FIELD_PREP(9)

💅 FIELD_PREP(9) — okay bestie, let's talk bitfields ✨

So this little icon lives in the Kernel API Manual (yep, that's the manual name, we stan a header) and it's literally the glow-up step for a bitfield element. Come on, let's get into it 🎀

---

🌸 NAME 🌸

FIELD_PREP — prepare a bitfield element 💖 (yes, that's the whole vibe: prepare)

---

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

FIELD_PREP (_mask , _val );

No cap, that's it. Two things go in, one field-shaped something comes out 🦋

---

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• _mask — the shifted mask that defines the field's length and its position. It's giving "the blueprint", the main character of the operation 👑
• _val — the value you wanna put in the field. This is the passenger, bestie 🚗

---

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

Okay so here's the tea: FIELD_PREP masks and shifts up the value. That's the whole job. It takes your _val and gets it all dressed up and positioned correctly 🌈✨

And then — crucially — the result should be combined with the other fields of the bitfield using logical OR. Like, don't just leave it sitting there alone, that's not the assignment 🙈 OR it together with its friends and then you've got a whole bitfield, periodt 💅

---

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• Kernel file ./tools/include/linux/bitfield.h
• FIELD_MAX(9)
• FIELD_FIT(9)
• FIELD_GET(9)

Go read those too, they're all in their own lane and they all ate 🍓🧚

---

ngl if you're messing with bitfields and you skip FIELD_FIT(9), that's on you bestie 💀

---

✿ cute sign-off time ✿

This one's brought to you by ./tools/include/linux, dated October 2026, and yeah the footer says FIELD_PREP(9) again because it's iconic like that 😭💖 lowkey obsessed. Bye bestie, go prepare some fields 🫶⭐