rename deref_operand → deref_pointer and some Miri helper functions

25 files changed, 84 insertions, 85 deletions

diff --git a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/const_eval/machine.rs b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/const_eval/machine.rs
index 6630eeca27e..032f4be6c99 100644
--- a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/const_eval/machine.rs
+++ b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/const_eval/machine.rs
@@ -214,9 +214,9 @@ impl<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir> CompileTimeEvalContext<'mir, 'tcx> {
             // &str or &&str
             assert!(args.len() == 1);
 
-            let mut msg_place = self.deref_operand(&args[0])?;
+            let mut msg_place = self.deref_pointer(&args[0])?;
             while msg_place.layout.ty.is_ref() {
-                msg_place = self.deref_operand(&msg_place)?;
+                msg_place = self.deref_pointer(&msg_place)?;
             }
 
             let msg = Symbol::intern(self.read_str(&msg_place)?);
diff --git a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/const_eval/valtrees.rs b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/const_eval/valtrees.rs
index 7c1dbddfc26..f785bcfed6c 100644
--- a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/const_eval/valtrees.rs
+++ b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/const_eval/valtrees.rs
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ pub(crate) fn const_to_valtree_inner<'tcx>(
         ty::FnPtr(_) | ty::RawPtr(_) => Err(ValTreeCreationError::NonSupportedType),
 
         ty::Ref(_, _, _)  => {
-            let Ok(derefd_place)= ecx.deref_operand(place) else {
+            let Ok(derefd_place)= ecx.deref_pointer(place) else {
                 return Err(ValTreeCreationError::Other);
             };
             debug!(?derefd_place);
diff --git a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/intrinsics.rs b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/intrinsics.rs
index be7c14f33c2..29f3e6c724b 100644
--- a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/intrinsics.rs
+++ b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/intrinsics.rs
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ impl<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir, M: Machine<'mir, 'tcx>> InterpCx<'mir, 'tcx, M> {
             }
 
             sym::min_align_of_val | sym::size_of_val => {
-                // Avoid `deref_operand` -- this is not a deref, the ptr does not have to be
+                // Avoid `deref_pointer` -- this is not a deref, the ptr does not have to be
                 // dereferenceable!
                 let place = self.ref_to_mplace(&self.read_immediate(&args[0])?)?;
                 let (size, align) = self
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ impl<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir, M: Machine<'mir, 'tcx>> InterpCx<'mir, 'tcx, M> {
                 self.write_scalar(val, dest)?;
             }
             sym::discriminant_value => {
-                let place = self.deref_operand(&args[0])?;
+                let place = self.deref_pointer(&args[0])?;
                 let variant = self.read_discriminant(&place)?;
                 let discr = self.discriminant_for_variant(place.layout, variant)?;
                 self.write_scalar(discr, dest)?;
diff --git a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/place.rs b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/place.rs
index 96a960118ce..5f4f5434b18 100644
--- a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/place.rs
+++ b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/place.rs
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@ where
     ///
     /// Only call this if you are sure the place is "valid" (aligned and inbounds), or do not
     /// want to ever use the place for memory access!
-    /// Generally prefer `deref_operand`.
+    /// Generally prefer `deref_pointer`.
     pub fn ref_to_mplace(
         &self,
         val: &ImmTy<'tcx, M::Provenance>,
@@ -439,8 +439,9 @@ where
     }
 
