Re: [PATCH v3 68/77] ncr5380: Fix whitespace issues using regexp

Finn Thain
2015-12-23T02:04:00Z

[-- Attachment #1: Type: TEXT/PLAIN, Size: 1945 bytes --]

On Tue, 22 Dec 2015, Joe Perches wrote:

> On Wed, 2015-12-23 at 11:56 +1100, Finn Thain wrote:
> > On Tue, 22 Dec 2015, Joe Perches wrote:
> >
> > > On Tue, 2015-12-22 at 12:18 +1100, Finn Thain wrote:
> > > > This patch is just the result of two substitutions. The first
> > > > removes any tabs and spaces at the end of the line. The second
> > > > replaces runs of tabs and spaces at the beginning of comment lines
> > > > with a single space.
> > >
> > > I think the second of these isn't done well.
> >
> > The aim of this patch is not to fix code style, but to make it
> > possible to compare these two files so that the fork can be repaired.
> > Regexp is very helpful in creating uniformity (and a minimal diff).
> >
> > If this was a coding style issue, we would be discussing the use of
> > kernel-doc format for the affected comments, not whitespace.
> >
> > > Many of these comments post reformatting are much worse to read
> > > because of lost alignment.
> >
> > You exaggerate a very trivial point.
>
> <shrug>
>
> I prefer that all patches be improvements.
>

Agreed. But the example you cited is an improvement, in that it creates
consistency.

Like you, I prefer to see formal parameters aligned when wrapped. But this
isn't a formal parameter list, it is a comment, and no comment should
duplicate code.

Can you suggest a better regexp? Since this is patch 68 in the series,
there is a good chance that it will need to be regenerated.

> > I admit that a small proportion of comments are slightly less
> > readable. But it is the diff that needs to be readable in order to
> > resolve the fork.
>
> diff -w works well.
>

Yes, it works well at times. For this I prefer to use meld. It does have
text filters that allow the user to elide differences that match a given
regexp. But I don't want every meld user to have to write those regexps.

--