quoted

The compiler is within its rights to read a 32-bit quantity 16 bits at
at time, even on a 32-bit machine.  I would be glad to help pummel any
compiler writer that pulls such a dirty trick, but the C standard 
really
does permit this.

Code all over the kernel assumes that 32-bit reads/writes
are atomic so while such a compiler might be legal it certainly
can't compile Linux.

That means GCC cannot compile Linux; it already optimises
some accesses to scalars to smaller accesses when it knows
it is allowed to.  Not often though, since it hardly ever
helps in the cost model it employs.


Segher