linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] Deprecate checkpatch.pl --file

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Message-ID: <20080108211411.GQ27800@mit.edu>
Date:	Tue, 8 Jan 2008 16:14:11 -0500
From:	Theodore Tso <tytso@....edu>
To:	Daniel Walker <dwalker@...sta.com>
Cc:	Sam Ravnborg <sam@...nborg.org>, Andi Kleen <andi@...stfloor.org>,
	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, apw@...dowen.org,
	akpm@...ux-foundation.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH] Deprecate checkpatch.pl --file

On Tue, Jan 08, 2008 at 12:19:44PM -0800, Daniel Walker wrote:
> > But is discourage the creation of pure clean-up patches because it
> > may have a disturbing effect on several other peoples work.
> 
> pure clean ups are _good_ patches , are they not?
> 

Not necessarily.  Whether or not it is requires common sense, and very
often we get enthusiastic new-comers (some of them with very weak C
programming skills :-) who might try to use checkpatch.pl.  So we
can't assume that they will know when a pure clean-up patch is a good
thing, and when it's a waste of everyone's time, including theirs.

That's why I think the warning is a good thing.  It makes it more
likely that this gets communicated to the enthusiastic, well-meaning,
newcomer.  Someone who is more experienced and who knows how to
determine whether some driver is ancient and not being worked on, and
hence a pure clean-up patch won't be screwing up other developers,
will know how to suppress the warning.  (OTOH, how important is it in
the grand scheem of things to create or apply a pure clean-up patch on
a patch that few people if any are looking at?)

					- Ted
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