🚀 go-pugleaf

My apologies if the crossposting (gnu.gcc.help, comp.sys.sun.hardware,
comp.sys.sun.misc, comp.unix.solaris) is inappropriate, but I'm not
sure whether my question relates to my compiler, my assembler, or my
hardware.

My senior thesis is in compiler design and code generation for RISC
architectures.  I'm working with GCC 1.40 on a SPARCstation ELC
running SunOS 4.1.2 (and Sun-supplied as), and examining the assembler
output from GCC's -S switch to get a handle on code generation
techniques.

GCC generates a ".text" assembler directive at the beginning of
programs that utilize constant strings, apparently to inform the
assembler that the following section of the program stores text.
Example, from a program that includes the statement
"printf ("%d\n", i)":

gcc_compiled.:
.text
LC0:
	.ascii "%d\12\0"
	.align 4
.global _main
	.proc 1
	...

I cannot find mention of the .text directive anywhere in the Sun-4
assembler manual, nor in the SPARC Architecture Manual from SPARC
international (a less likely place, I admit).  Can anyone enlighten me
on the care and feeding of this mysterious assembler pseudo-op?

-- 
____ Tim Pierce                / "You mean there are TWO of you, Pierce?
\  / twpierce@amherst.edu      /  God help us all."
 \/ (BITnet: TWPIERCE@AMHERST) /   -- Major Charles Emerson Winchester III