Attributes

Attributes are compile time annotations on functions, types, global constants and variables. Similar to Java annotations, a decoration may also take arguments. A attribute can also represent a bundle of attributes.

Built in attributes

pure (call)

Used to annotate a non pure function as "pure" when checking for conformance to @pure on functions.

packed (struct, union, enum)

If used on a struct or enum: packs the type, including any components to minimum size. On an enum, it uses the smallest representation containing all its values.

section(name) (var, fn)

Declares that a global variable or function should appear in a specific section.

inline (fn)

Declares a function to always be inlined.

aligned(alignment) (struct, union, var, fn)

This attribute sets the minimum alignment for a field or a variable.

noreturn (fn)

Declares that the function will never return.

weak (fn, var)

Emits a weak symbol rather than a global.

User defined attributes

User defined attributes are intended for conditional application of built-in attributes.

define @MyAttribute = @noreturn @inline;

// The following two are equivalent:
fn void foo() @MyAttribute { ... }
fn void foo() @noreturn @inline { ... }

A user defined attribute may also be completely empty:

define @MyAttributeEmpty = void;