Re: [PATCH 2/6] object-file.c: use size_t for header lengths

[Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>]

On Thu, Jun 04, 2026 at 05:15:08PM +0000, Philip Oakley via GitGitGadget wrote:
> From: Philip Oakley <philipoakley@iee.email>
> 
> Continue walking the code path for the >4GB `hash-object --literally`
> test. The `hash_object_file_literally()` function internally uses both
> `hash_object_file()` and `write_object_file_prepare()`. Both function
> signatures use `unsigned long` rather than `size_t` for the mem buffer
> sizes. Use `size_t` instead, for LLP64 compatibility.
> 
> While at it, convert those function's object's header buffer length to
> `size_t` for consistency. The value is already upcast to `uintmax_t` for
> print format compatibility.

One thing I was wondering is whether we should rather migrate to a size
that is consistent across different platforms. We could e.g. `typedef
uint64_t objsize_t` and then use that going forward.

I guess the question though is whether that'd buy us anything. In other
words, are there any platforms that we care about where `size_t` is only
32 bit wide? And would such platforms even be able to handle such large
objects?

Patrick