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authorKees Cook <keescook@chromium.org>2020-06-15 12:06:11 -0700
committerKees Cook <keescook@chromium.org>2020-07-16 12:32:24 -0700
commit4b19bec97c882da09f7fd600895e0df1534a58dc (patch)
tree316763ce483a04fb01022cea79f52fd3957e9efd /Documentation/process
parent9ebcfadb0610322ac537dd7aa5d9cbc2b2894c68 (diff)
downloadlwn-4b19bec97c882da09f7fd600895e0df1534a58dc.tar.gz
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docs: deprecated.rst: Add uninitialized_var()
Nothing should be using this macro, and the entire idea of tricking the compiler into silencing such warnings is a mistake. Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net> Cc: "Gustavo A. R. Silva" <gustavo@embeddedor.com> Cc: Joe Perches <joe@perches.com> Cc: linux-doc@vger.kernel.org Reviewed-by: Nick Desaulniers <ndesaulniers@google.com> Signed-off-by: Kees Cook <keescook@chromium.org>
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/process')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/process/deprecated.rst18
1 files changed, 18 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/process/deprecated.rst b/Documentation/process/deprecated.rst
index 652e2aa02a66..943a926ecbbb 100644
--- a/Documentation/process/deprecated.rst
+++ b/Documentation/process/deprecated.rst
@@ -51,6 +51,24 @@ to make sure their systems do not continue running in the face of
"unreachable" conditions. (For example, see commits like `this one
<https://git.kernel.org/linus/d4689846881d160a4d12a514e991a740bcb5d65a>`_.)
+uninitialized_var()
+-------------------
+For any compiler warnings about uninitialized variables, just add
+an initializer. Using the uninitialized_var() macro (or similar
+warning-silencing tricks) is dangerous as it papers over `real bugs
+<https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20200603174714.192027-1-glider@google.com/>`_
+(or can in the future), and suppresses unrelated compiler warnings
+(e.g. "unused variable"). If the compiler thinks it is uninitialized,
+either simply initialize the variable or make compiler changes. Keep in
+mind that in most cases, if an initialization is obviously redundant,
+the compiler's dead-store elimination pass will make sure there are no
+needless variable writes.
+
+As Linus has said, this macro
+`must <https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/CA+55aFw+Vbj0i=1TGqCR5vQkCzWJ0QxK6CernOU6eedsudAixw@mail.gmail.com/>`_
+`be <https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/CA+55aFwgbgqhbp1fkxvRKEpzyR5J8n1vKT1VZdz9knmPuXhOeg@mail.gmail.com/>`_
+`removed <https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/CA+55aFz2500WfbKXAx8s67wrm9=yVJu65TpLgN_ybYNv0VEOKA@mail.gmail.com/>`_.
+
open-coded arithmetic in allocator arguments
--------------------------------------------
Dynamic size calculations (especially multiplication) should not be