ldm_get_vstr(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💖 ldm_get_vstr(9) — the Kernel API Manual, bestie edition 💖

okay so you're reading the Kernel API Manual page for ldm_get_vstr(9) and honestly? it's a lil cutie. let's get into it 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

ldm_get_vstr — reads a length-prefixed string into a buffer. that's the whole vibe. 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

int ldm_get_vstr (const u8 *block , u8 *buffer , int buflen );

literally the whole signature, don't touch it, it's perfect 🫶

🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

  • block — pointer to the length marker 👑 this is where the little length byte lives, bestie
  • buffer — location to copy the string to 💖 your destination, your moment
  • buflen — size of the output buffer 📏 how much room you're giving it

⭐ DESCRIPTION ⭐

so, plot twist: many of the strings in the LDM Database are not NULL terminated. 😭 instead? they're prefixed by a one byte length marker. icon behavior honestly. this function copies one of those strings into a buffer. slay.

N.B. this function DOES NOT perform any range checking on the input. none. zero. not a single check. 💀 if the buffer is too small, the output will be truncated. so like… know your sizes, bestie, fr fr.

🔥 RETURN 🔥

  • 0 — Error and buffer contents are undefined 🙈 yeah… not great
  • n — String length in characters (excluding NULL) ✨ the good outcome
  • buflen-1 — String was truncated 😭 it got cut off, tragic

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

kernel file ./block/partitions/ldm.c, plus the whole friend group:

and that's the page!! 🌈 this one came out of ./block/partitions, dated October 2026, and it's literally titled ldm_get_vstr(9) — take care of her, she's doing her best 🧚💖

📦 where this page comes from