linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] Add "is_power_of

lists.openwall.net		lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening linux-cve-announce PHC
Open Source and information security mailing list archives

Hash Suite: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.

[<prev] [next>] [<thread-prev] [thread-next>] [day] [month] [year] [list]

Message-ID: <45BFEF2A.5070907@yahoo.com.au>
Date:	Wed, 31 Jan 2007 12:21:46 +1100
From:	Nick Piggin <nickpiggin@...oo.com.au>
To:	"Robert P. J. Day" <rpjday@...dspring.com>
CC:	Linux kernel mailing list <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	Andrew Morton <akpm@...l.org>,
	Paul Mackerras <paulus@...ba.org>, dhowells@...hat.com,
	galak@...nel.crashing.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH] Add "is_power_of_2" checking to log2.h.

Robert P. J. Day wrote:
> On Tue, 30 Jan 2007, Nick Piggin wrote:
> 
> 
>>Robert P. J. Day wrote:
>>
>>>  Add the inline function "is_power_of_2()" to log2.h, where the value
>>>zero is *not* considered to be a power of two.
>>
>>>Signed-off-by: Robert P. J. Day <rpjday@...dspring.com>
>>>
>>> /*
>>>+ *  Determine whether some value is a power of two, where zero is
>>>+ * *not* considered a power of two.
>>>+ */
>>
>>Why the qualifier? Zero *is* not a power of 2, is it?
> 
> 
> no, but it bears repeating since some developers might think it *is*.
> if you peruse the current kernel code, you'll find some tests of the
> simpler form:
> 
> 	((n & (n - 1)) == 0))
> 
> which is clearly testing for "power of twoness" but which will return
> true for a value of zero.  that's wrong, and it's why it's emphasized
> in the comment.

I would have thought you'd comment the broken ones, but that's just me.

-- 
SUSE Labs, Novell Inc.
Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com 
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@...r.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/