• Jim Cromie's avatar
    checkpatch: special case extern struct in .c · 5b2c7334
    Jim Cromie authored
    "externs should be avoided in .c files" needs an exception for linker
    symbols, like those that mark the start, stop of many kernel sections.
    
    Since checkpatch already checks REALNAME to avoid looking at fragments
    changing vmlinux.lds.h, add a new else-if block to look at them
    instead.  As a simple heuristic, treat all words (in the patch-line)
    as possible symbols, to screen later warnings.
    
    For my test case, the possible-symbols included BOUNDED_BY (a macro),
    which is extra, but not troublesome - these are just to screen
    WARNINGS that might be issued on later fragments (changing .c files)
    
    Where the WARN is issued, precede it with an else-if block to catch
    one common extern-in-c use case: "extern struct foo bar[]".  Here we
    can at least issue a softer warning, after checking for a match with a
    maybe-linker-symbol parsed earlier from the patch.
    
    Though heuristic, it worked for my test-case, allowing both start__,
    stop__ $symbol's (wo the prefixes specifically named).  I've coded it
    narrowly, it can be expanded later to cover any other expressions.
    
    It does require that the externs in .c's have the additions to
    vmlinux.lds.h in the same patch.  And requires vmlinux.lds.h before .c
    fragments.
    
    Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20230808033019.21911-2-jim.cromie@gmail.comSigned-off-by: default avatarJim Cromie <jim.cromie@gmail.com>
    Cc: Joe Perches <joe@perches.com>
    Signed-off-by: default avatarAndrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
    5b2c7334
checkpatch.pl 232 KB