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Re: [doc RFA] Use of FIXME, TODO, etc. in new code is prohibited.


On 11/2/10 9:37 AM, Doug Evans wrote:

+The use of @code{FIXME} and all similar comments in new code is prohibited. +The rule is to not write code that requires them.

I think there are a couple flavors of FIXME notes that we need to distinguish.


The first is an obvious but easily-fixed limitation; fixed-size buffer, not checking a return result, and the like. It seems good for software quality that we make people fix those kinds of problems at submission time.

The other kind of FIXME is an enhancement idea that comes to mind while working on a patch, but that is out of scope. Maybe you notice that a routine could be shared between GDB and GDBserver, or that an argument to a target vector method is now redundant. We have a rule discouraging multi-change patches, and a volunteer's time might be insufficient for a separate followon patch. In such a case we should record the idea *somewhere* - major design changes might be wiki fodder, but the body of the code seems like the right place for lesser worthwhile changes. We could just recommend adding the note in running text, but a special marker helps it stand out.

Stan


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