[PATCH v2 0/4] fix -Werror issues

[PATCH v2 0/4] fix -Werror issues

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

Hi Jon,

As pointed by Jani, and previously by Randy, several warnings
are currently not considered as errors. The issue is related
to changeset 469c1c9eb6c9 ("kernel-doc: Issue warnings that were silently
discarded"), which was using directly a low-level interface.

Patch 1 fix that.
Patch 2 fixes a related issue: when there are more than 255
errors, the return code with -Werror can be 0 even on errors,
because of glibc behavior: programs can only use 8 bits for
error codes.

Patches 3 and 4 are not directly related, and touches only
on comments inside python-doc.py script itself:

- patch 3 is just a coding style change to match the comment
  style we agreed;

- patch 4 fixes some English issues on comments. The issues
  were pointed by LLM, which was used as any other spelling
  tool: I picked just the relevant changes, ignoring the ones
  that were false positives. I also didn't agree with one of
  the changes, replacing it by something else.

  I wrote it more as an experiment about how to properly use
  LLM. IMO, it could be useful to use LLM to review spelling
  on docs, provided that the one using the tool will filter
  out LLM-generated trash - just like one does when using any
  other spelling tool. Yet, based on Jani feedback, extra
  care is needed with regards to LLM abuse of UTF-8 chars.

---

v2:
  - on patch 2, I changed the -Werror return code to "3". This
    way, it is easier for a script to identify what happened;
  - removed UTF-8 unbreakable whitespaces from patch 4.
    Heh, it seems that LLM-produced stuff can suffer with
    unwanted UTF-8 chars... On one of the strings it replaced
    0x20 with 0xa0...

Mauro Carvalho Chehab (4):
  scripts/kernel-doc: fix logic to handle unissued warnings
  scripts/kernel-doc: avoid error_count overflows
  scripts/kernel-doc: ensure that comments are using our coding style
  scripts/kernel-doc: some fixes to kernel-doc comments

 scripts/kernel-doc.py                | 66 ++++++++++++++++++++--------
 tools/lib/python/kdoc/kdoc_parser.py |  6 ++-
 2 files changed, 52 insertions(+), 20 deletions(-)

-- 
2.52.0

[PATCH v2 1/4] scripts/kernel-doc: fix logic to handle unissued warnings

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

Changeset 469c1c9eb6c9 ("kernel-doc: Issue warnings that were silently discarded")
didn't properly addressed the missing messages behavior, as
it was calling directly python logger low-level function,
instead of using the expected method to emit warnings.

Basically, there are two methods to log messages:

- self.config.log.warning() - This is the raw level to emit a
  warning. It just writes the a message at stderr, via python
  logging, as it is initialized as:

    self.config.log = logging.getLogger("kernel-doc")

- self.config.warning() - This is where we actually consider a
  message as a warning, properly incrementing error count.

Due to that, several parsing error messages are internally considered
as success, causing -Werror to not work on such messages.

While here, ensure that the last ignored entry will also be handled
by adding an extra check at the end of the parse handler.

Fixes: 469c1c9eb6c9 ("kernel-doc: Issue warnings that were silently discarded")
Closes: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-doc/20260112091053.00cee29a@foz.lan/
Signed-off-by: Mauro Carvalho Chehab <mchehab+huawei@kernel.org>
Acked-by: Andy Shevchenko <andriy.shevchenko@linux.intel.com>
---
 tools/lib/python/kdoc/kdoc_parser.py | 6 +++++-
 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/tools/lib/python/kdoc/kdoc_parser.py b/tools/lib/python/kdoc/kdoc_parser.py
index a9a37519145d..aed07fdaa561 100644
--- a/tools/lib/python/kdoc/kdoc_parser.py
+++ b/tools/lib/python/kdoc/kdoc_parser.py
@@ -459,7 +459,7 @@ class KernelDoc:
         #
         if self.entry and self.entry not in self.entries:
             for log_msg in self.entry.warnings:
-                self.config.log.warning(log_msg)
+                self.config.warning(log_msg)
 
         self.entry = KernelEntry(self.config, self.fname, ln)
 
@@ -1741,6 +1741,10 @@ class KernelDoc:
                         # Hand this line to the appropriate state handler
                         self.state_actions[self.state](self, ln, line)
 
+            if self.entry and self.entry not in self.entries:
+                for log_msg in self.entry.warnings:
+                    self.config.warning(log_msg)
+
         except OSError:
             self.config.log.error(f"Error: Cannot open file {self.fname}")
 
-- 
2.52.0

[PATCH v2 2/4] scripts/kernel-doc: avoid error_count overflows

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

The glibc library limits the return code to 8 bits. We need to
stick to this limit when using sys.exit(error_count).

