asn1_encode_length(9)

💅 asn1_encode_length(9) — Kernel API Manual 💅

okay bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual page for asn1_encode_length(9). This is the little encoder routine that handles the length part right after an ASN.1 tag, and it’s giving “small function, big main character energy” ✨.

🎀 NAME 🎀

asn1_encode_length — encode a length to follow an ASN.1 tag 💖

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int asn1_encode_length (unsigned char **data , int *data_len , int len );

🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• data — pointer to encode at 📍
• data_len — pointer to remaining length (adjusted by routine) 📏
• len — length to encode 🔢

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

Okay so here’s the tea ☕: this routine can encode lengths up to 65535 using the ASN.1 rules. It will accept a negative length and place a zero length tag instead (to keep the ASN.1 valid). This convention allows other encoder primitives to accept negative lengths as signalling the sequence will be re-encoded when the length is known. No cap, that’s the whole behavior 💅.

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

Kernel file ./lib/asn1_encoder.c — plus these iconic little encoder besties:

• asn1_encode_integer(9)
• asn1_encode_oid(9)
• asn1_encode_tag(9)
• asn1_encode_octet_string(9)
• asn1_encode_sequence(9)
• asn1_encode_boolean(9)

from ./lib, dated October 2026 — that’s the asn1_encode_length(9) page. bye bestie, go encode those lengths responsibly 🫶✨