either signed or unsigned.
check	-qopt	nocheck	Generates code which performs certain types of run-time checking.
-qcincl=path	-qopt	nocincl	Includes files from /user/include by inserting `extern "C" {` before each <prefix> and inserting `}` after it.
compact	-qopt	nocompact	When used with optimization, reduces code size where possible, at the expense of execution speed.
cpluscmt	-qopt	nocpluscmt	Use this option if you want C++ comments to be recognized in C source files.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
D	-flag	-	Defines the identifier name as in a #define preprocessor directive.
dataimported, datalocal	-qopt	dataimported	Mark data as local or imported.
dbxextra	-qopt	nodbxextra	Specifies that all typedef declarations, struct, union, and enum type definitions are included for xldb processing.
digraph	-qopt	see digraph	Allows use of digraph character sequences in your program.
dollar	-qopt	nodollar	Allows the $ symbol to be used in the names of identifiers.
dpcl	-qopt	nodpcl	Generates block scopes to support the IBM Dynamic Probe Class Library.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
E	-flag	-	Runs the source files named in the compiler invocation through the preprocessor.
e <name>	-flag	-	Specifies the entry name for the shared object. Equivalent to using ld -e name. See your system documentation for additional information about ld options.
eh	-qopt	eh	Controls exception handling.
enum	-qopt	enum=int	Specifies the amount of storage occupied by the enumerations.
expfile	-qopt	-	Saves all exported symbols in a file.
extchk	-qopt	noextchk	Generates bind-time type checking information and checks for compile-time consistency.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
F	-flag	-	Names an alternative configuration file for xlC.
f	-flag	-	Names a file to store a list of object files.
fdpr	-qopt	nofdpr	Collect program information for use with the AIX fdpr performance-tuning utility.
flag	-qopt	flag=i:i	Specifies the minimum severity level of diagnostic messages to be reported.
float	-qopt	See float.	Specifies various floating point options to speed up or improve the accuracy of floating point operations.
flttrap	-qopt	noflttrap	Generates extra instructions to detect and trap floating point exceptions.
fold	-qopt	fold	Specifies that constant floating point expressions are to be evaluated at compile time.
fullpath	-qopt	nofullpath	Specifies what path information is stored for files when you use -g and the distributed graphical debugger.
funcsect	-qopt	nofuncsect	.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
G	-flag	-	Linkage editor (ld command) option only. Used to generate a dynamic libary file.
g	-flag	-	Generates debugging information used by a debugger such as the Distributed Debugger.
genpcomp	-qopt	nogenpcomp	Generates a precompiled version of any header file for which the original source is used.
genproto	-qopt	nogenproto	Produces ANSI prototypes from K&R function definitions.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
halt	-qopt	halt=s	Instructs the compiler to stop after the compilation phase when it encounters errors of specified severity or greater.
haltonmsg	-qopt	-	Instructs the compiler to stop after the compilation phase when it encounters a specific error message.
heapdebug	-qopt	noheapdebug	Enables debug versions of memory management functions.
hsflt	-qopt	nohsflt	Speeds up calculations by removing range checking on single-precision float results and on conversions from floating point to integer.
hssngl	-qopt	nohssngl	Specifies that single-precision expressions are rounded only when the results are stored into float memory locations.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
I	-flag	-	Specifies an additional search path if the file name in the #include directive is not specified using its absolute path name.
idirfirst	-qopt	noidirfirst	Specifies the search order for files included with the #include "file_name" directive.
ignerrno	-qopt	noignerrno	Allows the compiler to perform optimizations that assume errno is not modified by system calls.
ignprag	-qopt	-	This option is useful for detecting aliasing pragma errors.
info	-qopt	noinfo	Produces informational messages.
initauto	-qopt	noinitauto	Initializes automatic storage to the two-digit hexadecimal byte value hex_value.
inlglue	-qopt	noinlglue	Generates fast external linkage by inlining the pointer glue code necessary to make a call to an external function or a call through a function pointer.
inline	-qopt	See inline.	Attempts to inline functions instead of generating calls to a function.
ipa	-qopt	object (compile-time), noipa (link-time)	Turns on or customizes a class of optimizations known as interprocedural analysis (IPA).
isolated_call	-qopt	-	Specifies functions in the source file that have no side effects.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
keyword	-qopt	See keyword	Controls whether a specified string is treated as a keyword or an identifier.