     /// Take an operand, representing a pointer, and dereference it to a place.
+    /// Corresponds to the `*` operator in Rust.
     #[instrument(skip(self), level = "debug")]
-    pub fn deref_operand(
+    pub fn deref_pointer(
         &self,
         src: &impl Readable<'tcx, M::Provenance>,
     ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, MPlaceTy<'tcx, M::Provenance>> {
diff --git a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/projection.rs b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/projection.rs
index bce43aedb69..539b58b7e9b 100644
--- a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/projection.rs
+++ b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/projection.rs
@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@ where
             OpaqueCast(ty) => base.transmute(self.layout_of(ty)?, self)?,
             Field(field, _) => self.project_field(base, field.index())?,
             Downcast(_, variant) => self.project_downcast(base, variant)?,
-            Deref => self.deref_operand(&base.to_op(self)?)?.into(),
+            Deref => self.deref_pointer(&base.to_op(self)?)?.into(),
             Index(local) => {
                 let layout = self.layout_of(self.tcx.types.usize)?;
                 let n = self.local_to_op(self.frame(), local, Some(layout))?;
diff --git a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/terminator.rs b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/terminator.rs
index d0191ea978a..bf33c5cca10 100644
--- a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/terminator.rs
+++ b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/terminator.rs
@@ -661,7 +661,7 @@ impl<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir, M: Machine<'mir, 'tcx>> InterpCx<'mir, 'tcx, M> {
                 let receiver_place = loop {
                     match receiver.layout.ty.kind() {
                         ty::Ref(..) | ty::RawPtr(..) => {
-                            // We do *not* use `deref_operand` here: we don't want to conceptually
+                            // We do *not* use `deref_pointer` here: we don't want to conceptually
                             // create a place that must be dereferenceable, since the receiver might
                             // be a raw pointer and (for `*const dyn Trait`) we don't need to
                             // actually access memory to resolve this method.
diff --git a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/validity.rs b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/validity.rs
index aee95f70bc2..ff22d3d2d5a 100644
--- a/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/validity.rs
+++ b/compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/interpret/validity.rs
@@ -345,6 +345,7 @@ impl<'rt, 'mir, 'tcx: 'mir, M: Machine<'mir, 'tcx>> ValidityVisitor<'rt, 'mir, '
         value: &OpTy<'tcx, M::Provenance>,
         ptr_kind: PointerKind,
     ) -> InterpResult<'tcx> {
+        // Not using `deref_pointer` since we do the dereferenceable check ourselves below.
         let place = self.ecx.ref_to_mplace(&self.read_immediate(value, ptr_kind.into())?)?;
         // Handle wide pointers.
         // Check metadata early, for better diagnostics
@@ -515,9 +516,6 @@ impl<'rt, 'mir, 'tcx: 'mir, M: Machine<'mir, 'tcx>> ValidityVisitor<'rt, 'mir, '
                 Ok(true)
             }
             ty::RawPtr(..) => {
-                // We are conservative with uninit for integers, but try to
-                // actually enforce the strict rules for raw pointers (mostly because
-                // that lets us re-use `ref_to_mplace`).
                 let place =
                     self.ecx.ref_to_mplace(&self.read_immediate(value, ExpectedKind::RawPtr)?)?;
                 if place.layout.is_unsized() {
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/concurrency/sync.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/concurrency/sync.rs
index ec70b7042df..62f6d57ef36 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/concurrency/sync.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/concurrency/sync.rs
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ pub(super) trait EvalContextExtPriv<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>:
     ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, Option<Id>> {
         let this = self.eval_context_mut();
         let value_place =
-            this.deref_operand_and_offset(lock_op, offset, lock_layout, this.machine.layouts.u32)?;
+            this.deref_pointer_and_offset(lock_op, offset, lock_layout, this.machine.layouts.u32)?;
 
         // Since we are lazy, this update has to be atomic.
         let (old, success) = this
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/helpers.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/helpers.rs
index d41bcc978b0..f9a8bad3a4f 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/helpers.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/helpers.rs
@@ -715,9 +715,9 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
     }
 
     /// Dereference a pointer operand to a place using `layout` instead of the pointer's declared type
-    fn deref_operand_as(
+    fn deref_pointer_as(
         &self,
-        op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
+        op: &impl Readable<'tcx, Provenance>,
         layout: TyAndLayout<'tcx>,
     ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, MPlaceTy<'tcx, Provenance>> {
         let this = self.eval_context_ref();
@@ -746,15 +746,15 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
     }
 
     /// Calculates the MPlaceTy given the offset and layout of an access on an operand
-    fn deref_operand_and_offset(
+    fn deref_pointer_and_offset(
         &self,
-        op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
+        op: &impl Readable<'tcx, Provenance>,
         offset: u64,
         base_layout: TyAndLayout<'tcx>,
         value_layout: TyAndLayout<'tcx>,
     ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, MPlaceTy<'tcx, Provenance>> {
         let this = self.eval_context_ref();
-        let op_place = this.deref_operand_as(op, base_layout)?;
+        let op_place = this.deref_pointer_as(op, base_layout)?;
         let offset = Size::from_bytes(offset);
 
         // Ensure that the access is within bounds.
@@ -763,28 +763,28 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         Ok(value_place)
     }
 
