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

lists.openwall.net		lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening linux-cve-announce PHC
Open Source and information security mailing list archives

Hash Suite: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.

[<prev] [next>] [<thread-prev] [thread-next>] [day] [month] [year] [list]

Date:   Tue, 23 Mar 2021 12:17:53 +0100
From:   Ingo Molnar <mingo@...nel.org>
To:     "Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@...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


* 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.

Thanks,

	Ingo