Re: [PATCH] git-compat-util.h: introduce CALLOC(x)

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Dec 5, 2022, 23:57 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqqedtdpfoe.fsf@gitster.g>
In-Reply-To: <6694c52b38674859eb0390c7f62da1209a8d8ec3.1670266373.git.me@ttaylorr.com>

Taylor Blau <me@ttaylorr.com> writes:

Show 6 quoted lines

> In git.git, it is sometimes common to write something like:
>
>     T *ptr;
>     CALLOC_ARRAY(ptr, 1);
>
> ...but that is confusing, since we're not initializing an array.

Given that "man calloc" tells us that calloc takes two parameters,

    void *calloc(size_t nmemb, size_t size);

I personally find CALLOC() that takes only a single parameter and is capable only to allocate a single element array very much confusing.

It _might_ be arguable that the order of the parameters CALLOC_ARRAY takes should have been reversed in that the number of elements in the array should come first just like in calloc(), while the pointer that is used to infer the size of an array element should come next, but that is water under the bridge.