vmw_surface..._buffer_size(9)

💅 vmw_surface..._buffer_size(9) — from the Kernel API Manual, bestie

okay so picture this: it's a kernel manual page, the title is vmw_surface..._buffer_size(9), and it lives in the Kernel API Manual. that's the vibe. now let's get into it 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

vmw_surface_get_image_buffer_size — literally just calculates image buffer size. that's her whole job. 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

u32 vmw_surface_get_image_buffer_size (const SVGA3dSurfaceDesc *desc ,
const struct drm_vmw_size *size , u32 pitch );

no cap, that's the whole signature. three args, one u32 coming back at you. 🦋

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

okay so about these three… the page is kinda shy here, ngl:

• desc — -- undescribed -- 🙈 the manual literally does not describe it. we know her name, we don't know her lore.
• size — -- undescribed -- same situation. iconic of the docs to leave it at that. 😭
• pitch — -- undescribed -- yes bestie, also undescribed. but stay tuned, because pitch does get screen time in DESCRIPTION. main character energy honestly. 👑

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🔥 DESCRIPTION 🔥

so what does she actually do? she returns the number of bytes of buffer space you need to store one image of a surface, optionally using the pitch you specified. that's the whole flex. ⭐

and here's the little detail that matters: if pitch is zero, it's assumed that rows are tightly packed. zero pitch = cozy, no gaps, rows snuggled right up against each other. 🌸

now the part where you listen, because this is the good bit: this function is overflow-safe. if the result would have overflowed, instead of doing something cursed, it just returns MAX_UINT32. periodt. it will not hand you garbage — it hands you the max value and moves on. 💀✨

lowkey important: MAX_UINT32 means "this would've overflowed, bestie" — it's the safe bail-out, not an actual size. don't go allocating that many bytes and blame me. 🙈

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🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

the whole friend group, fr fr:

• Kernel file ./drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx/vmw_surface_cache.h
• vmw_surface_get_desc(9)
• vmw_surface_get_mip_size(9)
• vmw_surface_get_serialized_size(9)
• vmw_surface_get_serialized_size_extended(9)
• vmw_surface_get_pixel_offset(9)
• vmw_surface_is_gb_screen_target_format(9)
• vmw_surface_is_dx_screen_target_format(9)
• vmw_surface_is_screen_target_format(9)
• struct vmw_surface_mip(9)
• struct vmw_surface_cache(9)
• struct vmw_surface_loc(9)
• vmw_surface_subres(9)
• vmw_surface_setup_cache(9)
• vmw_surface_get_loc(9)
• vmw_surface_inc_loc(9)
• vmw_surface_min_loc(9)

that's a group chat and a half, and yes they all ate. 💜

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🌈 sign-off 🌈

this little love letter lives in ./drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx, dated October 2026 — so mark your calendars, bestie. go forth, compute your buffer sizes, and stay overflow-safe out there. 🧚💖