Re: [PATCH] KEYS: encrypted: Use designated initializers for match_table_t structs

Thorsten Blum
2025-10-09T13:30:16Z

On 9. Oct 2025, at 14:44, James Bottomley wrote:
> On Thu, 2025-10-09 at 13:58 +0200, Thorsten Blum wrote:
>> Use designated initializers for 'key_format_tokens' and 'key_tokens'
>> to allow struct fields to be reordered more easily
>
> How does it improve that? The key,value pairs are surrounded by braces
> so we just cut and paste the lot anyway.

Using designated initializers (especially for global structs) allows the
fields of struct match_token from linux/parser.h to be reordered or
extended more easily, improving overall maintainability.

>> and to improve readability.
>
> I don't think I agree with this when looking through the code,
> especially because this is the way it's done for *every* option in the
> entire key subsystem. So firstly I really don't think it's helpful for
> only encrypted keys to be different from everything else and secondly
> when I read the code (as I often do to figure out what the options
> mean), the additional .token and .pattern just get in the way of what
> I'm looking for.

I just stumbled upon this and didn't check any other files.

I do think it helps with readability, especially for people unfamiliar
with the code. With designated initializers, it's clear what each value
represents without having to look up the definition of 'match_token' in
linux/parser.h.

Thanks,
Thorsten