title: What does an "alignment trap" error means?
body: <p>One of my friends is having a big problem trying to debug a code that started showing "alignment trap" errors. The problem happens when a global structure is accessed by a specific function.</p>
  
  <p>After some research on the web, it still not clear what does an "alignment trap" means or is. Could someone give an explanation having special attention to what usually causes alignment traps and how usually one would solve the problem (not just in terms on how to use a debugger, but also the problem itself)?</p>
  
  <p>This all done in C code in an ARM processor (OMAP L138) with Embedded Linux.</p>
  
  <p><strong>NOTE:</strong> I'm not trying to get an error-specific solution suggestion with this answer, but, as the question title suggests, the understanding of what an "alignment trap" error means. This is why I don't plan to put a source code or the like.</p>