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Re: PATCH: Add --size-check=[error|warning]
- From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds at linux-foundation dot org>
- To: Steven Rostedt <rostedt at goodmis dot org>
- Cc: "H. Peter Anvin" <hpa at zytor dot com>, Jan Beulich <JBeulich at novell dot com>, sedat dot dilek at gmail dot com, Alan Modra <amodra at bigpond dot net dot au>, Ingo Molnar <mingo at elte dot hu>, "H.J. Lu" <hjl dot tools at gmail dot com>, Thomas Gleixner <tglx at linutronix dot de>, Andrew Morton <akpm at linux-foundation dot org>, binutils <binutils at sourceware dot org>, LKML <linux-kernel at vger dot kernel dot org>
- Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:58:43 -0700
- Subject: Re: PATCH: Add --size-check=[error|warning]
- References: <AANLkTinDTyupNgZR-0izCWrpwOnE1wEcubn+M3o=Mgy2@mail.gmail.com> <4D7E095802000078000363D5@vpn.id2.novell.com> <4D7E4338.1060302@zytor.com> <20110314192445.GD20259@home.goodmis.org>
On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 12:24 PM, Steven Rostedt <rostedt@goodmis.org> wrote:
>
> If it was a bug in asm, but binutils can cope with it, then it should be
> a warning. If binutils can't cope, then error.
I think this is the really fundamental issue: anybody who makes a hard
error out of something that is recoverable is a total moron.
We have that in the kernel too - I've berated people for using
BUG_ON() _much_ too eagerly. If you make a hard error out of
something, that just makes things much much harder to handle, and is
just a big inconvenience for everybody. Why do it?
In the kernel, a hard error (like BUG_ON()) tends to result in a
system that is unusable and makes logging things harder. And in
development tools, a hard error just means that you stop _everybody_,
whether the user is a developer or just a tester who can't
realistically fix it (or a developer who is not involved in that
area). And even for developers who _are_ directly involved, a hard
error stops the build, instead of just letting it continue and help
him see if there are perhaps _other_ cases that should also be fixed.
So anybody who makes something a hard error when it's not required is
just being a STUPID. It hurts everybody. Don't do it.
Linus