[SOLVED] GCC: exception when calling an overridden function of a static object

Issue

I'm using GCC 3.4.3. The device is a POS terminal PAX S80 based on ARM9/ARM11. The next test code compiles okay, but during runtime when calling an overridden function I get an exception.

class TBase {
public:
    int a;
    virtual void Foo()  {a = 1;}
            void Exec() {Foo();}
};

class TDerived : public TBase {
public:
    virtual void Foo()  {a = 2;}
};

TBase    *Base;       //pointer to object in heap
TBase    Base2;       //static object

TDerived *Derived;    //pointer to object in heap
TDerived Derived2;    //static object

int main() {

    Base = new TBase;
    Base->Exec();              //this passes okay

    Base2.Exec();              //this passes okay

    Derived = new TDerived;
    Derived->Exec();           //this passes okay

    Derived2.Exec();           //here I get an exception and the app crashes

    return 0;
}

It means that I cannot use static objects (Derived2). Yes, I can create objects in the code (Derived), but it complicates the code as I need to instantiate objects with a "new" operator.

Are there any tricks to avoid this problem?

By the way, I don't have this issue on the Keil compiler for ARM926. Unfortunately, I cannot choose a compiler for this device, only GCC 3.4.3.

Thanks for any ideas!

Solution

The reason was that the initialization of static objects didn't occur. So, I decided to do it manually.

Firstly, I added the next lines to the linker script (source):

__ctors_start__ = .;
KEEP(SORT(*)(.ctors))
__ctors_end__ = .;

Secondly, I invoke a function which calls all the constructors of static objects (source):

void do_ctor_calls() {

    typedef void (*call_ctor_t)(void);
    extern call_ctor_t __ctors_start__[];
    extern call_ctor_t __ctors_end__[];

    call_ctor_t * ctor_call = __ctors_start__;
    while ((ctor_call < __ctors_end__)&&((unsigned int)*ctor_call!=0xFFFFFFFF)&&((unsigned int)*ctor_call!=0x00000000)) {
        (*ctor_call)();
        ctor_call++;
    }
}

int main() {
    do_ctor_calls();

    /* My code here */

    return 0;
}

Eventually, overridden functions work and static objects operate as usual. Thanks to all!

Answered By - ko80