-    fn read_scalar_at_offset(
+    fn deref_pointer_and_read(
         &self,
-        op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
+        op: &impl Readable<'tcx, Provenance>,
         offset: u64,
         base_layout: TyAndLayout<'tcx>,
         value_layout: TyAndLayout<'tcx>,
     ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, Scalar<Provenance>> {
         let this = self.eval_context_ref();
-        let value_place = this.deref_operand_and_offset(op, offset, base_layout, value_layout)?;
+        let value_place = this.deref_pointer_and_offset(op, offset, base_layout, value_layout)?;
         this.read_scalar(&value_place)
     }
 
-    fn write_scalar_at_offset(
+    fn deref_pointer_and_write(
         &mut self,
-        op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
+        op: &impl Readable<'tcx, Provenance>,
         offset: u64,
         value: impl Into<Scalar<Provenance>>,
         base_layout: TyAndLayout<'tcx>,
         value_layout: TyAndLayout<'tcx>,
     ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, ()> {
         let this = self.eval_context_mut();
-        let value_place = this.deref_operand_and_offset(op, offset, base_layout, value_layout)?;
+        let value_place = this.deref_pointer_and_offset(op, offset, base_layout, value_layout)?;
         this.write_scalar(value, &value_place)
     }
 
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/backtrace.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/backtrace.rs
index 9f4bb37a469..a3297bf819f 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/backtrace.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/backtrace.rs
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
             1 => {
                 let [_flags, buf] = this.check_shim(abi, Abi::Rust, link_name, args)?;
 
-                let buf_place = this.deref_operand(buf)?;
+                let buf_place = this.deref_pointer(buf)?;
 
                 let ptr_layout = this.layout_of(ptr_ty)?;
 
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/foreign_items.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/foreign_items.rs
index 763fa9235d0..167d1fd4518 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/foreign_items.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/foreign_items.rs
@@ -418,9 +418,9 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         //     // First thing: load all the arguments. Details depend on the shim.
         //     let arg1 = this.read_scalar(arg1)?.to_u32()?;
         //     let arg2 = this.read_pointer(arg2)?; // when you need to work with the pointer directly
-        //     let arg3 = this.deref_operand_as(arg3, this.libc_ty_layout("some_libc_struct"))?; // when you want to load/store
+        //     let arg3 = this.deref_pointer_as(arg3, this.libc_ty_layout("some_libc_struct"))?; // when you want to load/store
         //         // through the pointer and supply the type information yourself
-        //     let arg4 = this.deref_operand(arg4)?; // when you want to load/store through the pointer and trust
+        //     let arg4 = this.deref_pointer(arg4)?; // when you want to load/store through the pointer and trust
         //         // the user-given type (which you shouldn't usually do)
         //
         //     // ...
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/intrinsics/atomic.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/intrinsics/atomic.rs
index 50f69bdca36..e38b677f485 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/intrinsics/atomic.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/intrinsics/atomic.rs
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ trait EvalContextPrivExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         let this = self.eval_context_mut();
 
         let [place] = check_arg_count(args)?;
-        let place = this.deref_operand(place)?;
+        let place = this.deref_pointer(place)?;
 
         // Perform atomic load.
         let val = this.read_scalar_atomic(&place, atomic)?;
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ trait EvalContextPrivExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         let this = self.eval_context_mut();
 
         let [place, val] = check_arg_count(args)?;
-        let place = this.deref_operand(place)?;
+        let place = this.deref_pointer(place)?;
 
         // Perform regular load.
         let val = this.read_scalar(val)?;
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ trait EvalContextPrivExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         let this = self.eval_context_mut();
 
         let [place, rhs] = check_arg_count(args)?;
-        let place = this.deref_operand(place)?;
+        let place = this.deref_pointer(place)?;
         let rhs = this.read_immediate(rhs)?;
 
         if !place.layout.ty.is_integral() && !place.layout.ty.is_unsafe_ptr() {
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ trait EvalContextPrivExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         let this = self.eval_context_mut();
 
         let [place, new] = check_arg_count(args)?;
-        let place = this.deref_operand(place)?;
+        let place = this.deref_pointer(place)?;
         let new = this.read_scalar(new)?;
 
         let old = this.atomic_exchange_scalar(&place, new, atomic)?;
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ trait EvalContextPrivExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         let this = self.eval_context_mut();
 
         let [place, expect_old, new] = check_arg_count(args)?;
-        let place = this.deref_operand(place)?;
+        let place = this.deref_pointer(place)?;
         let expect_old = this.read_immediate(expect_old)?; // read as immediate for the sake of `binary_op()`
         let new = this.read_scalar(new)?;
 
