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I don't use Zig, but one advantage of having a genericised intrusive linked list where the next pointer doesn't have to be the first thing in the structure is w

I don't use Zig, but one advantage of having a genericised intrusive linked list where the next pointer doesn't have to be the first thing in the structure is when you want to use larger types, such as 128-bit fields. Sticking a pointer at the beginning would mean the compiler would have to insert alignment padding after the pointer or break the default alignment.

jwmerrill 2y ago
The next pointer doesn’t have to go first in the structure here. It can go anywhere, and you can use @fieldParentPtr to go back from a reference to the embedded node to a reference to the structure.
- n42 2y ago
  I think that's the point the parent was making. I read it as them describing a benefit of Zig's approach.
  - ralferoo 2y ago
    Yeah, that's what I was trying to say, but obviously not clearly enough.
    - jwmerrill 2y ago
      My mistake! It seems clear in hindsight…