Removing unused functions and dead code

To remove dead code, add the follow to your makefile:

DEADCODESTRIP := -Wl,-static -fvtable-gc -fdata-sections -ffunction-sections -Wl,--gc-sections -Wl,-s

foo : foo.c
    g++ $(DEADCODESTRIP) $< -o $@

Step by step...

-Wl,-static:

Link against static libraries. Required for dead-code elimination.

-fvtable-gc:

C++ virtual method table instrumented with garbage collection information for the linker.

-fdata-sections:

Keeps data in separate data sections, so they can be discarded if unused.

-ffunction-sections:

Keeps funcitons in separate data sections, so they can be discarded if unused.

-Wl,–gc-sections:

Tell the linker to garbage collect and discard unused sections.

-s:

Strip the debug information, so as to make the code as small as possible.