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/intrinsics/mod.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/intrinsics/mod.rs
index 26f0a660657..c900ced19cd 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/intrinsics/mod.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/intrinsics/mod.rs
@@ -96,12 +96,12 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
             // Raw memory accesses
             "volatile_load" => {
                 let [place] = check_arg_count(args)?;
-                let place = this.deref_operand(place)?;
+                let place = this.deref_pointer(place)?;
                 this.copy_op(&place, dest, /*allow_transmute*/ false)?;
             }
             "volatile_store" => {
                 let [place, dest] = check_arg_count(args)?;
-                let place = this.deref_operand(place)?;
+                let place = this.deref_pointer(place)?;
                 this.copy_op(dest, &place, /*allow_transmute*/ false)?;
             }
 
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/intrinsics/simd.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/intrinsics/simd.rs
index 103feae4ae7..b6225713cd0 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/intrinsics/simd.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/intrinsics/simd.rs
@@ -534,7 +534,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
                     let dest = this.project_index(&dest, i)?;
 
                     let val = if simd_element_to_bool(mask)? {
-                        let place = this.deref_operand(&ptr)?;
+                        let place = this.deref_pointer(&ptr)?;
                         this.read_immediate(&place)?
                     } else {
                         passthru
@@ -557,7 +557,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
                     let mask = this.read_immediate(&this.project_index(&mask, i)?)?;
 
                     if simd_element_to_bool(mask)? {
-                        let place = this.deref_operand(&ptr)?;
+                        let place = this.deref_pointer(&ptr)?;
                         this.write_immediate(*value, &place)?;
                     }
                 }
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/time.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/time.rs
index 935447fd89d..d6d0483f5e3 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/time.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/time.rs
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         this.assert_target_os_is_unix("clock_gettime");
 
         let clk_id = this.read_scalar(clk_id_op)?.to_i32()?;
-        let tp = this.deref_operand_as(tp_op, this.libc_ty_layout("timespec"))?;
+        let tp = this.deref_pointer_as(tp_op, this.libc_ty_layout("timespec"))?;
 
         let absolute_clocks;
         let mut relative_clocks;
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         this.assert_target_os_is_unix("gettimeofday");
         this.check_no_isolation("`gettimeofday`")?;
 
-        let tv = this.deref_operand_as(tv_op, this.libc_ty_layout("timeval"))?;
+        let tv = this.deref_pointer_as(tv_op, this.libc_ty_layout("timeval"))?;
 
         // Using tz is obsolete and should always be null
         let tz = this.read_pointer(tz_op)?;
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         this.assert_target_os("windows", "GetSystemTimeAsFileTime");
         this.check_no_isolation("`GetSystemTimeAsFileTime`")?;
 
-        let filetime = this.deref_operand_as(LPFILETIME_op, this.windows_ty_layout("FILETIME"))?;
+        let filetime = this.deref_pointer_as(LPFILETIME_op, this.windows_ty_layout("FILETIME"))?;
 
         let NANOS_PER_SEC = this.eval_windows_u64("time", "NANOS_PER_SEC");
         let INTERVALS_PER_SEC = this.eval_windows_u64("time", "INTERVALS_PER_SEC");
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         let qpc = i64::try_from(duration.as_nanos()).map_err(|_| {
             err_unsup_format!("programs running longer than 2^63 nanoseconds are not supported")
         })?;
-        this.write_scalar(Scalar::from_i64(qpc), &this.deref_operand(lpPerformanceCount_op)?)?;
+        this.write_scalar(Scalar::from_i64(qpc), &this.deref_pointer(lpPerformanceCount_op)?)?;
         Ok(Scalar::from_i32(-1)) // return non-zero on success
     }
 
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         // and thus 10^9 counts per second.
         this.write_scalar(
             Scalar::from_i64(1_000_000_000),
-            &this.deref_operand_as(lpFrequency_op, this.machine.layouts.u64)?,
+            &this.deref_pointer_as(lpFrequency_op, this.machine.layouts.u64)?,
         )?;
         Ok(Scalar::from_i32(-1)) // Return non-zero on success
     }
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
 
         this.assert_target_os("macos", "mach_timebase_info");
 
-        let info = this.deref_operand_as(info_op, this.libc_ty_layout("mach_timebase_info"))?;
+        let info = this.deref_pointer_as(info_op, this.libc_ty_layout("mach_timebase_info"))?;
 
