linux-kernel - Re: kfree(0)

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Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.64.0708171758520.15278@schroedinger.engr.sgi.com>
Date:	Fri, 17 Aug 2007 18:03:52 -0700 (PDT)
From:	Christoph Lameter <clameter@....com>
To:	Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>
cc:	Pekka Enberg <penberg@...helsinki.fi>,
	Satyam Sharma <satyam@...radead.org>,
	Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
	Arjan van de Ven <arjan@...radead.org>,
	Tim Bird <tim.bird@...sony.com>,
	linux kernel <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: kfree(0) - ok?

On Sat, 18 Aug 2007, Thomas Gleixner wrote:

> If yes, who invented this 1980s reminiscence, where you got valid
> pointers for malloc(0) ?

I believe his first name started with an L and ended with an s ;-)

Seriously the kmalloc(0) pointer allowed us to detect cases in which 
people tried to store into objects allocated with kmalloc(0).

If we would just return NULL then we would not be able to distinguish it 
from a failure (that is what I initially had).

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