[llvm-dev] getelementptr inbounds with offset 0

[Ralf Jung via llvm-dev]

Hi all,

What exactly are the rules for `getelementptr inbounds` with offset 0?

In Rust, we are relying on the fact that if we use, for example, `inttoptr` to
turn `4` into a pointer, we can then do `getelementptr inbounds` with offset 0
on that without LLVM deducing that there actually is any dereferencable memory
at location 4.  The argument is that we can think of there being a zero-sized
allocation. Is that a reasonable assumption?  Can something like this be
documented in the LangRef?

Relatedly, how does the situation change if the pointer is not created "out of
thin air" from a fixed integer, but is actually a dangling pointer obtained
previously from `malloc` (or `alloca` or whatever)?  Is getelementptr inbounds`
with offset 0 on such a pointer a NOP, or does it result in `poison`?  And if
that makes a difference, how does that square with the fact that, e.g., the
integer `0x4000` could well be inside such an allocation, but doing
`getelementptr inbounds` with offset 0 on that would fall under the first
question above?

Kind regards,
Ralf