@itemx aligned (@var{alignment})
@cindex @code{aligned} function attribute
The @code{aligned} attribute specifies a minimum alignment for
-the function, measured in bytes. When specified, @var{alignment} must
-be an integer constant power of 2. Specifying no @var{alignment} argument
-implies the maximum alignment for the target, which is often, but by no
-means always, 8 or 16 bytes.
-
-You cannot use this attribute to decrease the alignment of a function,
-only to increase it. However, when you explicitly specify a function
-alignment this overrides the effect of the
-@option{-falign-functions} (@pxref{Optimize Options}) option for this
-function.
+the first instruction of the function, measured in bytes. When specified,
+@var{alignment} must be an integer constant power of 2. Specifying no
+@var{alignment} argument implies the ideal alignment for the target.
+The @code{__alignof__} operator can be used to determine what that is
+(@pxref{Alignment}). The attribute has no effect when a definition for
+the function is not provided in the same translation unit.
+
+The attribute cannot be used to decrease the alignment of a function
+previously declared with a more restrictive alignment; only to increase
+it. Attempts to do otherwise are diagnosed. Some targets specify
+a minimum default alignment for functions that is greater than 1. On
+such targets, specifying a less restrictive alignment is silently ignored.
+Using the attribute overrides the effect of the @option{-falign-functions}
+(@pxref{Optimize Options}) option for this function.
Note that the effectiveness of @code{aligned} attributes may be
limited by inherent limitations in the system linker