Re: [Qemu-devel] [PATCH] scripts/checkpatch.pl: Enforce multiline comment syntax

[Peter Maydell]

On 9 August 2018 at 17:43, Paolo Bonzini <address@hidden> wrote:
> On 09/08/2018 18:00, Peter Maydell wrote:
>> The kernel's checkpatch does not enforce "leading /* on
>> a line of its own, so that part is unique to QEMU's checkpatch.
>
> Yeah, that's because for some reason the Linux network subsystem uses
> the style without the lone leading "/*".

Yes. Linux checkpatch warns if you use lone-leading-/* in the
network subsystem. What it doesn't do but should is warn you
if you *don't* use lone-leading-/* anywhere else. (I've had
kernel patches nitpicked for getting this wrong before.)
If I'm feeling enthusiastic enough I might submit a patch
to Linux checkpatch to do

   if (networking subsystem) {
        warn if lone leading opener used;
   } else {
        warn if lone leading opener not used;
   }

> Which is actually what QEMU is
> using in most of the code, I think, so...
>
>> I'm still not used to the leeading-/*-on-it's-own style,
>> so having checkpatch catch my lapses is handy...
>
> ... if it's not what we are using, why enforce it?

See the enormous long threads on the recent changes to CODING_STYLE:
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2018-06/msg00696.html
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2018-06/msg02717.html

Basically, I wanted to rule out things like

  /* this
     weirdness */

and lots of other people wanted (a) to not have

  /* this thing
   * which I think is fine
   */

and (b) to consistently define only one format as OK.

So I accepted having my personal preferred format not being
permitted in order to get consensus on getting rid of the
formats I think are really ugly :-)

thanks
-- PMM