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From: Alexandre Courbot <acourbot@nvidia.com>
To: "Alexandre Courbot" <acourbot@nvidia.com>,
	"Yury Norov" <yury.norov@gmail.com>,
	"Miguel Ojeda" <ojeda@kernel.org>,
	"Boqun Feng" <boqun@kernel.org>, "Gary Guo" <gary@garyguo.net>,
	"Björn Roy Baron" <bjorn3_gh@protonmail.com>,
	"Benno Lossin" <lossin@kernel.org>,
	"Andreas Hindborg" <a.hindborg@kernel.org>,
	"Alice Ryhl" <aliceryhl@google.com>,
	"Trevor Gross" <tmgross@umich.edu>,
	"Danilo Krummrich" <dakr@kernel.org>,
	"Daniel Almeida" <daniel.almeida@collabora.com>,
	"Tamir Duberstein" <tamird@kernel.org>,
	"Onur Özkan" <work@onurozkan.dev>,
	"David Airlie" <airlied@gmail.com>,
	"Simona Vetter" <simona@ffwll.ch>
Cc: John Hubbard <jhubbard@nvidia.com>,
	 Alistair Popple <apopple@nvidia.com>,
	Timur Tabi <ttabi@nvidia.com>,
	 Eliot Courtney <ecourtney@nvidia.com>,
	Zhi Wang <zhiw@nvidia.com>,
	 linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, rust-for-linux@vger.kernel.org,
	 nova-gpu@lists.linux.dev, dri-devel@lists.freedesktop.org
Subject: [PATCH v2 1/2] rust: add functions and traits for lossless integer conversions
Date: Thu, 06 Aug 2026 16:35:53 +0900	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260806-as_casts-v2-1-cb76a4d3a6ef@nvidia.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260806-as_casts-v2-0-cb76a4d3a6ef@nvidia.com>

The core library's `From` implementations do not cover conversions that
are not portable or future-proof. For instance, even though it is safe
today, `From<usize>` is not implemented for `u64` because of the
possibility of supporting larger-than-64bit architectures in the future.

However, the kernel supports a narrower set of architectures, with a
considerable amount of code that is architecture-specific. This makes it
helpful and desirable to provide more infallible conversions, lest we
rely on the `as` keyword and carry the risk of silently losing data.

Thus, introduce a new module `num::casts` that provides safe const
functions performing more conversions allowed by the build target, as
well as `FromSafeCast` and `IntoSafeCast` traits that are just
extensions of `From` and `Into` to conversions that are known to be
lossless.

Some conversions are architecture-specific: for instance, converting a
`u64` to a `usize` is only lossless on 64-bit platforms. These
conversions are made available via a dedicated `arch` sub-module.

Suggested-by: Danilo Krummrich <dakr@kernel.org>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/rust-for-linux/DDK4KADWJHMG.1FUPL3SDR26XF@kernel.org/
Signed-off-by: Alexandre Courbot <acourbot@nvidia.com>
---
 rust/kernel/num.rs       |   2 +
 rust/kernel/num/casts.rs | 298 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 300 insertions(+)

diff --git a/rust/kernel/num.rs b/rust/kernel/num.rs
index 8532b511384c..dbe848e30efe 100644
--- a/rust/kernel/num.rs
+++ b/rust/kernel/num.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 use core::ops;
 
 pub mod bounded;
+pub mod casts;
+
 pub use bounded::*;
 
