# fcommon

Determines whether the compiler treats common symbols as global definitions.

## Syntax

Linux: | -fcommon -fno-common

Windows: | None

## Arguments

None

## Default

-fcommon | The compiler does not treat common symbols as global definitions.

## Description

This option determines whether the compiler treats common symbols as global definitions and to allocate memory for each symbol at compile time.

Option -fno-common tells the compiler to treat common symbols as global definitions. When using this option, you can only have a common variable declared in one module; otherwise, a link time error will occur for multiple defined symbols.

Normally, a file-scope declaration with no initializer and without the extern or static keyword "int i;" is represented as a common symbol. Such a symbol is treated as an external reference. However, if no other compilation unit has a global definition for the name, the linker allocates memory for it.

## IDE Equivalent

Visual Studio: None

Eclipse: Data > Allow gprel Addressing of Common Data Variables

## Alternate Options

None

Parent topic: Data Options