[tor-bugs] #24337 [Core Tor/Tor]: Every _free() function should be a macro that sets the corresponding pointer to NULL.

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#24337: Every _free() function should be a macro that sets the corresponding
pointer to NULL.
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 Reporter:  nickm            |          Owner:  nickm
     Type:  enhancement      |         Status:  needs_review
 Priority:  Medium           |      Milestone:  Tor: 0.3.3.x-final
Component:  Core Tor/Tor     |        Version:
 Severity:  Normal           |     Resolution:
 Keywords:  review-group-26  |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:                   |         Points:
 Reviewer:                   |        Sponsor:  Sponsor8-can
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Comment (by nickm):

 So, I had originally left all these macros in lowercase, until someone
 (Taylor, I think?) asked me "so, what problems have we run into with
 `tor_free()` so far?"  And the biggest problems I could think of is that
 people are confused because `tor_free()` does not actually behave like a
 function.

 In C, if you call `foo(ptr)`, and foo is a function, then the value of
 `ptr` cannot change.  But `tor_free(ptr)` does change the value of `ptr`
 to NULL, which is something that tor_free() could not do if it were a
 function.  New developers on Tor often don't expect this to happen.

 That said, it is usually a pretty short learning curve, so it might be
 okay to leave everything as it is.

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Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/24337#comment:8>
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