rust-lang / rust-lang/rust-clippy

Warn about uses of Rust types where a C (raw) type is expected

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A-lint E-hard good first issue L-correctness T-AST
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

I started using Rust on ARMv7 and run twice into issues where Rust types where used instead of c_* types.

  1. It should not be possible to use a C type in a function declaration and a Rust type when calling it (or vice versa.)
  2. Functions like CStr::from_ptr should not allow the use of a Rust type. It is clearly intended for use with c_char.

A few examples

This really should be libc::c_char (c_char is an alias for u8 on ARMv7)

CStr::from_ptr(ptr as *const i8)

Use of libc::c_char in declaration but when using the function i8 is used instead:

pub fn rados_append(io: rados_ioctx_t, oid: *const ::libc::c_char, buf: *const ::libc::c_char, len: size_t)
…
unsafe {
    rados_append(ctx, obj_name_str.as_ptr(), buffer.as_ptr() as *const i8, buffer.len());
}

Use of i64 instead of c_time (32bit on ARMv7):

   pub fn rados_ioctx_snap_get_stamp(io: rados_ioctx_t, id: rados_snap_t, t: *mut time_t) -> ::libc::c_int;
   …
    let mut time_id: i64 = 0;
    unsafe {
        rados_ioctx_snap_get_stamp(ctx, snap_id, &mut time_id);
   }

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by examining the CStr::from_ptr example and the declarations and calls for rados_append and rados_ioctx_snap_get_stamp. Define which Rust and C raw-type mismatches should be diagnosed, then use those examples to establish tests showing that the intended warnings appear on ARMv7-relevant type aliases.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
devtools
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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