Signed-off-by: Mauro Carvalho Chehab <mchehab+huawei@kernel.org>
---
 scripts/kernel-doc.py | 26 +++++++++++++++++++-------
 1 file changed, 19 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/scripts/kernel-doc.py b/scripts/kernel-doc.py
index 7a1eaf986bcd..5d2f29e90ebe 100755
--- a/scripts/kernel-doc.py
+++ b/scripts/kernel-doc.py
@@ -116,6 +116,8 @@ SRC_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__))
 
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(SRC_DIR, LIB_DIR))
 
+WERROR_RETURN_CODE = 3
+
 DESC = """
 Read C language source or header FILEs, extract embedded documentation comments,
 and print formatted documentation to standard output.
@@ -176,7 +178,21 @@ class MsgFormatter(logging.Formatter):
         return logging.Formatter.format(self, record)
 
 def main():
-    """Main program"""
+    """
+    Main program
+    By default, the return value is:
+
+    - 0: parsing warnings or Python version is not compatible with
+      kernel-doc. The rationale for the latter is to not break Linux
+      compilation on such cases;
+
+    - 1: an abnormal condition happened;
+
+    - 2: arparse issued an error;
+
+    - 3: -Werror is used, and one or more unfiltered parse warnings
+         happened.
+    """
 
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(formatter_class=argparse.RawTextHelpFormatter,
                                      description=DESC)
@@ -323,16 +339,12 @@ def main():
 
     if args.werror:
         print("%s warnings as errors" % error_count)    # pylint: disable=C0209
-        sys.exit(error_count)
+        sys.exit(WERROR_RETURN_CODE)
 
     if args.verbose:
         print("%s errors" % error_count)                # pylint: disable=C0209
 
-    if args.none:
-        sys.exit(0)
-
-    sys.exit(error_count)
-
+    sys.exit(0)
 
 # Call main method
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-- 
2.52.0

[PATCH v2 3/4] scripts/kernel-doc: ensure that comments are using our coding style

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

Along kernel-doc libs, we opted to have all comments starting/ending
with a blank comment line. Use the same style here.

Signed-off-by: Mauro Carvalho Chehab <mchehab+huawei@kernel.org>
---
 scripts/kernel-doc.py | 16 ++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+)

diff --git a/scripts/kernel-doc.py b/scripts/kernel-doc.py
index 5d2f29e90ebe..7ccee4626478 100755
--- a/scripts/kernel-doc.py
+++ b/scripts/kernel-doc.py
@@ -197,7 +197,9 @@ def main():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(formatter_class=argparse.RawTextHelpFormatter,
                                      description=DESC)
 
+    #
     # Normal arguments
+    #
 
     parser.add_argument("-v", "-verbose", "--verbose", action="store_true",
                         help="Verbose output, more warnings and other information.")
@@ -213,7 +215,9 @@ def main():
                         action="store_true",
                         help="Enable line number output (only in ReST mode)")
 
+    #
     # Arguments to control the warning behavior
+    #
 
     parser.add_argument("-Wreturn", "--wreturn", action="store_true",
                         help="Warns about the lack of a return markup on functions.")
@@ -235,7 +239,9 @@ def main():
     parser.add_argument("-export-file", "--export-file", action='append',
                         help=EXPORT_FILE_DESC)
 
+    #
     # Output format mutually-exclusive group
+    #
 
     out_group = parser.add_argument_group("Output format selection (mutually exclusive)")
 
@@ -248,7 +254,9 @@ def main():
     out_fmt.add_argument("-N", "-none", "--none", action="store_true",
                          help="Do not output documentation, only warnings.")
 
