Choose the option --fpu vfpv2 to have the compiler generate ARM code only for functions containing floating-point operations.

When the option --fpu vfpv2 is selected, the compiler generates ARM code for any function containing floating-point operations, regardless of whether the compiler is compiling for ARM or compiling for Thumb. This is because the Thumb instruction set, in ARMv6 and earlier, does not contain VFP instructions and therefore cannot access VFP registers. This uses hardware VFP linkage, which means floating-point arguments are passed in floating-point registers.

When compiling for ARM only, use --fpu=vfpv2 and not --fpu=softvfp+vfpv2. Software linkage adds an overhead in transfer values between VFP and ARM that slows down the transfers and requires additional instructions.

Choose the option --fpu softvfp+vfpv2 to have the compiler generate mixed ARM/Thumb code.

When the option --fpu softvfp+vfpv2 is selected, all functions are compiled using software floating-point linkage. This means that floating-point arguments are passed to and returned from functions in integer registers.

The Thumb instruction set, in ARMv6 and earlier, does not contain VFP instructions and therefore cannot access VFP registers. When you compile for Thumb, setting --fpu=softvfp+vfpv2 enables the use of ARM Compiler libraries that enable access to the VFP registers using software linkage.

The libraries include software floating point functions that are compiled for ARM and use VFP instructions. These library functions give improved performance and reduced code size compared to the full software floating point functions.