9.1.1.2 -On

The compiler performs no optimizations unless a -O option is specified explicitly (or implicitly with macro options like -fast). In nearly all cases, specifying an optimization level at compilation improves program execution performance. On the other hand, higher levels of optimization increase compilation time and may significantly increase code size.

For most cases, level -O3 is a good balance between performance gain, code size, and compilation time. Level -O4 adds automatic inlining of calls to routines contained in the same source file as the caller routine, among other things. (See the Fortran User’s Guide for further information about subprogram call inlining.)

Level -O5 adds more aggressive optimization techniques that would not be applied at lower levels. In general, levels above -O3 should be specified only to those routines that make up the most compute-intensive parts of the program and thereby have a high certainty of improving performance. (There is no problem linking together parts of a program compiled with different optimization levels.)