xdr_init_decode(9)

💅 xdr_init_decode — like, the Kernel API Manual page you actually wanna read 🎀

okay bestie, listen. this is xdr_init_decode(9), straight out of the Kernel API Manual, and it's genuinely the setup girlie of the decoding world. it does not decode anything itself — it just gets your xdr_stream dressed and ready so the actual decoding can slay later. no cap. ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

xdr_init_decode — Initialize an xdr_stream for decoding data.

that's it. that's the whole job. she's a setup function and she knows it. 💅

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

void xdr_init_decode (struct xdr_stream *xdr , struct xdr_buf *buf ,
__be32 *p , struct rpc_rqst *rqst );

literally just one call. void return, so nothing to check — she either sets things up or she doesn't, iykyk. 🫶

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✨ ARGUMENTS ✨

four args, all of them pointers, all of them important. let's go through them like we're doing a vibe check on each one:

• xdr — pointer to the xdr_stream struct. this is THE main character of the whole operation — the stream you're initializing. everything happens here, fr fr. 👑
• buf — pointer to the XDR buffer from which to decode data. this is the source, the origin story, the place the bytes are actually coming from. 🍓
• p — current pointer inside the XDR buffer. you're telling the stream "okay, start right here," like dropping a pin on the map. 📍
• rqst — pointer to the controlling rpc_rqst, and before you ask: it's for debugging. that's the whole reason it's here. ngl, a little iconic of it to be that honest. 🙈

⚠️ heads up: all four are pointers, and xdr_init_decode returns void — so no exit status, no error code, nothing to inspect. it's giving "trust me, I got this." 😭

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💖 SEE ALSO 💖

okay this list is LONG, so buckle up bestie — every single one of these lives in the kernel file ./net/sunrpc/xdr.c, and we are NOT skipping a single one of them. they're all (9) pages, all part of the family, all getting their moment. 🌈

the encode crowd — xdr_encode_opaque_fixed(9), xdr_encode_opaque(9), xdr_terminate_string(9)

the buffer-to-something glow-ups — xdr_buf_to_bvec(9), xdr_buf_to_sg(9), xdr_buf_to_sg_alloc(9), xdr_inline_pages(9)

the page-shifting girlies (note the leading underscores, they're built different) — _shift_data_left_pages(9), _shift_data_right_pages(9), _copy_to_pages(9), _copy_from_pages(9)

buffer maintenance era — xdr_buf_pages_zero(9), xdr_shrink_bufhead(9), xdr_shrink_pagelen(9), xdr_restrict_buflen(9), xdr_buf_trim(9), xdr_buf_subsegment(9)

positioning & math — xdr_stream_pos(9), xdr_page_pos(9)

the encode-side setup besties — xdr_init_encode(9), xdr_init_encode_pages(9), __xdr_commit_encode(9), xdr_reserve_space(9), xdr_reserve_space_vec(9), xdr_truncate_encode(9)

the decode-side setup besties (hi, that's our family 💜) — xdr_init_decode_pages(9), xdr_finish_decode(9), xdr_inline_decode(9), xdr_read_pages(9), xdr_truncate_decode(9)

page navigation & subsegment movement — xdr_set_pagelen(9), xdr_enter_page(9), xdr_write_pages(9), xdr_stream_subsegment(9), xdr_stream_move_subsegment(9), xdr_stream_zero(9)

the auth & string decoders, absolute icons — xdr_stream_decode_string_dup(9), xdr_stream_decode_opaque_auth(9), xdr_stream_encode_opaque_auth(9)

and yeah — all of those, plus the kernel file itself: ./net/sunrpc/xdr.c. go read the source bestie, it's right there. 🔥

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okay that's the page!! and for the cute sign-off: this lil beauty comes to you from the source ./net/sunrpc and is dated October 2026 — so mark your calendar, she's fresh. 🌸✨🫶