+    #
     # Output selection mutually-exclusive group
+    #
 
     sel_group = parser.add_argument_group("Output selection (mutually exclusive)")
     sel_mut = sel_group.add_mutually_exclusive_group()
@@ -262,7 +270,9 @@ def main():
     sel_mut.add_argument("-s", "-function", "--symbol", action='append',
                          help=FUNCTION_DESC)
 
+    #
     # Those are valid for all 3 types of filter
+    #
     parser.add_argument("-n", "-nosymbol", "--nosymbol", action='append',
                         help=NOSYMBOL_DESC)
 
@@ -295,9 +305,11 @@ def main():
 
     python_ver = sys.version_info[:2]
     if python_ver < (3,6):
+        #
         # Depending on Kernel configuration, kernel-doc --none is called at
         # build time. As we don't want to break compilation due to the
         # usage of an old Python version, return 0 here.
+        #
         if args.none:
             logger.error("Python 3.6 or later is required by kernel-doc. skipping checks")
             sys.exit(0)
@@ -307,7 +319,9 @@ def main():
     if python_ver < (3,7):
         logger.warning("Python 3.7 or later is required for correct results")
 
+    #
     # Import kernel-doc libraries only after checking Python version
+    #
     from kdoc.kdoc_files import KernelFiles             # pylint: disable=C0415
     from kdoc.kdoc_output import RestFormat, ManFormat  # pylint: disable=C0415
 
@@ -346,6 +360,8 @@ def main():
 
     sys.exit(0)
 
+#
 # Call main method
+#
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     main()
-- 
2.52.0

Re: [PATCH v2 3/4] scripts/kernel-doc: ensure that comments are using our coding style

[Jonathan Corbet]

Mauro Carvalho Chehab <mchehab+huawei@kernel.org> writes:

> Along kernel-doc libs, we opted to have all comments starting/ending
> with a blank comment line. Use the same style here.
>
> Signed-off-by: Mauro Carvalho Chehab <mchehab+huawei@kernel.org>
> ---
>  scripts/kernel-doc.py | 16 ++++++++++++++++
>  1 file changed, 16 insertions(+)
>
> diff --git a/scripts/kernel-doc.py b/scripts/kernel-doc.py
> index 5d2f29e90ebe..7ccee4626478 100755
> --- a/scripts/kernel-doc.py
> +++ b/scripts/kernel-doc.py
> @@ -197,7 +197,9 @@ def main():
>      parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(formatter_class=argparse.RawTextHelpFormatter,
>                                       description=DESC)
>  
> +    #
>      # Normal arguments
> +    #
>  
>      parser.add_argument("-v", "-verbose", "--verbose", action="store_true",
>                          help="Verbose output, more warnings and other information.")

[nit] I approve of this kind of change, but I would get rid of the extra
blank lines, just like we do with C code.

(I wouldn't redo the series just for this).

Thanks,

jon

Re: [PATCH v2 3/4] scripts/kernel-doc: ensure that comments are using our coding style

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

On Mon, Jan 12, 2026 at 08:43:28AM -0700, Jonathan Corbet wrote:
> Mauro Carvalho Chehab <mchehab+huawei@kernel.org> writes:
> 
> > Along kernel-doc libs, we opted to have all comments starting/ending
> > with a blank comment line. Use the same style here.
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Mauro Carvalho Chehab <mchehab+huawei@kernel.org>
> > ---
> >  scripts/kernel-doc.py | 16 ++++++++++++++++
> >  1 file changed, 16 insertions(+)
> >
> > diff --git a/scripts/kernel-doc.py b/scripts/kernel-doc.py
> > index 5d2f29e90ebe..7ccee4626478 100755
> > --- a/scripts/kernel-doc.py
> > +++ b/scripts/kernel-doc.py
> > @@ -197,7 +197,9 @@ def main():
> >      parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(formatter_class=argparse.RawTextHelpFormatter,
> >                                       description=DESC)
> >  
> > +    #
> >      # Normal arguments
> > +    #
> >  
> >      parser.add_argument("-v", "-verbose", "--verbose", action="store_true",
> >                          help="Verbose output, more warnings and other information.")
> 
> [nit] I approve of this kind of change, but I would get rid of the extra
> blank lines, just like we do with C code.

Ok. FYI, this is mostly to preserve the same coding style everywhere,
and we did a similar change at kdoc libs. At the initial versions of patch 2,
I wrote a new comment about why we needed to avoid error code > 255.

At v2, we're using a different approach, so no new comments are needed.

> (I wouldn't redo the series just for this).