 /// Designates unsigned primitive types.
diff --git a/rust/kernel/num/casts.rs b/rust/kernel/num/casts.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..a44397541cfe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rust/kernel/num/casts.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,298 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+//! Helpers for performing lossless integer casts.
+//!
+//! The `as` keyword can be used to perform casts between integer types, but it unfortunately makes
+//! no distinction between casts that are lossless, and casts from a larger type into a smaller one
+//! that might silently strip data away. Thus, its use in the kernel is discouraged in favor of
+//! [`From`] implementations.
+//!
+//! Conversely, there are casts that are lossless depending on the build architecture (such as
+//! casting [`usize`] to [`u64`] on 32 or 64 bit archs), but not supported by [`From`]
+//! implementations in the standard library because they are not portable. It does however make
+//! sense for the kernel to support these, if only for code that is architecture-specific.
+//!
+//! This module provides ways to perform such conversions safely:
+//!
+//! - A series of const functions (e.g. [`usize_as_u64`]) supporting safe conversions in const
+//!   context. Conversions supported by [`From`] implementations in the standard library are also
+//!   covered as the [`From`] trait cannot be used in const context.
+//! - Two extension traits, [`FromSafeCast`] and [`IntoSafeCast`], providing conversion methods
+//!   similar to [`From`] and [`Into`] for conversions that are safe to perform in the kernel, but
+//!   not supported by the standard library.
+//! - Another series of const functions (e.g. [`u64_into_u8`]) supporting the conversion of a const
+//!   value from a larger type into a smaller one, provided the value fits into the destination
+//!   type. This is useful if a constant is defined as a larger type, but needs to be used as a
+//!   smaller one.
+//! - An [`arch`] sub-module, defining more conversion functions that are only guaranteed to be
+//!   lossless for a given pointer size. These can only be used in code that is specific to a
+//!   given pointer size.
+//!
+//! # Examples
+//!
+//! ```
+//! use kernel::num::casts::{self, FromSafeCast, IntoSafeCast};
+//!
+//! // Conversion from const context.
+//! const USIZED_CONST: usize = casts::u8_as_usize(255u8);
+//!
+//! // Non-const conversions.
+//! let a = u64::from_safe_cast(4096usize);
+//! let b: u64 = 4096usize.into_safe_cast();
+//! ```
+
+use crate::prelude::*;
+
+/// Implements safe `as` conversion functions from a given type into a series of target types.
+///
+/// These functions can be used in place of `as`, with the guarantee that they will be lossless.
+macro_rules! impl_safe_as {
+    ($from:ty as { $($into:ty),* }) => {
+        $(
+        $crate::macros::paste! {
+            #[doc = ::core::concat!(
+                "Losslessly converts a [`",
+                ::core::stringify!($from),
+                "`] into a [`",
+                ::core::stringify!($into),
+                "`].")]
+            ///
+            /// This conversion is allowed as it is always lossless. Prefer this over the `as`
+            /// keyword to ensure no lossy casts are performed.
+            ///
+            /// This is for use from a `const` context. For non `const` use, prefer the
+            /// [`FromSafeCast`] and [`IntoSafeCast`] traits.
+            ///
+            /// # Examples
+            ///
+            /// ```
+            /// use kernel::num::casts;
+            ///
+            #[doc = ::core::concat!(
+                "assert_eq!(casts::",
+                ::core::stringify!($from),
+                "_as_",
+                ::core::stringify!($into),
+                "(1",
+                ::core::stringify!($from),
+                "), 1",
+                ::core::stringify!($into),
+                ");")]
+            /// ```
+            #[inline]
+            pub const fn [<$from _as_ $into>](value: $from) -> $into {
+                $crate::static_assert!(size_of::<$into>() >= size_of::<$from>());
+
+                value as $into
+            }
+        }
+        )*
+    };
+}
+
+// Valid `Into` transformations.
+impl_safe_as!(u8 as { u16, u32, u64, usize });
+impl_safe_as!(u16 as { u32, u64, usize });
+impl_safe_as!(u32 as { u64 });
+// A `usize` fits into a `u64` on all supported platforms.
+impl_safe_as!(usize as { u64 });
+// A `u32` fits into a `usize` on all supported platforms.
+impl_safe_as!(u32 as { usize });
+
+/// Extension trait providing guaranteed lossless cast to `Self` from `T`.
+///
+/// The standard library's `From` implementations do not cover conversions that are not portable or
+/// future-proof. For instance, even though it is safe today, `From<usize>` is not implemented for
+/// [`u64`] because of the possibility of needing to support larger-than-64bit architectures in the
+/// future.
+///
+/// The workaround is to either deal with the error handling of [`TryFrom`] for an operation that
+/// technically cannot fail, or to use the `as` keyword, which can silently strip data if the
+/// destination type is smaller than the source.
+///
+/// Both options are hardly acceptable for the kernel. It is also a much more architecture
+/// dependent environment, supporting only 32 and 64 bit architectures, with some modules
+/// explicitly depending on a specific bus width that could greatly benefit from infallible
+/// conversion operations.
+///
+/// Thus this extension trait that provides, for all architectures supported by the kernel,
+/// conversion methods between types for which such a cast is lossless.
+///
+/// In other words, this trait is implemented if, for all supported targets and with `t: T`, the
+/// `t as Self` operation is completely lossless.
+///
+/// Prefer this over the `as` keyword to guarantee that no lossy casts are performed.
+///
+/// If you need to perform a conversion in `const` context, use [`u32_as_usize`], [`usize_as_u64`],
+/// etc.
+///
