Question

I am looking over some code to review and have come across a busy wait as such:

int loop = us*32;
int x;
for(x = 0;x<loop;x++)
{
    /*do nothing*/      
}

I seem to recall reading that these empty loops can be optimized away. Is this what would happen here or can this work?

Answer 1

You’re at the mercy of the compiler. Indeed if it’s smart it will detect it’s a noop. Incidentally, Neil Butterworth has a nice post where he also touches on this subject.