L	-flag	See L.	Searches the specified directory for library files specified by the -l option.
l	-flag	See l.	Searches a specified library for linking.
langlvl	-qopt	langlvl=ansi*	Selects the C or C++ language level for compilation.
ldbl128, longdouble	-qopt	noldbl128	Increases the size of long double type from 64 bits to 128 bits.
libansi	-qopt	nolibansi	Assumes that all functions with the name of an ANSI C library function are in fact the system functions.
linedebug	-qopt	nolinedebug	Generates abbreviated line number and source file name information for the debugger.
list	-qopt	nolist	Produces a compiler listing that includes an object listing.
listopt	-qopt	nolistopt	Produces a compiler listing that displays all options in effect.
longlit	-qopt	nolonglit	Makes unsuffixed literals the long type for 64-bit mode.
longlong	-qopt	longlong*	Allows long long types in your program.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
M	-flag	-	Creates an output file that contains targets suitable for inclusion in a description file for the AIX make command.
ma	-flag	-	Substitutes inline code for calls to function alloca as if #pragma alloca directives are in the source code.
macpstr	-qopt	nomacpstr	Converts Pascal string literals into null-terminated strings where the first byte contains the length of the string.
maf	-qopt	maf	Specifies whether the floating-point multiply-add instructions are to be generated.
makedep	-qopt	-	Creates an output file that contains targets suitable for inclusion in a description file for the AIX make command.
maxerr	-qopt	nomaxerr	Instructs the compiler to halt compilation when a specified number of errors of specified or greater severity is reached.
maxmem	-qopt	maxmem=2048 maxmem=8196	Limits the amount of memory used for local tables of specific, memory-intensive optimizations.
mbcs, dbcs	-qopt	nombcs	Use the -qmbcs option if your program contains multibyte characters.
mkshrobj	-qopt	-	Creates a shared object from generated object files.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
namemangling	-qopt	namemangling=ansi	Selects the name mangling scheme for external symbol names generated from C++ source code.
nans	-qopt	-	A floating point option.
noprint	-qopt	-	Suppresses listings.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
O, optimize	-qopt, -flag	nooptimize	Optimizes code at a choice of levels during compilation.
o	-flag	-	Specifies a name or directory for the output executable file(s) created either by the compiler or the linkage editor.
objmodel	-qopt	compat	Sets the type of object model.
once	-qopt	noonce	Avoids including a header file more than once even if it is specified in several of the files you are compiling.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
P	-flag	-	Preprocesses the C or C++ source files named in the compiler invocation and creates an output preprocessed source file for each input source file.
p	-flag	-	Sets up the object files produced by the compiler for profiling.
pascal	-qopt	nopascal	Ignores the word pascal in type specifiers and function declarations.
path	-qopt	-	.
pdf1, pdf2	-qopt	nopdf1 nopdf2	Tunes optimizations through Profile-Directed Feedback.
pg	-flag	-	Sets up the object files for profiling, but provides more information than is provided by the -p option.
phsinfo	-qopt	nophsinfo	Reports the time taken in each compilation phase.
priority	-qopt	-	Specifies the priority level for the initialization of static constructors
proclocal, procimported, procunknown	-qopt	See proclocal	Mark functions as local, imported, or unknown.
profile	-qopt	noprofile	Sets up the object files for profiling. Suboptions indicate the profiling tool.
proto	-qopt	noproto	Assumes all functions are prototyped.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
Q	-flag	See Q.	Attempts to inline functions instead of generating calls to a function.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
r	-flag	-	Produces a relocatable object.
rndsngl	-qopt	norndsngl	Specifies that the result of each single-precision (float) operation is to be rounded to single precision.
ro	-qopt	ro*	Specifies the storage type for string literals.
roconst	-qopt	roconst*	Specifies the storage location for constant values.
rrm	-qopt	norrm	Prevents floating-point optimizations that are incompatible with run-time rounding to plus and minus infinity modes.
