3 ms·

Or even: if (len == 0) return null_buffer_singleton; /* special shared representation for 0: */

• repiret 3mo ago
  Because then the caller needs to treat it differently from non-empty buffers.
  • kazinator 3mo ago
    No, it doesn't. It calls: void buffer_free(void *buf) { if (buf != null_buffer_singleton) free(buf); }
    • Joker_vD 3mo ago
      ...which treats it differently from non-empty buffers :) But frankly, having a 1-byte buffer, pointer to which can serve as a sentinel value à la NULL (but dereferenceable!), and which you can pass to free() without it being deallocated is indeed rather useful.