linux-kernel - Re: PATCH: Add --size-check=[error|warning]

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Date:	Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:58:43 -0700
From:	Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
To:	Steven Rostedt <rostedt@...dmis.org>
Cc:	"H. Peter Anvin" <hpa@...or.com>,
	Jan Beulich <JBeulich@...ell.com>, sedat.dilek@...il.com,
	Alan Modra <amodra@...pond.net.au>,
	Ingo Molnar <mingo@...e.hu>, "H.J. Lu" <hjl.tools@...il.com>,
	Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>,
	Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
	binutils <binutils@...rceware.org>,
	LKML <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: PATCH: Add --size-check=[error|warning]

On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 12:24 PM, Steven Rostedt <rostedt@...dmis.org> wrote:
>
> If it was a bug in asm, but binutils can cope with it, then it should be
> a warning. If binutils can't cope, then error.

I think this is the really fundamental issue: anybody who makes a hard
error out of something that is recoverable is a total moron.

We have that in the kernel too - I've berated people for using
BUG_ON() _much_ too eagerly. If you make a hard error out of
something, that just makes things much much harder to handle, and is
just a big inconvenience for everybody. Why do it?

In the kernel, a hard error (like BUG_ON()) tends to result in a
system that is unusable and makes logging things harder. And in
development tools, a hard error just means that you stop _everybody_,
whether the user is a developer or just a tester who can't
realistically fix it (or a developer who is not involved in that
area). And even for developers who _are_ directly involved, a hard
error stops the build, instead of just letting it continue and help
him see if there are perhaps _other_ cases that should also be fixed.

So anybody who makes something a hard error when it's not required is
just being a STUPID. It hurts everybody. Don't do it.

                             Linus
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