linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] rcu: Fix various typos in comments

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Message-ID: <20210323162045.GX2696@paulmck-ThinkPad-P72>
Date:   Tue, 23 Mar 2021 09:20:45 -0700
From:   "Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@...nel.org>
To:     Ingo Molnar <mingo@...nel.org>
Cc:     Bhaskar Chowdhury <unixbhaskar@...il.com>,
        linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, Randy Dunlap <rdunlap@...radead.org>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] rcu: Fix various typos in comments

On Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 12:17:53PM +0100, Ingo Molnar wrote:
> 
> * Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@...nel.org> wrote:
> 
> > > >  * there are no read-side primitives analogous to rcu_read_lock() and
> > > >  * rcu_read_unlock() because this primitive is intended to determine
> > > >  * that all tasks have passed through a safe state, not so much for
> > > > - * data-strcuture synchronization.
> > > > + * data-structure synchronization.
> > > >  *
> > > 
> > > The "hyphen" in the middle of the word "data structure" is required or keeping by
> > > convention or has some significance?
> > 
> > Yes, this is one of many peculiarities of English, and an optional one
> > at that.  English is not a block-structured language, so grouping can
> > be ambiguous.  Is is "(data structure) synchronization" or is it instead
> > "data (structure synchronization)"?  The default is the latter, and
> > the hyphen indicates the former.  In this case, the former is intended,
> > hence the hyphen.
> 
> The other point is that there are a *lot* of hyphen variations in the 
> kernel, and unless the primary author or maintainer is iterating the 
> text would be insane to categorize them as 'typos' and create churn to 
> 'fix' them...
> 
> 'data-structure' or 'datastructure' are both perfectly readable, just 
> like 'fast-path' or 'fastpath', 'cache-miss' or 'cachemiss' and a 
> million other examples.

Agreed.  Plus even though "data structure initialization" would look
funny to me, I would know what was meant.  And even automated systems
that fix typos have some chance of creating other typos, as I have
recently had considerably experience with.  ;-)

							Thanx, Paul