| | An Inline Function is As Fast As a Macro (Site not responding. Last check: ) |
 | | When a function is both inline and static, if all calls to the function are integrated into the caller, and the function's address is never used, then the function's own assembler code is never referenced. |
 | | When an inline function is not static, then the compiler must assume that there may be calls from other source files; since a global symbol can be defined only once in any program, the function must not be defined in the other source files, so the calls therein cannot be integrated. |
 | | The way to use it is to put a function definition in a header file with these keywords, and put another copy of the definition (lacking inline and extern) in a library file. |
| lidn.sourceforge.net /books/gcc-3.2/book/Inline.html (735 words) |