linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v3 26/64] objtool: Add section/symbol type helpers

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Message-ID: <arotzpll7djck5kivv3d4bz2jpkitpejkppaaevoqk5hqddr57@aunxxyjwnrxz>
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2025 09:36:08 -0700
From: Josh Poimboeuf <jpoimboe@...nel.org>
To: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@...radead.org>
Cc: x86@...nel.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, 
	Petr Mladek <pmladek@...e.com>, Miroslav Benes <mbenes@...e.cz>, 
	Joe Lawrence <joe.lawrence@...hat.com>, live-patching@...r.kernel.org, Song Liu <song@...nel.org>, 
	laokz <laokz@...mail.com>, Jiri Kosina <jikos@...nel.org>, 
	Marcos Paulo de Souza <mpdesouza@...e.com>, Weinan Liu <wnliu@...gle.com>, 
	Fazla Mehrab <a.mehrab@...edance.com>, Chen Zhongjin <chenzhongjin@...wei.com>, 
	Puranjay Mohan <puranjay@...nel.org>, Dylan Hatch <dylanbhatch@...gle.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v3 26/64] objtool: Add section/symbol type helpers

On Fri, Jun 27, 2025 at 12:29:30PM +0200, Peter Zijlstra wrote:
> Naming seems inconsistent, there are:
>
>   sym_has_sec(), sec_changed() and sec_size()
>
> which have the object first, but then most new ones are:
> 
>   is_foo_sym() and is_foo_sec()
> 
> which have the object last.

For the "is_()" variants, I read them as:

  "is a(n) <adjective> <noun>"

e.g.:

  is_undef_sym(): "is an UNDEF symbol"
  is_file_sym():  "is a FILE symbol"
  is_string_sec() "is a STRING section"

Nerding out on English for a second, many of those adjectives can be
read as noun adjuncts, e.g. "chicken soup", where a noun functions as an
adjective.

If we changed those to:

  "is <noun> <adjective>?"

or

  "is <noun> a <noun>?"

then it doesn't always read correctly:

  is_sym_file():   "is symbol a file?"
  is_sec_string(): "is section a string?"

-- 
Josh