[PATCH 0/3] Improve and extend checkpatch.pl Kconfig help text checks

From: Ulf Magnusson
Date: Fri Feb 16 2018 - 15:23:33 EST


Hello,

This patchset contains some improvements for the Kconfig help text check in
scripts/checkconfig.pl:

- Commits 1 and 2 make the check more robust by checking menuconfig symbols
and choices as well as symbols defined with 'config', and by making the
detection of definition boundaries more reliable.

- Commit 3 adds a check for new '---help---'s being introduced. IMO, 'help'
should be encouraged in new code.

All three commits can be applied independently.

The existing code is a bit weird in that it doesn't require symbols with "long"
definitions (e.g., many selects) to have help texts. Fixing that is outside the
scope of this patchset. I couldn't tell if it was deliberate.

I'm a Perl noob, so check for bad practices. :)

The changes were tested by running 'checkpatch.pl -f' on some large existing
Kconfig files in the kernel and looking for false positives (e.g.
arch/{x86,arm}/Kconfig).

This test file was also used, which contains some cases that confused the old
code:

config BAD_1
bool "bad 1"

config BAD_2
bool 'bad 2'

config BAD_3
bool "bad 3"
help
1
2
3

menuconfig BAD_4
bool "bad 4"
help
1
2
3

config BAD_5
bool
prompt "bad 5"
help
1
2
3

config BAD_6
bool "bad 6"
help
1
2
3

if FOO

config BAD_7
bool "bad 7"
help
1
2
3

endif

config BAD_8
bool "bad 8"
help
1
2
3

source "foo"

config BAD_9
bool "bad 9"
---help---
1
2
3
4

choice
bool "bad choice"
help
1
2
3

endchoice

config OK_1
bool

config OK_2
bool "ok 2"
help
1
2
3
4

config OK_3
tristate "ok 3"
help
1
2
3
4

config OK_4
tristate
prompt "ok 4"
help
1
2
3
4

choice
bool "ok choice"
help
1
2
3
4

endchoice


This now produces the following warnings:

WARNING: please write a paragraph that describes the config symbol fully
#9: FILE: Kconfig.test_help_check:9:
+config BAD_1

WARNING: please write a paragraph that describes the config symbol fully
#12: FILE: Kconfig.test_help_check:12:
+config BAD_2

WARNING: please write a paragraph that describes the config symbol fully
#15: FILE: Kconfig.test_help_check:15:
+config BAD_3

WARNING: please write a paragraph that describes the config symbol fully
#22: FILE: Kconfig.test_help_check:22:
+menuconfig BAD_4

WARNING: please write a paragraph that describes the config symbol fully
#29: FILE: Kconfig.test_help_check:29:
+config BAD_5

WARNING: please write a paragraph that describes the config symbol fully
#37: FILE: Kconfig.test_help_check:37:
+config BAD_6

WARNING: please write a paragraph that describes the config symbol fully
#46: FILE: Kconfig.test_help_check:46:
+config BAD_7

WARNING: please write a paragraph that describes the config symbol fully
#55: FILE: Kconfig.test_help_check:55:
+config BAD_8

WARNING: prefer 'help' over '---help---' for new help texts
#64: FILE: Kconfig.test_help_check:64:
+config BAD_9

WARNING: please write a paragraph that describes the config symbol fully
#72: FILE: Kconfig.test_help_check:72:
+choice

total: 0 errors, 10 warnings, 117 lines checked

NOTE: For some of the reported defects, checkpatch may be able to
mechanically convert to the typical style using --fix or --fix-inplace.

Kconfig.test_help_check has style problems, please review.

NOTE: If any of the errors are false positives, please report
them to the maintainer, see CHECKPATCH in MAINTAINERS.


Cheers,
Ulf

Ulf Magnusson (3):
checkpatch: kconfig: recognize more prompts when checking help texts
checkpatch: kconfig: check help texts for menuconfig and choice
checkpatch: kconfig: prefer 'help' over '---help---'

scripts/checkpatch.pl | 21 +++++++++++++++++----
1 file changed, 17 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

--
2.14.1