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[PATCH v2 05/10] compat/posix: introduce writev(3p) wrapper

From
Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
Date
Mar 3, 2026, 15:00 UTC
Message-ID
<20260303-pks-upload-pack-write-contention-v2-5-7321830f08fe@pks.im>
In-Reply-To
<20260303-pks-upload-pack-write-contention-v2-0-7321830f08fe@pks.im>

In a subsequent commit we're going to add the first caller to writev(3p). Introduce a compatibility wrapper for this syscall that we can use on systems that don't have this syscall.

The syscall exists on modern Unixes like Linux and macOS, and seemingly even for NonStop according to [1]. It doesn't seem to exist on Windows though.

[1]: http://nonstoptools.com/manuals/OSS-SystemCalls.pdf [2]: https://www.gnu.org/software/gnulib/manual/html_node/writev.html

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 Makefile         |  4 ++++
 compat/posix.h   | 14 ++++++++++++++
 compat/writev.c  | 29 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 config.mak.uname |  2 ++
 meson.build      |  1 +
 5 files changed, 50 insertions(+)
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 7f37ad8f58..cb95ff2daf 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -2021,6 +2021,10 @@ ifdef NO_PREAD
 	COMPAT_CFLAGS += -DNO_PREAD
 	COMPAT_OBJS += compat/pread.o
 endif
+ifdef NO_WRITEV
+	COMPAT_CFLAGS += -DNO_WRITEV
+	COMPAT_OBJS += compat/writev.o
+endif
 ifdef NO_FAST_WORKING_DIRECTORY
 	BASIC_CFLAGS += -DNO_FAST_WORKING_DIRECTORY
 endif
diff --git a/compat/posix.h b/compat/posix.h
index 245386fa4a..3c611d2736 100644
--- a/compat/posix.h
+++ b/compat/posix.h
@@ -137,6 +137,9 @@
 #include <sys/socket.h>
 #include <sys/ioctl.h>
 #include <sys/statvfs.h>
+#ifndef NO_WRITEV
+#include <sys/uio.h>
+#endif
 #include <termios.h>
 #ifndef NO_SYS_SELECT_H
 #include <sys/select.h>
@@ -323,6 +326,17 @@ int git_lstat(const char *, struct stat *);
 ssize_t git_pread(int fd, void *buf, size_t count, off_t offset);
 #endif
 
+#ifdef NO_WRITEV
+#define writev git_writev
+#define iovec git_iovec
+struct git_iovec {
+	void *iov_base;
+	size_t iov_len;
+};
+
+ssize_t git_writev(int fd, const struct iovec *iov, int iovcnt);
+#endif
+
 #ifdef NO_SETENV
 #define setenv gitsetenv
 int gitsetenv(const char *, const char *, int);
diff --git a/compat/writev.c b/compat/writev.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b77e534d5d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compat/writev.c
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#include "../git-compat-util.h"
+#include "../wrapper.h"
+
+ssize_t git_writev(int fd, const struct iovec *iov, int iovcnt)
+{
+	size_t total_written = 0;
+
+	for (int i = 0; i < iovcnt; i++) {
+		const char *bytes = iov[i].iov_base;
+		size_t iovec_written = 0;
+
+		while (iovec_written < iov[i].iov_len) {
+			ssize_t bytes_written = xwrite(fd, bytes + iovec_written,
+						       iov[i].iov_len - iovec_written);
+			if (bytes_written < 0) {
+				if (total_written)
+					goto out;
+				return bytes_written;
+			}
+			if (!bytes_written)
+				goto out;
+			iovec_written += bytes_written;
+			total_written += bytes_written;
+		}
+	}
+
+out:
+	return cast_size_t_to_ssize_t(total_written);
+}
diff --git a/config.mak.uname b/config.mak.uname
index 5feb582558..ccb3f71881 100644
--- a/config.mak.uname
+++ b/config.mak.uname
@@ -459,6 +459,7 @@ ifeq ($(uname_S),Windows)
 	SANE_TOOL_PATH ?= $(msvc_bin_dir_msys)
 	HAVE_ALLOCA_H = YesPlease
 	NO_PREAD = YesPlease
+	NO_WRITEV = YesPlease
 	NEEDS_CRYPTO_WITH_SSL = YesPlease
 	NO_LIBGEN_H = YesPlease
 	NO_POLL = YesPlease
@@ -674,6 +675,7 @@ ifeq ($(uname_S),MINGW)
 	pathsep = ;
 	HAVE_ALLOCA_H = YesPlease
 	NO_PREAD = YesPlease
+	NO_WRITEV = YesPlease
 	NEEDS_CRYPTO_WITH_SSL = YesPlease
 	NO_LIBGEN_H = YesPlease
 	NO_POLL = YesPlease
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 762e2d0fc0..63514b6b84 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1409,6 +1409,7 @@ checkfuncs = {
   'initgroups' : [],
   'strtoumax' : ['strtoumax.c', 'strtoimax.c'],
   'pread' : ['pread.c'],
+  'writev' : ['writev.c'],
 }
 
