Re:Show HN: I've updated my Linux System Call website and API
by db48x on Monday November 02, 2026 @11:33AM
(#50339376)
It’s a side issue, but I’ve long thought that the kernel should duplicate every existing syscall that takes a null–terminated string by pointer with an otherwise identical syscall that takes the string by pointer, capacity, and length instead. It would be a huge boon to programs written in modern languages. I keep meaning to search the kernel mailing lists to see if the idea has been proposed before, but I never quite find the time.
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Re:Show HN: I've updated my Linux System Call website and API
by MomsAVoxell on Monday November 02, 2026 @08:12PM
(#50346700)
Modern languages .. or more specifically .. modern compilers for those languages .. can surely sustain a pointer, capacity and length wrap to pointer until null ..
Re:Show HN: I've updated my Linux System Call website and API
by panzi on Monday November 02, 2026 @10:26PM
(#50347668)
Why also capacity?
What I think would make sense is a change to the C API where the error code is an out parameter and not that ugly thread local errno. But I guess that's not big enough of an issue for people/languages that use libc as system call interface.