Typecasting a void pointer to unsigned long in zsmalloc.c

[Leam Hall]

On 1/27/25 04:39, Sotir Danailov wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 27, 2025 at 12:43 AM Leam Hall <leamhall at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I'd think pointing to good documents is better than replicating them and risk staleness, isn't it?
> 
> Yes, but then the issue becomes, what if the documentation you're
> referencing moves or is removed. People would lose the information
> completely. I think it's good to point to it as a "source", but still
> have a basic description.
> The LP32/LP64 data models seem like one of those things which
> shouldn't change anytime soon for the kernel anyway.
> 
> I would like to gather info regarding uintptr_t and other similar
> types as well. Why they aren't used and have it all compiled into one
> place.


My thinking is that a single authoritative source reduces time and change based risk. You really dug into this and found the information, the facts. Those facts can't actually be removed because they are part of the kernel code itself. Well, they can be removed but then they are no longer relevant facts. KernelNewbies is the gentle introduction to working on Linux, but much of its information is dated. Kernel 2.x is referenced often, and we're currently up to 6.x! That's one of the things I want to fix.

If you want my opinion, I'll offer it. The research you did was great, and useful for kernel programmers. I feel it is a more advanced topic, something a newbie wouldn't have a significant mental frame of reference for. Here are the sites that seem most relevant:


kernel.org
  - authoritative source of facts
  - encourage those who have access (which is not me) and responsibility to improve the documentation of those facts

tldp.org
  - In-depth information on Linux facts
  - - Sadly, it seems to be aging as the latest Guides update is almost ten years old

kernelnewbies.org
  - Help newbies find and use facts


Would you consider writing up a guide for either tldp.org or kernel.org?

Leam


Linux Software Engineer   (reuel.net/career)
Scribe: The Domici War    (domiciwar.net)
Coding Ne'er-do-well      (github.com/LeamHall)

Between "can" and "can't" is a gap of "I don't know", a place of discovery. For the passionate, much of "can't" falls into "yet". -- lh

Practice allows options and foresight. -- lh