14.1.2.5 const

Many functions do not examine any values except their arguments, and have no effects except the return value. Such a function can be subject to common subexpression elimination and loop optimization just as an arithmetic operator would be. These functions should be declared with the attribute const. For example:

int square (int) __attribute__ ((const int));

says that the hypothetical function square is safe to call fewer times than the program states.

Note that a function that has pointer arguments and examines the data pointed to must not be declared const. Likewise, a function that calls a non-const function usually must not be const. It does not make sense for a const function to have a void return type.