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authorDaniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>2024-04-13 12:18:05 +0000
committerDaniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>2024-04-13 12:18:05 +0000
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Adding upstream version 2.9.5.upstream/2.9.5
Signed-off-by: Daniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>
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+2021-11-08 - Indirect Strings (IST) API
+
+
+1. Background
+-------------
+
+When parsing traffic, most of the standard C string functions are unusable
+since they rely on a trailing zero. In addition, for the rare ones that support
+a length, we have to constantly maintain both the pointer and the length. But
+then, it's easy to come up with complex lengths and offsets calculations all
+over the place, rendering the code hard to read and bugs hard to avoid or spot.
+
+IST provides a solution to this by defining a structure made of exactly two
+word size elements, that most C ABIs know how to handle as a register when
+used as a function argument or a function's return value. The functions are
+inlined to leave a maximum set of opportunities to the compiler or optimization
+and expression reduction, and as a result they are often inexpensive to use. It
+is important however to keep in mind that all of these are designed for minimal
+code size when dealing with short strings (i.e. parsing tokens in protocols),
+and they are not optimal for processing large blocks.
+
+
+2. API description
+------------------
+
+IST are defined like this:
+
+ struct ist {
+ char *ptr; // pointer to the string's first byte
+ size_t len; // number of valid bytes starting from ptr
+ };
+
+A string is not set if its ->ptr member is NULL. In this case .len is undefined
+and is recommended to be zero.
+
+Declaring a function returning an IST:
+
+ struct ist produce_ist(int ok)
+ {
+ return ok ? IST("OK") : IST("KO");
+ }
+
+Declaring a function consuming an IST:
+
+ void say_ist(struct ist i)
+ {
+ write(1, istptr(i), istlen(i));
+ }
+
+Chaining the two:
+
+ void say_ok(int ok)
+ {
+ say_ist(produce_ist(ok));
+ }
+
+Notes:
+ - the arguments are passed as value, not reference, so there's no need for
+ any "const" in their declaration (except to catch coding mistakes).
+ Pointers to ist may benefit from being marked "const" however.
+
+ - similarly for the return value, there's no point is marking it "const" as
+ this would protect the pointer and length, not the data.
+
+ - use ist0() to append a trailing zero to a variable string for use with
+ printf()'s "%s" format, or for use with functions that work on NUL-
+ terminated strings, but beware of not doing this with constants.
+
+ - the API provides a starting pointer and current length, but does not
+ provide an allocated size. It remains up to the caller to know how large
+ the allocated area is when adding data, though most functions make this
+ easy.
+
+The following macros and functions are defined. Those whose name starts with
+underscores require special care and must not be used without being certain
+they are properly used (typically subject to buffer overflows if misused). Note
+that most functions were added over time depending on instant needs, and some
+are very close to each other. Many useful functions are still missing and would
+deserve being added.
+
+Below, arguments "i1","i2" are all of type "ist". Arguments "s" are
+NUL-terminated strings of type "char*", and "cs" are of type "const char *".
+Arguments "c" are of type "char", and "n" are of type size_t.
