Re: [for-next][PATCH 23/24] string.h: Add strncmp_prefix() helper macro

Malcolm Priestley
2018-12-22T17:04:46Z

On 21/12/2018 18:51, Linus Torvalds wrote:
> On Fri, Dec 21, 2018 at 9:57 AM Steven Rostedt <rostedt@goodmis.org> wrote:
>>
>> I figured the best thing to do is to create a helper macro and place it
>> into include/linux/string.h. And go around and fix all the open coded
>> versions of it later.
>>
>> I plan on only applying this patch and updating the tracing hooks for
>> this merge window. And perhaps use it to fix some of the bugs that were
>> found.
>
> I like the helper function concept, but as they say about CS: "There
> is only one hard problem in computer science: naming and off-by-one
> errors".
>
> And this one has that problem. The name makes absolutely no sense.
>
> Calling it "strncmp_prefix()" when there is no "n" there makes no sense.
>
> So drop the "n" from the name.
>
Being British the 'n' implies 'and' and still being interpreted Boolean.

strncmp = string and compare

Like other of our words Fish'n'Chips, Salt'n'Shake.

I don't think these abbreviations exist in American English.