OSSL_ITEM(3SSL)

📦
version 4.0.3 · 11 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 OSSL_ITEM — the OpenSSL core type for generic itemized data, bestie 💖

okay so real talk, this is from the OpenSSL manual (section 3SSL), and it's a tiny little struct that does a LOT of quiet background work. it's giving backstage crew at the school play. iconic behavior honestly. 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

OSSL_ITEM — the OpenSSL core type for generic itemized data 🦋

🧚 SYNOPSIS 🧚

#include <openssl/core.h>

typedef struct ossl_item_st OSSL_ITEM;
struct ossl_item_st {
    unsigned int id;
    void *ptr;
};

look at her. two fields. zero drama. queen of minimalism 💅

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

okay so listen, OSSL_ITEM is literally just a tuple of an integer and a pointer. that's it. that's the whole girl. ✨

its a generic type that gets used as a generic descriptor — and here's the tea: its exact meaning is totally defined by how it's used, not by the struct itself. so like, the struct is the vibe, and the context tells you what the vibe means. iykyk 🫶

arrays of this type get passed back and forth between the OpenSSL libraries and the providers, and this part is non-negotiable bestie:

🚨 the array must be terminated with a tuple where the integer is zero and the pointer is NULL. no cap. if you forget the terminator, that's on you and it will NOT be cute. 😭

rn, this type is mainly used for the return value of the provider's error reason strings array — so if you wanna know more, go read "Provider Functions" over in provider-base(7). go go go 📚

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

(the whole friend group, love that for them 🌈)

⭐ HISTORY ⭐

OSSL_ITEM was added in OpenSSL 3.0 — so she's a 3.0 girlie, a true era-defining debut 💜

Copyright 2022 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at <https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.

and that's the whole page bestie!! this one's from version 4.0.3, dated 2026-09-29 — mwah, slayed, no notes, periodt. 💖🦋🌸✨🫶

📦 where this page comes from