The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
register dancing
n.
Many older processor architectures suffer from a serious shortage of
general-purpose registers. This is especially a problem for
compiler-writers, because their generated code needs places to store
temporaries for things like intermediate values in expression evaluation.
Some designs with this problem, like the Intel 80x86, do have a handful of
special-purpose registers that can be pressed into service, providing
suitable care is taken to avoid unpleasant side effects on the state of the
processor: while the special-purpose register is being used to hold an
intermediate value, a delicate minuet is required in which the previous
value of the register is saved and then restored just before the official
function (and value) of the special-purpose register is again needed.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
register dancing
Many older processor architectures suffer from a serious
shortage of general-purpose registers. This is especially a
problem for compiler-writers, because their generated code
needs places to store temporaries for things like intermediate
values in expression evaluation. Some designs with this
problem, like the Intel 80x86, do have a handful of
special-purpose registers that can be pressed into service,
providing suitable care is taken to avoid unpleasant side
effects on the state of the processor: while the
special-purpose register is being used to hold an intermediate
value, a delicate minuet is required in which the previous
value of the register is saved and then restored just before
the official function (and value) of the special-purpose
register is again needed.
[Jargon File]