Re: [PATCH] x86: Add kerneldoc for pcommit_sfence()

From: H. Peter Anvin
Date: Mon Mar 16 2015 - 14:05:36 EST


On 03/16/2015 01:35 AM, Ingo Molnar wrote:
>
> :-/
>
> Not sure what hpa's problem with 'void *' was: especially in MM code
> we are using 'void *' rather widely.
>
> All compilers that aim for being able to build the Linux kernel
> implement 'void *' as well, so that 'standard C' argument is pretty
> weak IMHO - unlike some of the more esoteric GCC extensions, this one
> is actually pretty well done and widely used in and outside of the
> kernel.
>
>> It seems like both have arguments for them. Char pointer arithmetic
>> has the advantage that its behavior is standard in C, so it's not
>> specific to gcc. I agree that void* has the advantage that it fits
>> more naturally with the types of the parameters passed in, requiring
>> no casting.
>
> It's also a bonus property of 'void *' that unlike 'char *' it cannot
> be dereferenced. So we use it for opaque buffers wherever we can.
>

The issue isn't void *, it is doing arithmetic on void *.

-hpa

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