Inline functions have addresses?

[James Kanze]

Strictly speaking, isn't it something that complicates the *linker*
rather than the compiler itself (other than the compiler having to
generate instructions for the linker to merge the static variables
into one)?

The standard doesn't make a distinction between the compiler and
the linker.

In practice, however, I'm sceptical about the added
complication. The necessary "complexity" is no more than is
required for Fortran's named common, and has been present in
every linker I've ever seen. About the only "added complexity"
I see is having to generate a unique name for the variable. But
the complexity is, I believe, the official argument.