atomic_dec_and_test(9)

💅 atomic_dec_and_test(9) 💖

okay so welcome to the Kernel API Manual, bestie — today’s main character is atomic_dec_and_test(9), and honestly it’s giving tiny-but-iconic. 🎀

🌸 NAME 🌸

atomic_dec_and_test — decrement and test. periodt. ✨

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int atomic_dec_and_test (atomic_t *v );

no cap, that’s the whole signature. 🫶

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• v — pointer of type atomic_t. literally that’s the argument, bestie. 💖

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so here’s the vibe: it atomically decrements v by 1, then returns true if the result is 0, or false for all other cases. slay. 💅🔥

like, the way that it checks whether the decrement landed exactly on zero? iconic behavior. 👑

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• Kernel file ./tools/include/asm-generic/atomic-gcc.h — plus the bestie refs atomic_read(9), atomic_set(9), and atomic_inc(9). 🦋💜

mwah 😘 this cutie is filed under source/version ./tools/include/asm-generic, dated October 2026, and yes — the page is atomic_dec_and_test(9). 🫶💖