find_nth_bit(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 find_nth_bit(9) — Kernel API Manual, bestie edition 🎀

okay so this is a page from the Kernel API Manual and honestly? it's a little cutie. like, it's short, it's sweet, it finds the N'th set bit. we love a focused icon.

✨ NAME ✨

find_nth_bit — find the N'th set bit in a memory region 💖

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

unsigned long find_nth_bit (const unsigned long *addr , unsigned long
size , unsigned long n );

like, yes, the line break in the middle is real, that's just how it's printed, don't come for her 💅

🌸 ARGUMENTS 🌸

  • addr — The address to start the search at 🔍 this is where you begin hunting
  • size — The maximum number of bits to search 🙈 know your limits bestie
  • n — The number of set bit, which position is needed, counting from 0 ⭐ like, zero-indexed, periodt

👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

okay so the following is semantically equivalent, meaning these two are giving the exact same energy:

idx = find_nth_bit(addr, size, 0);
idx = find_first_bit(addr, size);

not me pointing out that asking for the 0th set bit is literally just find_first_bit. iconic behavior. 🤝

So what does she actually do? Returns the bit number of the N'th set bit. that's it, that's the whole vibe.

And if no such bit exists? she returns >= size. so like, check your result against size, because anything at or past it means "nope, didn't find it" 😭 no cap.

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

Kernel file ./include/linux/find.h — and honestly the friend group here is HUGE, so buckle up bestie, we're listing everybody 🫶

all twenty-two of them. every single one. main character energy across the whole entire header file fr fr 🔥

quick vibe check: if you only remember one thing, remember that "not found" looks like >= size, not a magic negative number. don't get caught out there. 💀

kisses and bit-twiddling, bestie 💜 this page lives in ./include/linux and the version/date stamp says October 2026 — so yes, she's from the future and she's still slaying 🧚✨

📦 where this page comes from