         // Since our emulated ticks in `mach_absolute_time` *are* nanoseconds,
         // no scaling needs to happen.
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
 
         this.assert_target_os_is_unix("nanosleep");
 
-        let req = this.deref_operand_as(req_op, this.libc_ty_layout("timespec"))?;
+        let req = this.deref_pointer_as(req_op, this.libc_ty_layout("timespec"))?;
 
         let duration = match this.read_timespec(&req)? {
             Some(duration) => duration,
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/foreign_items.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/foreign_items.rs
index 5f3c15c5874..3a480190535 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/foreign_items.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/foreign_items.rs
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
             // Allocation
             "posix_memalign" => {
                 let [ret, align, size] = this.check_shim(abi, Abi::C { unwind: false }, link_name, args)?;
-                let ret = this.deref_operand(ret)?;
+                let ret = this.deref_pointer(ret)?;
                 let align = this.read_target_usize(align)?;
                 let size = this.read_target_usize(size)?;
                 // Align must be power of 2, and also at least ptr-sized (POSIX rules).
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
             // Thread-local storage
             "pthread_key_create" => {
                 let [key, dtor] = this.check_shim(abi, Abi::C { unwind: false }, link_name, args)?;
-                let key_place = this.deref_operand_as(key, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_key_t"))?;
+                let key_place = this.deref_pointer_as(key, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_key_t"))?;
                 let dtor = this.read_pointer(dtor)?;
 
                 // Extract the function type out of the signature (that seems easier than constructing it ourselves).
@@ -506,7 +506,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
             "pthread_attr_getguardsize"
             if this.frame_in_std() => {
                 let [_attr, guard_size] = this.check_shim(abi, Abi::C { unwind: false }, link_name, args)?;
-                let guard_size = this.deref_operand(guard_size)?;
+                let guard_size = this.deref_pointer(guard_size)?;
                 let guard_size_layout = this.libc_ty_layout("size_t");
                 this.write_scalar(Scalar::from_uint(this.machine.page_size, guard_size_layout.size), &guard_size)?;
 
@@ -532,9 +532,9 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
                 // Hence we can mostly ignore the input `attr_place`.
                 let [attr_place, addr_place, size_place] =
                     this.check_shim(abi, Abi::C { unwind: false }, link_name, args)?;
-                let _attr_place = this.deref_operand_as(attr_place, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_attr_t"))?;
-                let addr_place = this.deref_operand(addr_place)?;
-                let size_place = this.deref_operand(size_place)?;
+                let _attr_place = this.deref_pointer_as(attr_place, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_attr_t"))?;
+                let addr_place = this.deref_pointer(addr_place)?;
+                let size_place = this.deref_pointer(size_place)?;
 
                 this.write_scalar(
                     Scalar::from_uint(this.machine.stack_addr, this.pointer_size()),
@@ -575,10 +575,10 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
                 this.check_no_isolation("`getpwuid_r`")?;
 
                 let uid = this.read_scalar(uid)?.to_u32()?;
-                let pwd = this.deref_operand_as(pwd, this.libc_ty_layout("passwd"))?;
+                let pwd = this.deref_pointer_as(pwd, this.libc_ty_layout("passwd"))?;
                 let buf = this.read_pointer(buf)?;
                 let buflen = this.read_target_usize(buflen)?;
-                let result = this.deref_operand(result)?;
+                let result = this.deref_pointer(result)?;
 
                 // Must be for "us".
                 if uid != crate::shims::unix::UID {
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/fs.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/fs.rs
index fe5b01e7610..09349bfdead 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/fs.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/fs.rs
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ trait EvalContextExtPrivate<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx
         let (created_sec, created_nsec) = metadata.created.unwrap_or((0, 0));
         let (modified_sec, modified_nsec) = metadata.modified.unwrap_or((0, 0));
 
-        let buf = this.deref_operand_as(buf_op, this.libc_ty_layout("stat"))?;
+        let buf = this.deref_pointer_as(buf_op, this.libc_ty_layout("stat"))?;
 
         this.write_int_fields_named(
             &[
@@ -1014,7 +1014,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
             return Ok(-1);
         }
 
-        let statxbuf = this.deref_operand_as(statxbuf_op, this.libc_ty_layout("statx"))?;
+        let statxbuf = this.deref_pointer_as(statxbuf_op, this.libc_ty_layout("statx"))?;
 
         let path = this.read_path_from_c_str(pathname_ptr)?.into_owned();
         // See <https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/pull/79196> for a discussion of argument sizes.
@@ -1420,7 +1420,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
                 //     pub d_name: [c_char; 1024],
                 // }
 