 if host_machine.system() == 'windows'
-- 
2.53.0.697.g625c4fb2da.dirty
Previous: Patrick SteinhardtNext: Junio C Hamano
Message 22 of 53 in “upload-pack: reduce lock contention when writing packfile data”
  1. 0/2 upload-pack: reduce lock contention when writing packfile dataPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 27, 2026
  2. 1/2 upload-pack: fix debug statement when flushing packfile dataPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 27, 2026
  3. 2/2 upload-pack: reduce lock contention when writing packfile dataPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 27, 2026
  4. brian m. carlsonFeb 27, 2026
  5. Patrick SteinhardtFeb 27, 2026
  6. Junio C HamanoFeb 27, 2026
  7. Jeff KingFeb 27, 2026
  8. Patrick SteinhardtMar 2, 2026
  9. Jeff KingMar 2, 2026
  10. Patrick SteinhardtMar 3, 2026
  11. Jeff KingMar 3, 2026
  12. Patrick SteinhardtMar 3, 2026
  13. 00/10 upload-pack: reduce lock contention when writing packfile dataPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 3, 2026
  14. 01/10 upload-pack: fix debug statement when flushing packfile dataPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 3, 2026
  15. 02/10 upload-pack: adapt keepalives based on bufferingPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 3, 2026
  16. Jeff KingMar 5, 2026
  17. Patrick SteinhardtMar 10, 2026
  18. 03/10 upload-pack: reduce lock contention when writing packfile dataPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 3, 2026
  19. Jeff KingMar 5, 2026
  20. Patrick SteinhardtMar 10, 2026
  21. 04/10 git-compat-util: introduce `cast_size_t_to_ssize_t()`Patrick Steinhardt, Mar 3, 2026
  22. 05/10 compat/posix: introduce writev(3p) wrapperPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 3, 2026
  23. Junio C HamanoMar 4, 2026
  24. Jeff KingMar 5, 2026
  25. brian m. carlsonMar 5, 2026
  26. Johannes SixtMar 5, 2026
  27. brian m. carlsonMar 5, 2026
  28. Patrick SteinhardtMar 10, 2026
  29. 06/10 wrapper: introduce writev(3p) wrappersPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 3, 2026
  30. 07/10 sideband: use writev(3p) to send pktlinesPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 3, 2026
  31. Junio C HamanoMar 4, 2026
  32. 08/10 csum-file: introduce `hashfd_ext()`Patrick Steinhardt, Mar 3, 2026
  33. Junio C HamanoMar 4, 2026
  34. Patrick SteinhardtMar 10, 2026
  35. 09/10 csum-file: drop `hashfd_throughput()`Patrick Steinhardt, Mar 3, 2026
  36. 10/10 builtin/pack-objects: reduce lock contention when writing packfile dataPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 3, 2026
  37. 00/10 upload-pack: reduce lock contention when writing packfile dataPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 10, 2026
  38. 01/10 upload-pack: fix debug statement when flushing packfile dataPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 10, 2026
  39. 02/10 upload-pack: adapt keepalives based on bufferingPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 10, 2026
  40. 03/10 upload-pack: prefer flushing data over sending keepalivePatrick Steinhardt, Mar 10, 2026
  41. Junio C HamanoMar 10, 2026
  42. Patrick SteinhardtMar 10, 2026
  43. 04/10 upload-pack: reduce lock contention when writing packfile dataPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 10, 2026
  44. 05/10 compat/posix: introduce writev(3p) wrapperPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 10, 2026
  45. Junio C HamanoMar 10, 2026
  46. 06/10 wrapper: introduce writev(3p) wrappersPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 10, 2026
  47. 07/10 sideband: use writev(3p) to send pktlinesPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 10, 2026
  48. 08/10 csum-file: introduce `hashfd_ext()`Patrick Steinhardt, Mar 10, 2026
  49. 09/10 csum-file: drop `hashfd_throughput()`Patrick Steinhardt, Mar 10, 2026
  50. 10/10 builtin/pack-objects: reduce lock contention when writing packfile dataPatrick Steinhardt, Mar 10, 2026
  51. Junio C HamanoMar 10, 2026
  52. Johannes SixtMar 10, 2026
  53. Patrick SteinhardtMar 11, 2026

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