D125 - Pointer-returning stubs answer null

Status: decided Date: 2026-08-20

The knowledge file records what each function returns - status, pointer, handle or count - and an unimplemented function returning a pointer, handle or count answers zero rather than an error code.

Why: a guest dereferences what a pointer-returning call hands back, so an error code becomes a wild pointer that faults somewhere unrelated. Null is what real allocators and resolvers return on failure, guests already check for it, and a null dereference faults at a recognisable address.

Rejected:

• An error code for every unimplemented function: right for status, dangerous for pointers.