-                let entry_place = this.deref_operand_as(entry_op, this.libc_ty_layout("dirent"))?;
+                let entry_place = this.deref_pointer_as(entry_op, this.libc_ty_layout("dirent"))?;
                 let name_place = this.project_field(&entry_place, 5)?;
 
                 let file_name = dir_entry.file_name(); // not a Path as there are no separators!
@@ -1456,14 +1456,14 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
                     &entry_place,
                 )?;
 
-                let result_place = this.deref_operand(result_op)?;
+                let result_place = this.deref_pointer(result_op)?;
                 this.write_scalar(this.read_scalar(entry_op)?, &result_place)?;
 
                 0
             }
             None => {
                 // end of stream: return 0, assign *result=NULL
-                this.write_null(&this.deref_operand(result_op)?)?;
+                this.write_null(&this.deref_pointer(result_op)?)?;
                 0
             }
             Some(Err(e)) =>
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/linux/fd.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/linux/fd.rs
index 92966319f19..f2be89ce637 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/linux/fd.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/linux/fd.rs
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         let epoll_ctl_del = this.eval_libc_i32("EPOLL_CTL_DEL");
 
         if op == epoll_ctl_add || op == epoll_ctl_mod {
-            let event = this.deref_operand_as(event, this.libc_ty_layout("epoll_event"))?;
+            let event = this.deref_pointer_as(event, this.libc_ty_layout("epoll_event"))?;
 
             let events = this.project_field(&event, 0)?;
             let events = this.read_scalar(&events)?.to_u32()?;
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         let _domain = this.read_scalar(domain)?.to_i32()?;
         let _type_ = this.read_scalar(type_)?.to_i32()?;
         let _protocol = this.read_scalar(protocol)?.to_i32()?;
-        let sv = this.deref_operand(sv)?;
+        let sv = this.deref_pointer(sv)?;
 
         let fh = &mut this.machine.file_handler;
         let sv0 = fh.insert_fd(Box::new(SocketPair));
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/linux/foreign_items.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/linux/foreign_items.rs
index a97cc49d88e..1bd751c5981 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/linux/foreign_items.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/linux/foreign_items.rs
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
                     this.check_shim(abi, Abi::C { unwind: false }, link_name, args)?;
                 this.read_scalar(pid)?.to_i32()?;
                 this.read_target_usize(cpusetsize)?;
-                this.deref_operand_as(mask, this.libc_ty_layout("cpu_set_t"))?;
+                this.deref_pointer_as(mask, this.libc_ty_layout("cpu_set_t"))?;
                 // FIXME: we just return an error; `num_cpus` then falls back to `sysconf`.
                 let einval = this.eval_libc("EINVAL");
                 this.set_last_error(einval)?;
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/macos/foreign_items.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/macos/foreign_items.rs
index 5141b29b683..f073daab8ed 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/macos/foreign_items.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/macos/foreign_items.rs
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
                 this.check_no_isolation("`_NSGetExecutablePath`")?;
 
                 let buf_ptr = this.read_pointer(buf)?;
-                let bufsize = this.deref_operand(bufsize)?;
+                let bufsize = this.deref_pointer(bufsize)?;
 
