keys_cmp(9)

💅 keys_cmp ✨ (that's the manual name btw, keys_cmp from the Kernel API Manual, section 9)

okay so bestie, gather round, because we're about to talk about the most "small but mighty" little function in all of UBIFS 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

keys_cmp — literally just compares keys. that's it. that's the whole gig 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

int keys_cmp (const struct ubifs_info *c , const union ubifs_key *key1 ,
       const union ubifs_key *key2 );

look at her. three args, returns an int, zero notes. icon behavior 👑

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• c — the UBIFS file-system description object 🗂️ like, the whole context bestie, you gotta know what filesystem we're even in
• key1 — the first key to compare 🥇
• key2 — the second key to compare 🥈 (yes it's a competition now)

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so the way this works is genuinely so simple it's giving main character energy ✨ — it compares the 2 keys and hands you back one of three possible answers:

• -1 if key1 is less than key2 📉
• 0 if the keys are equivalent 🤝 (they're the same, no cap)
• 1 if key1 is greater than key2 📈

and that's the whole vibe check. three possible outputs, no drama, no edge cases listed, fr fr 😌

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

okay this is the part where I hold your hand and walk you through the entire UBIFS key extended family, because there are so many of them and they all live in the same house: the Kernel file ./fs/ubifs/key.h 📂

• key_mask_hash(9)
• key_r5_hash(9)
• key_test_hash(9)
• ino_key_init(9)
• ino_key_init_flash(9)
• lowest_ino_key(9)
• highest_ino_key(9)
• dent_key_init(9)
• dent_key_init_hash(9)
• dent_key_init_flash(9)
• lowest_dent_key(9)
• xent_key_init(9)
• xent_key_init_flash(9)
• lowest_xent_key(9)
• data_key_init(9)
• highest_data_key(9)
• trun_key_init(9)
• invalid_key_init(9)
• key_type(9)
• key_type_flash(9)
• key_inum(9)
• key_inum_flash(9)
• key_hash(9)
• key_hash_flash(9)
• key_block(9)
• key_block_flash(9)
• key_read(9)
• key_write(9)
• key_write_idx(9)
• key_copy(9)
• keys_eq(9)
• is_hash_key(9)
• key_max_inode_size(9)

no literally all 33 of them, I counted, and they're all part of the squad 🫶 go read them, iykyk 💜

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ngl bestie, keys_cmp is the lowkey hero of the whole key family — every one of those *_key_init girlies above needs somebody to actually compare the results, and that's her 💀🔥

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and that's a wrap! 🎀 this lil page comes to you straight out of ./fs/ubifs, circa October 2026, manual section keys_cmp(9) ✨ slay, bye! 💅💖