+
+ IST(cs):ist make constant IST from a NUL-terminated const string
+ IST_NULL:ist return an unset IST = ist2(NULL,0)
+ __istappend(i1,c):ist append character <c> at the end of ist <i1>
+ ist(s):ist return an IST from a nul-terminated string
+ ist0(i1):char* write a \0 at the end of an IST, return the string
+ ist2(cs,l):ist return a variable IST from a const string and length
+ ist2bin(s,i1):ist copy IST into a buffer, return the result
+ ist2bin_lc(s,i1):ist like ist2bin() but turning turning to lower case
+ ist2bin_uc(s,i1):ist like ist2bin() but turning turning to upper case
+ ist2str(s,i1):ist copy IST into a buffer, add NUL and return the result
+ ist2str_lc(s,i1):ist like ist2str() but turning turning to lower case
+ ist2str_uc(s,i1):ist like ist2str() but turning turning to upper case
+ ist_find(i1,c):ist return first occurrence of char <c> in <i1>
+ ist_find_ctl(i1):char* return pointer to first CTL char in <i1> or NULL
+ ist_skip(i1,c):ist return first occurrence of char not <c> in <i1>
+ istadv(i1,n):ist advance the string by <n> characters
+ istalloc(n):ist return allocated string of zero initial length
+ istcat(d,s,n):ssize_t copy <s> after <d> for <n> chars max, return len or -1
+ istchr(i1,c):char* return pointer to first occurrence of <c> in <i1>
+ istclear(i1*):size_t return previous size and set size to zero
+ istcpy(d,s,n):ssize_t copy <s> over <d> for <n> chars max, return len or -1
+ istdiff(i1,i2):int return the ordinal difference, like strcmp()
+ istdup(i1):ist allocate new ist and copy original one into it
+ istend(i1):char* return pointer to first character after the IST
+ isteq(i1,i2):int return non-zero if strings are equal
+ isteqi(i1,i2):int like isteq() but case-insensitive
+ istfree(i1*) free of allocated <i1>/IST_NULL and set it to IST_NULL
+ istissame(i1,i2):int return true if pointers and lengths are equal
+ istist(i1,i2):ist return first occurrence of <i2> in <i1>
+ istlen(i1):size_t return the length of the IST (number of characters)
+ istmatch(i1,i2):int return non-zero if i1 starts like i2 (empty OK)
+ istmatchi(i1,i2):int like istmatch() but case insensitive
+ istneq(i1,i2,n):int like isteq() but limited to the first <n> chars
+ istnext(i1):ist return the IST advanced by one character
+ istnmatch(i1,i2,n):int like istmatch() but limited to the first <n> chars
+ istpad(s,i1):ist copy IST into a buffer, add a NUL, return the result
+ istptr(i1):char* return the starting pointer of the IST
+ istscat(d,s,n):ssize_t same as istcat() but always place a NUL at the end
+ istscpy(d,s,n):ssize_t same as istcpy() but always place a NUL at the end
+ istshift(i1*):char return the first character and advance the IST by one
+ istsplit(i1*,c):ist return part before <c>, make ist start from <c>
+ iststop(i1,c):ist truncate ist before first occurrence of <c>
+ isttest(i1):int return true if ist is not NULL, false otherwise
+ isttrim(i1,n):ist return ist trimmed to no more than <n> characters
+ istzero(i1,n):ist trim to <n> chars, trailing zero included.
+
+
+3. Quick index by typical C construct or function
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+Some common C constructs may be adjusted to use ist instead. The mapping is not
+always one-to-one, but usually the computations on the length part tends to
+disappear in the refactoring, allowing to directly chain function calls. The
+entries below are hints to figure what function to look for in order to rewrite
+some common use cases.
+
+ char* IST equivalent
+
+ strchr() istchr(), ist_find(), iststop()
+ strstr() istist()
+ strcpy() istcpy()
+ strscpy() istscpy()
+ strlcpy() istscpy()
+ strcat() istcat()
+ strscat() istscat()
+ strlcat() istscat()
+ strcmp() istdiff()
+ strdup() istdup()
+ !strcmp() isteq()
+ !strncmp() istneq(), istmatch(), istnmatch()
+ !strcasecmp() isteqi()
+ !strncasecmp() istneqi(), istmatchi()
+ strtok() istsplit()
+ return NULL return IST_NULL
+ s = malloc() s = istalloc()
+ free(s); s = NULL istfree(&s)
+ p != NULL isttest(p)
+ c = *(p++) c = istshift(p)
+ *(p++) = c __istappend(p, c)
+ p += n istadv(p, n)
+ p + strlen(p) istend(p)
+ p[max] = 0 isttrim(p, max)
+ p[max+1] = 0 istzero(p, max)