                 // Using the host current_exe is a bit off, but consistent with Linux
                 // (where stdlib reads /proc/self/exe).
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/sync.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/sync.rs
index 0aeb8ae95a7..6666ffbd1d5 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/sync.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/sync.rs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ fn mutexattr_get_kind<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>(
     ecx: &MiriInterpCx<'mir, 'tcx>,
     attr_op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
 ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, i32> {
-    ecx.read_scalar_at_offset(
+    ecx.deref_pointer_and_read(
         attr_op,
         0,
         ecx.libc_ty_layout("pthread_mutexattr_t"),
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ fn mutexattr_set_kind<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>(
     attr_op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
     kind: i32,
 ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, ()> {
-    ecx.write_scalar_at_offset(
+    ecx.deref_pointer_and_write(
         attr_op,
         0,
         Scalar::from_i32(kind),
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ fn mutex_reset_id<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>(
     ecx: &mut MiriInterpCx<'mir, 'tcx>,
     mutex_op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
 ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, ()> {
-    ecx.write_scalar_at_offset(
+    ecx.deref_pointer_and_write(
         mutex_op,
         4,
         Scalar::from_i32(0),
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ fn mutex_get_kind<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>(
     mutex_op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
 ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, i32> {
     let offset = if ecx.pointer_size().bytes() == 8 { 16 } else { 12 };
-    ecx.read_scalar_at_offset(
+    ecx.deref_pointer_and_read(
         mutex_op,
         offset,
         ecx.libc_ty_layout("pthread_mutex_t"),
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ fn mutex_set_kind<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>(
     kind: i32,
 ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, ()> {
     let offset = if ecx.pointer_size().bytes() == 8 { 16 } else { 12 };
-    ecx.write_scalar_at_offset(
+    ecx.deref_pointer_and_write(
         mutex_op,
         offset,
         Scalar::from_i32(kind),
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ fn condattr_get_clock_id<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>(
     ecx: &MiriInterpCx<'mir, 'tcx>,
     attr_op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
 ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, i32> {
-    ecx.read_scalar_at_offset(
+    ecx.deref_pointer_and_read(
         attr_op,
         0,
         ecx.libc_ty_layout("pthread_condattr_t"),
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ fn condattr_set_clock_id<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>(
     attr_op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
     clock_id: i32,
 ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, ()> {
-    ecx.write_scalar_at_offset(
+    ecx.deref_pointer_and_write(
         attr_op,
         0,
         Scalar::from_i32(clock_id),
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ fn cond_reset_id<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>(
     ecx: &mut MiriInterpCx<'mir, 'tcx>,
     cond_op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
 ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, ()> {
-    ecx.write_scalar_at_offset(
+    ecx.deref_pointer_and_write(
         cond_op,
         4,
         Scalar::from_i32(0),
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ fn cond_get_clock_id<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>(
     ecx: &MiriInterpCx<'mir, 'tcx>,
     cond_op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
 ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, i32> {
-    ecx.read_scalar_at_offset(
+    ecx.deref_pointer_and_read(
         cond_op,
         8,
         ecx.libc_ty_layout("pthread_cond_t"),
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ fn cond_set_clock_id<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>(
     cond_op: &OpTy<'tcx, Provenance>,
     clock_id: i32,
 ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, ()> {
-    ecx.write_scalar_at_offset(
+    ecx.deref_pointer_and_write(
         cond_op,
         8,
         Scalar::from_i32(clock_id),
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         // This can always be revisited to have some external state to catch double-destroys
         // but not complain about the above code. See https://github.com/rust-lang/miri/pull/1933
         this.write_uninit(
-            &this.deref_operand_as(attr_op, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_mutexattr_t"))?,
+            &this.deref_pointer_as(attr_op, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_mutexattr_t"))?,
         )?;
 
         Ok(0)
@@ -500,7 +500,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
 
         // This might lead to false positives, see comment in pthread_mutexattr_destroy
         this.write_uninit(
-            &this.deref_operand_as(mutex_op, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_mutex_t"))?,
+            &this.deref_pointer_as(mutex_op, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_mutex_t"))?,
         )?;
         // FIXME: delete interpreter state associated with this mutex.
 
@@ -625,7 +625,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
 
         // This might lead to false positives, see comment in pthread_mutexattr_destroy
         this.write_uninit(
-            &this.deref_operand_as(rwlock_op, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_rwlock_t"))?,
+            &this.deref_pointer_as(rwlock_op, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_rwlock_t"))?,
         )?;
         // FIXME: delete interpreter state associated with this rwlock.
 
@@ -675,7 +675,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         let this = self.eval_context_mut();
 
         let clock_id = condattr_get_clock_id(this, attr_op)?;
-        this.write_scalar(Scalar::from_i32(clock_id), &this.deref_operand(clk_id_op)?)?;
+        this.write_scalar(Scalar::from_i32(clock_id), &this.deref_pointer(clk_id_op)?)?;
 
         Ok(Scalar::from_i32(0))
     }
@@ -691,7 +691,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
 
         // This might lead to false positives, see comment in pthread_mutexattr_destroy
         this.write_uninit(
-            &this.deref_operand_as(attr_op, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_condattr_t"))?,
+            &this.deref_pointer_as(attr_op, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_condattr_t"))?,
         )?;
 
         Ok(0)
@@ -784,7 +784,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         // Extract the timeout.
         let clock_id = cond_get_clock_id(this, cond_op)?;
         let duration = match this
-            .read_timespec(&this.deref_operand_as(abstime_op, this.libc_ty_layout("timespec"))?)?
+            .read_timespec(&this.deref_pointer_as(abstime_op, this.libc_ty_layout("timespec"))?)?
         {
             Some(duration) => duration,
             None => {
@@ -867,7 +867,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         cond_get_clock_id(this, cond_op)?;
 
         // This might lead to false positives, see comment in pthread_mutexattr_destroy
-        this.write_uninit(&this.deref_operand_as(cond_op, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_cond_t"))?)?;
+        this.write_uninit(&this.deref_pointer_as(cond_op, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_cond_t"))?)?;
         // FIXME: delete interpreter state associated with this condvar.
 
