netdev - Re: [PATCH v2 5/5] net/core: Allow the compiler to verify declaration and definition consistency

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Date:   Wed, 27 Mar 2019 01:03:07 +0100
From:   Sabrina Dubroca <sd@...asysnail.net>
To:     Al Viro <viro@...iv.linux.org.uk>
Cc:     Bart Van Assche <bvanassche@....org>,
        David Miller <davem@...emloft.net>, netdev@...r.kernel.org,
        Willem de Bruijn <willemb@...gle.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2 5/5] net/core: Allow the compiler to verify
 declaration and definition consistency

2019-03-26, 18:17:58 +0000, Al Viro wrote:
> Dumping everything into widely-included files is a Bloody Bad Idea(tm);
> it makes reasoning about the code much harder.
> 
> If anything, we should trim the hell out of those; details that matter
> only to a well-defined subset of the kernel should be local to it.
> Consider, for example, include/net/af_unix.h.  The stuff defined in
> there:
> 
[snip example]
> 
> Dumping internal details into include/* makes life much harder
> when working with the code, trying to understand it, etc.
> The usual reasons to separate interfaces and internals do
> apply in the kernel.
> 
> Note, BTW, that stale junk (extern for a function removed at some
> point, etc.) tends to stay around, confusing the hell out of readers.
> And include/* tends to be considerably more sticky in that respect.
> 
> The bottom line: keep public headers tidy; internal details belong
> with the code working with those.

Uh, yeah, makes sense. Thanks for the detailed example, I didn't think
the include/* situation was that bad.

-- 
Sabrina