8.11 Variable Attributes

The compiler keyword __attribute__ allows you to specify special attributes of variables or structure fields. This keyword is followed by an attribute specification inside double parentheses.

To specify multiple attributes, separate them by commas within the double parentheses, for example:

__attribute__ ((aligned (16), packed)).

Note: It is important to use variable attributes consistently throughout a project. For example, if a variable is defined in file A with the aligned attribute, and declared extern in file B without aligned, then a link error may result.