Patch 4 depends on it, so what I can do - assuming that v2 doesn't need
rebase - is to send you a new patch to drop it extra blank lines.
Or, if this series needs another rebase, I'll fold such changes on it
for the next version.

> 
> Thanks,
> 
> jon

-- 
Thanks,
Mauro

[PATCH v2 4/4] scripts/kernel-doc: some fixes to kernel-doc comments

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

There are some typos and English errors at the kernel-doc.py comments.

Locate them with the help of LLM (gpt-oss 14B), locally excecuted
with this prompt:

    review English grammar andsyntax at the comments on the code
    below:
    <cat scripts/kernel-doc.py>

Not all results are flowers, although it caught several minor
issues there. Add the pertinent fixes, discarding the bad ones.

Signed-off-by: Mauro Carvalho Chehab <mchehab+huawei@kernel.org>
---
 scripts/kernel-doc.py | 24 ++++++++++++------------
 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)

diff --git a/scripts/kernel-doc.py b/scripts/kernel-doc.py
index 7ccee4626478..28ec5500f664 100755
--- a/scripts/kernel-doc.py
+++ b/scripts/kernel-doc.py
@@ -9,10 +9,10 @@
 #       The rationale is that it shall fail gracefully during Kernel
 #       compilation with older Kernel versions. Due to that:
 #       - encoding line is needed here;
-#       - no f-strings can be used on this file.
-#       - the libraries that require newer versions can only be included
-#         after Python version is checked.
-
+#       - f-strings cannot be used in this file.
+#       - libraries that require newer versions can only be included
+#         after the Python version has been checked.
+#
 # Converted from the kernel-doc script originally written in Perl
 # under GPLv2, copyrighted since 1998 by the following authors:
 #
@@ -134,13 +134,13 @@ May be used multiple times.
 """
 
 EXPORT_DESC = """
-Only output documentation for the symbols that have been
+Only output documentation for symbols that have been
 exported using EXPORT_SYMBOL() and related macros in any input
 FILE or -export-file FILE.
 """
 
 INTERNAL_DESC = """
-Only output documentation for the symbols that have NOT been
+Only output documentation for symbols that have NOT been
 exported using EXPORT_SYMBOL() and related macros in any input
 FILE or -export-file FILE.
 """
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ Header and C source files to be parsed.
 """
 
 WARN_CONTENTS_BEFORE_SECTIONS_DESC = """
-Warns if there are contents before sections (deprecated).
+Warn if there are contents before sections (deprecated).
 
 This option is kept just for backward-compatibility, but it does nothing,
 neither here nor at the original Perl script.
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ neither here nor at the original Perl script.
 
 
 class MsgFormatter(logging.Formatter):
-    """Helper class to format warnings on a similar way to kernel-doc.pl"""
+    """Helper class to format warnings in a similar way to kernel-doc.pl."""
 
     def format(self, record):
         record.levelname = record.levelname.capitalize()
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ def main():
                         help=NOSYMBOL_DESC)
 
     parser.add_argument("-D", "-no-doc-sections", "--no-doc-sections",
-                        action='store_true', help="Don't outputt DOC sections")
+                        action='store_true', help="Don't output DOC sections")
 
     parser.add_argument("files", metavar="FILE",
                         nargs="+", help=FILES_DESC)
@@ -306,12 +306,12 @@ def main():
     python_ver = sys.version_info[:2]
     if python_ver < (3,6):
         #
-        # Depending on Kernel configuration, kernel-doc --none is called at
+        # Depending on the Kernel configuration, kernel-doc --none is called at
         # build time. As we don't want to break compilation due to the
         # usage of an old Python version, return 0 here.
         #
         if args.none:
-            logger.error("Python 3.6 or later is required by kernel-doc. skipping checks")
+            logger.error("Python 3.6 or later is required by kernel-doc. Skipping checks")
             sys.exit(0)
 
         sys.exit("Python 3.6 or later is required by kernel-doc. Aborting.")
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ def main():
         logger.warning("Python 3.7 or later is required for correct results")
 
     #
-    # Import kernel-doc libraries only after checking Python version
+    # Import kernel-doc libraries only after checking the Python version
     #
     from kdoc.kdoc_files import KernelFiles             # pylint: disable=C0415
     from kdoc.kdoc_output import RestFormat, ManFormat  # pylint: disable=C0415
-- 
2.52.0