From: Ondřej Surý <ondrej@isc.org>
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 2026 15:02:23 +0000 (+0200)
Subject: Add the struct-layout-analysis agent skill
X-Git-Url: http://git.ipfire.org/gitweb/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=e6f0ef56873c6b03107ebbc74367f1a397062e8b;p=thirdparty%2Fbind9.git

Add the struct-layout-analysis agent skill

Point agents at pahole on the developer build's DWARF instead of
compiling throwaway sizeof programs, and document the cacheline-padding
idiom (union arm with a plain ISC_OS_CACHELINE_SIZE multiplier plus a
STATIC_ASSERT) over the enumerated-sizeof formula, which silently
miscounts when members are added.
---

diff --git a/.agents/skills/struct-layout-analysis/SKILL.md b/.agents/skills/struct-layout-analysis/SKILL.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1008644a88a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.agents/skills/struct-layout-analysis/SKILL.md
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+---
+name: struct-layout-analysis
+description: Measure and fix C struct layout in BIND 9 — pahole on the build's DWARF for sizes, padding holes, and cacheline boundaries, plus the house cacheline-padding idiom. Use when asked about struct size, padding, false sharing, or when adding/reordering members in hot structures.
+---
+
+# Struct layout: measure with pahole, pad with a multiplier
+
+## Measuring — pahole, never throwaway sizeof programs
+
+The developer build (`-Og -ggdb`) already carries DWARF; read it
+instead of compiling sizeof/offsetof snippets:
+
+```sh
+pahole -C <struct_name> build/lib/dns/libdns*.so.p/<file>.c.o
+pahole --holes -C <struct_name> <object-or-binary>
+```
+
+pahole prints member offsets, padding holes, total size, and cacheline
+boundaries — complete layout information the compiler already computed,
+with no boilerplate to write. Any object file under `build/` or the
+final binary works as input.
+
+## Padding to cachelines — union arm with a plain multiplier
+
+Pad a struct to a whole number of cache lines with a union arm sized by
+a plain multiplier, always paired with a static assert:
+
+```c
+struct foo {
+	union {
+		struct {
+			/* members */
+		};
+		uint8_t __padding[ISC_OS_CACHELINE_SIZE * 6];
+	};
+};
+STATIC_ASSERT(sizeof(struct foo) % ISC_OS_CACHELINE_SIZE == 0,
+	      "struct foo size must be a multiple of the cacheline size");
+```
+
+Pick the smallest `n` that fits; when members outgrow the arm to a
+non-multiple size, the STATIC_ASSERT fires and prompts a bump of `n`.
+
+Do NOT use the enumerated-sizeof trailing formula
+`uint8_t __padding[CACHELINE - (sizeof(a) + sizeof(b) + ...) % CACHELINE]`
+(the historical qpzone style): it must enumerate every member's sizeof,
+so adding a member silently miscounts unless the formula is updated in
+lockstep. The multiplier form has no such coupling and is easier to
+read.