rtti	-qopt	nortti	Generates run-time type identification (RTTI) information for the typeid operator and the dynamic_cast operator.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
S	-flag	-	Generates an assembly language file (.s) for each source file.
s	-flag	-	Strips symbol table.
showinc	-qopt	noshowinc	If used with -qsource, all the include files are included in the source listing.
smp	-qopt	nosmp	Specifies if and how parallelized object code is generated.
source	-qopt	nosource	Produces a compiler listing and includes source code.
spill	-qopt	spill=512	Specifies the size of the register allocation spill area.
spnans	-qopt	nospnans	Generates extra instructions to detect signalling NaN on conversion from single precision to double precision.
srcmsg	-qopt	nosrcmsg	Adds the corresponding source code lines to the diagnostic messages in the stderr file.
staticinline	-qopt	nostaticinline	Controls whether inline functions are treated as static or extern.
statsym	-qopt	nostatsym	Adds user-defined, non-external names that have a persistent storage class to the name list.
stdinc	-qopt	stdinc	Specifies which files are included with #include <file_name> and #include "file_name" directives.
strict	-qopt	See strict	Turns off aggressive optimizations of the -O3 option that have the potential to alter the semantics of your program.
strict_induction	-qopt	See strict_induction	Disables loop induction variable optimizations that have the potential to alter the semantics of your program.
suppress	-qopt	nosuppress	Specifies compiler message numbers to be suppressed.
symtab	-qopt	-	Set symbol tables for unreferenced variables or xcoff objects.
syntaxonly	-qopt	-	Causes the compiler to perform syntax checking without generating an object file.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
t	-flag	See t.	Adds the prefix specified by the -B option to designated programs. -tE replaces the CreateExportList script.
tabsize	-qopt	tabsize=8	Changes the length of tabs as perceived by the compiler.
tbtable	-qopt	tbtable=full*	Sets traceback table characteristics.
tempinc	-qopt	See tempinc.	Generates separate include files for template functions and class declarations, and places these files in a directory which can be optionally specified.
tempmax	-qopt	tempmax=1	Specifies the maximum number of template include files to be generated by the tempinc option for each header file.
threaded	-qopt	See threaded.	Indicates that the program will run in a multi-threaded environment.
tmplparse	-qopt	tmplparse=no	Controls whether parsing and semantic checking are applied to template definition implementations.
tune	-qopt	See tune.	Specifies the architecture for which the executable program is optimized.
twolink	-qopt	notwolink*	Minimizes the number of static constructors included from libraries.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
U	-flag	-	Undefines a specified identifier defined by the compiler or by the -D option.
unique	-qopt	nounique	Generates unique names for static constructor/deconstructor file compilation units.
unroll	-qopt	unroll=4*	Unrolls inner loops in the program by a specified factor.
upconv	-qopt	noupconv*	Preserves the unsigned specification when performing integral promotions.
usepcomp	-qopt	nousepcomp	Use precompiled header files for any files that have not changed since the precompiled header was created.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
V	-flag	-	Instructs the compiler to report information on the progress of the compilation in a command-like format.
v	-flag	-	Instructs the compiler to report information on the progress of the compilation.
vftable	-flag	See vftable.	Controls the generation of virtual function tables.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
W	-flag	-	Passes the listed words to a designated compiler program.
w	-flag	-	Requests that warning messages be suppressed.
warn64	-qopt	nowarn64	Enables warning of possible long to integer data truncations.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
xcall	-qopt	noxcall	Generates code to static routines within a compilation unit as if they were external calls.
xref	-qopt	noxref	Produces a compiler listing that includes a cross-reference listing of all identifiers.
Option Name	Type	Default	Description
y	-flag	-	Specifies the compile-time rounding mode of constant floating-point expressions. See also rndflt.
Z	-flag	-	Specifies a search path for library names.

* beside the default value for a compiler option indicates that you should see the description for that option for special notes regarding the default value.

Options that Specify Compiler Characteristics
Options that Specify Debugging Features
Options that Specify Preprocessor Options
Options that Specify Compiler Output
Options that Define the Compiler Object Code Produced
Options that Specify Linkage Options
Resolving Conflicting Compiler Options
Equivalent Batch Compile-Link and Incremental Build Options