How to remove unused C/C++ symbols with GCC and ld?

Question

I need to optimize the size of my executable severely (ARM development) and I noticed that in my current build scheme (gcc + ld) unuse

Answer 1

While not strictly about symbols, if going for size - always compile with -Os and -s flags. -Os optimizes the resulting code for minimum executable size and -s removes the symbol table and relocation information from the executable.

Sometimes - if small size is desired - playing around with different optimization flags may - or may not - have significance. For example toggling -ffast-math and/or -fomit-frame-pointer may at times save you even dozens of bytes.