Re: Unwinding stack past main() when it has another name

[Eli Zaretskii <eliz at gnu dot org>]

> From: Richard Earnshaw <rearnsha@gcc.gnu.org>
> Cc: Steven Johnson <sjohnson@sakuraindustries.com>, gdb@sources.redhat.com
> Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2005 12:20:41 +0100
> 
> > > This isnt always the case for embedded targets.  There is no RULE that C 
> > > programs must have a main() function.  It may be that most do by 
> > > convention, but they dont have to.  In fact, main() can be a pain for 
> > > small embedded targets because it wants a return value and arguments, 
> > > which mean nothing for a program that isnt "launched" by a user on 
> > > demand, but the C compiler detects the special function name main() and 
> > > objects if it doesnt have the standard format.  Programs dont even need 
> > > to have an entry point called _start.  It all depends on how you set up 
> > > your link map.
> > 
> > In fact you're wrong: there is a rule that C programs must have a
> > main() function.  It's in the language standard.
> 
> You are both right, and both wrong.  In fact the standard says that two
> things are permitted.
> 
> In a hosted environment the entry point to the application shall be
> 'main'.  In a free-standing environment there is no constraint on the
> entry point -- there may even be multiple entry points.

I added a footnote in the manual about this.