Should optimizing compilers automatically assign registers?

[Doug Gwyn]

In article <512 at hhb.UUCP> istvan at hhb.UUCP (Istvan Mohos) writes:
>Is the automatic allocation of a few variables into registers
>too much to ask from an optimizing compiler?

Use of the cc -O flag does not magically transform the compiler
into an "optimizing compiler".  In fact, for older (PCC-based)
compilers, it merely invokes a peephole optimizer on the
resulting assembly code.  Naturally, it is too late to reassign
registers at that point.