+/// # Examples
+///
+/// ```
+/// use kernel::num::casts::FromSafeCast;
+///
+/// assert_eq!(usize::from_safe_cast(0xf00u32), 0xf00usize);
+/// ```
+pub trait FromSafeCast<T> {
+    /// Create a `Self` from `value`. This operation is guaranteed to be lossless.
+    fn from_safe_cast(value: T) -> Self;
+}
+
+// A `usize` fits into a `u64` on all supported platforms.
+impl FromSafeCast<usize> for u64 {
+    #[inline]
+    fn from_safe_cast(value: usize) -> Self {
+        usize_as_u64(value)
+    }
+}
+
+// A `u32` fits into a `usize` on all supported platforms.
+impl FromSafeCast<u32> for usize {
+    #[inline]
+    fn from_safe_cast(value: u32) -> Self {
+        u32_as_usize(value)
+    }
+}
+
+/// Counterpart to the [`FromSafeCast`] trait, i.e. this trait is to [`FromSafeCast`] what [`Into`]
+/// is to [`From`].
+///
+/// See the documentation of [`FromSafeCast`] for the motivation.
+///
+/// # Examples
+///
+/// ```
+/// use kernel::num::casts::IntoSafeCast;
+///
+/// assert_eq!(0xf00usize, 0xf00u32.into_safe_cast());
+/// ```
+pub trait IntoSafeCast<T> {
+    /// Convert `self` into a `T`. This operation is guaranteed to be lossless.
+    fn into_safe_cast(self) -> T;
+}
+
+/// Reverse operation for types implementing [`FromSafeCast`].
+impl<S, T> IntoSafeCast<T> for S
+where
+    T: FromSafeCast<S>,
+{
+    #[inline]
+    fn into_safe_cast(self) -> T {
+        T::from_safe_cast(self)
+    }
+}
+
+/// Implements lossless conversion of a constant from a larger type into a smaller one.
+macro_rules! impl_const_into {
+    ($from:ty => { $($into:ty),* }) => {
+        $(
+        $crate::macros::paste! {
+            #[doc = ::core::concat!(
+                "Performs a build-time safe conversion of a [`",
+                ::core::stringify!($from),
+                "`] constant value into a [`",
+                ::core::stringify!($into),
+                "`].")]
+            ///
+            /// This checks at compile-time that the conversion is lossless, and triggers a build
+            /// error if it isn't.
+            ///
+            /// # Examples
+            ///
+            /// ```
+            /// use kernel::num::casts;
+            ///
+            /// // Succeeds because the value of the source fits into the destination's type.
+            #[doc = ::core::concat!(
+                "assert_eq!(casts::",
+                ::core::stringify!($from),
+                "_into_",
+                ::core::stringify!($into),
+                "::<1",
+                ::core::stringify!($from),
+                ">(), 1",
+                ::core::stringify!($into),
+                ");")]
+            /// ```
+            #[inline]
+            pub const fn [<$from _into_ $into>]<const N: $from>() -> $into {
+                // Make sure that the target type is smaller than the source one.
+                $crate::static_assert!($from::BITS >= $into::BITS);
+                // CAST: we statically enforced above that `$from` is larger than `$into`, so the
+                // `as` conversion will be lossless.
+                $crate::const_assert!(N >= $into::MIN as $from && N <= $into::MAX as $from);
+
+                N as $into
+            }
+        }
+        )*
+    };
+}
+
+impl_const_into!(usize => { u8, u16, u32 });
+impl_const_into!(u64 => { u8, u16, u32 });
+impl_const_into!(u32 => { u8, u16 });
+impl_const_into!(u16 => { u8 });
+
+/// Conversions that are only lossless for the current architecture.
+///
+/// # Portability
+///
+/// Callers of this module become dependent on the setting of `CONFIG_64BIT`. Use with caution, and
+/// never in code that is portable across pointer sizes.
+pub mod arch {
+    /// Trait identical to [`FromSafeCast`](super::FromSafeCast), but for conversions that are not
+    /// available on all architectures.
+    pub trait FromSafeCastArch<T> {
+        /// Create a `Self` from `value`. This operation is guaranteed to be lossless.
+        fn from_safe_cast_arch(value: T) -> Self;
+    }
+
+    /// Trait identical to [`IntoSafeCast`](super::IntoSafeCast), but for conversions that are not
+    /// available on all architectures.
+    pub trait IntoSafeCastArch<T> {
+        /// Convert `self` into a `T`. This operation is guaranteed to be lossless.
+        fn into_safe_cast_arch(self) -> T;
+    }
+
+    /// Reverse operation for types implementing [`FromSafeCastArch`].
+    impl<S, T> IntoSafeCastArch<T> for S
+    where
+        T: FromSafeCastArch<S>,
+    {
+        #[inline]
+        fn into_safe_cast_arch(self) -> T {
+            T::from_safe_cast_arch(self)
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// A `u64` fits into a `usize` on 64-bit platforms.
+    #[cfg(CONFIG_64BIT)]
+    #[inline]
+    pub const fn u64_as_usize(value: u64) -> usize {
+        value as usize
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(CONFIG_64BIT)]
+    impl FromSafeCastArch<u64> for usize {
+        #[inline]
+        fn from_safe_cast_arch(value: u64) -> Self {
+            u64_as_usize(value)
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// A `usize` fits into a `u32` on 32-bit platforms.
+    #[cfg(not(CONFIG_64BIT))]
+    #[inline]
+    pub const fn usize_as_u32(value: usize) -> u32 {
+        value as u32
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(not(CONFIG_64BIT))]
+    impl FromSafeCastArch<usize> for u32 {
+        #[inline]
+        fn from_safe_cast_arch(value: usize) -> Self {
+            usize_as_u32(value)
+        }
+    }
+}

-- 
2.55.0


  reply	other threads:[~2026-08-06  7:36 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 4+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2026-08-06  7:35 [PATCH v2 0/2] rust: add functions and traits for lossless integer conversions Alexandre Courbot
2026-08-06  7:35 ` Alexandre Courbot [this message]
2026-08-06  7:35 ` [PATCH v2 2/2] gpu: nova-core: use kernel lossless integer conversion module Alexandre Courbot
2026-08-06 21:10 ` [PATCH v2 0/2] rust: add functions and traits for lossless integer conversions Danilo Krummrich

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