         Ok(0)
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/thread.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/thread.rs
index 30ed110ca83..259689348ad 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/thread.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/unix/thread.rs
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
     ) -> InterpResult<'tcx, i32> {
         let this = self.eval_context_mut();
 
-        let thread_info_place = this.deref_operand_as(thread, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_t"))?;
+        let thread_info_place = this.deref_pointer_as(thread, this.libc_ty_layout("pthread_t"))?;
 
         let start_routine = this.read_pointer(start_routine)?;
 
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/windows/foreign_items.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/windows/foreign_items.rs
index 2f95cfb8bab..cb90ed57ffe 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/windows/foreign_items.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/windows/foreign_items.rs
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
                 let n = this.read_scalar(n)?.to_u32()?;
                 let byte_offset = this.read_target_usize(byte_offset)?; // is actually a pointer
                 let io_status_block = this
-                    .deref_operand_as(io_status_block, this.windows_ty_layout("IO_STATUS_BLOCK"))?;
+                    .deref_pointer_as(io_status_block, this.windows_ty_layout("IO_STATUS_BLOCK"))?;
 
                 if byte_offset != 0 {
                     throw_unsup_format!(
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
                 let [system_info] =
                     this.check_shim(abi, Abi::System { unwind: false }, link_name, args)?;
                 let system_info =
-                    this.deref_operand_as(system_info, this.windows_ty_layout("SYSTEM_INFO"))?;
+                    this.deref_pointer_as(system_info, this.windows_ty_layout("SYSTEM_INFO"))?;
                 // Initialize with `0`.
                 this.write_bytes_ptr(
                     system_info.ptr,
@@ -391,8 +391,8 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
                 let [console, buffer_info] =
                     this.check_shim(abi, Abi::System { unwind: false }, link_name, args)?;
                 this.read_target_isize(console)?;
-                // FIXME: this should use deref_operand_as, but CONSOLE_SCREEN_BUFFER_INFO is not in std
-                this.deref_operand(buffer_info)?;
+                // FIXME: this should use deref_pointer_as, but CONSOLE_SCREEN_BUFFER_INFO is not in std
+                this.deref_pointer(buffer_info)?;
                 // Indicate an error.
                 // FIXME: we should set last_error, but to what?
                 this.write_null(dest)?;
@@ -508,7 +508,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
                 let [console, mode] =
                     this.check_shim(abi, Abi::System { unwind: false }, link_name, args)?;
                 this.read_target_isize(console)?;
-                this.deref_operand(mode)?;
+                this.deref_pointer(mode)?;
                 // Indicate an error.
                 this.write_null(dest)?;
             }
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/windows/sync.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/windows/sync.rs
index 5d5cf73797f..c8c8173aa51 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/windows/sync.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/windows/sync.rs
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
 
         let id = this.init_once_get_id(init_once_op)?;
         let flags = this.read_scalar(flags_op)?.to_u32()?;
-        let pending_place = this.deref_operand(pending_op)?.into();
+        let pending_place = this.deref_pointer(pending_op)?.into();
         let context = this.read_pointer(context_op)?;
 
         if flags != 0 {
diff --git a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/windows/thread.rs b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/windows/thread.rs
index 9cbae158859..3953a881a72 100644
--- a/src/tools/miri/src/shims/windows/thread.rs
+++ b/src/tools/miri/src/shims/windows/thread.rs
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ pub trait EvalContextExt<'mir, 'tcx: 'mir>: crate::MiriInterpCxExt<'mir, 'tcx> {
         let thread = if this.ptr_is_null(this.read_pointer(thread_op)?)? {
             None
         } else {
-            let thread_info_place = this.deref_operand(thread_op)?;
+            let thread_info_place = this.deref_pointer(thread_op)?;
             Some(thread_info_place)
         };