size_add(9)

💖 NAME 💖

okay so welcome to size_add(9) from the Kernel API Manual — the saturation queen of size_t addition 💅✨. This page is literally about calculating size_t addition with saturation at SIZE_MAX. bestie, it’s giving “math but make it kernel-safe.” 🫶

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

the whole flex is:

size_t size_add (size_t addend1 , size_t addend2 );

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• addend1 — the first addend. literally the first number going in. 🍓
• addend2 — the second addend. the other one. 🍓

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✨ RETURN ✨

It calculates addend1 + addend2, with both promoted to size_t, and any overflow causes the return value to be SIZE_MAX. slay, no cap. 🔥

⚠️ Important caveat: the lvalue must be size_t to avoid implicit type conversion. do not get cute with a smaller type, okay? that’s the rule, periodt. 💀

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🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

bestie, the whole overflow.h friend group is right here in the kernel file ./include/linux/overflow.h — go say hi:

• check_add_overflow(9)
• wrapping_add(9)
• wrapping_assign_add(9)
• check_sub_overflow(9)
• wrapping_sub(9)
• wrapping_assign_sub(9)
• check_mul_overflow(9)
• wrapping_mul(9)
• check_shl_overflow(9)
• overflows_type(9)
• range_overflows(9)
• range_overflows_t(9)
• range_end_overflows(9)
• range_end_overflows_t(9)
• castable_to_type(9)
• size_mul(9)
• size_sub(9)
• array_size(9)
• array3_size(9)
• flex_array_size(9)
• struct_size(9)
• struct_size_t(9)
• struct_offset(9)
• __DEFINE_FLEX(9)
• _DEFINE_FLEX(9)
• DEFINE_RAW_FLEX(9)
• DEFINE_FLEX(9)
• STACK_FLEX_ARRAY_SIZE(9)
• typeof_flex_counter(9)
• overflows_flex_counter_type(9)
• __set_flex_counter(9)

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sign-off realness: this page is chillin’ in source ./include/linux, version Kernel API Manual, dated October 2026, and it’s serving size_add(9). bye bestie 💅✨🦋