Re: [PATCH v2 1/7] staging: qlge: replace ql_* with qlge_* to avoid namespace clashes with other qlogic drivers

[Coiby Xu]

On Sun, Oct 18, 2020 at 08:02:53PM +0900, Benjamin Poirier wrote:
> On 2020-10-17 07:16 +0800, Coiby Xu wrote:
> > On Thu, Oct 15, 2020 at 10:01:36AM +0900, Benjamin Poirier wrote:
> > > On 2020-10-14 18:43 +0800, Coiby Xu wrote:
> > > > To avoid namespace clashes with other qlogic drivers and also for the
> > > > sake of naming consistency, use the "qlge_" prefix as suggested in
> > > > drivers/staging/qlge/TODO.
> > > >
> > > > Suggested-by: Benjamin Poirier <benjamin.poirier@xxxxxxxxx>
> > > > Signed-off-by: Coiby Xu <coiby.xu@xxxxxxxxx>
> > > > ---
> > > >  drivers/staging/qlge/TODO           |    4 -
> > > >  drivers/staging/qlge/qlge.h         |  190 ++--
> > > >  drivers/staging/qlge/qlge_dbg.c     | 1073 ++++++++++++-----------
> > > >  drivers/staging/qlge/qlge_ethtool.c |  231 ++---
> > > >  drivers/staging/qlge/qlge_main.c    | 1257 +++++++++++++--------------
> > > >  drivers/staging/qlge/qlge_mpi.c     |  352 ++++----
> > > >  6 files changed, 1551 insertions(+), 1556 deletions(-)
> > > >
> > > > diff --git a/drivers/staging/qlge/TODO b/drivers/staging/qlge/TODO
> > > > index f93f7428f5d5..5ac55664c3e2 100644
> > > > --- a/drivers/staging/qlge/TODO
> > > > +++ b/drivers/staging/qlge/TODO
> > > > @@ -28,10 +28,6 @@
> > > >  * the driver has a habit of using runtime checks where compile time checks are
> > > >    possible (ex. ql_free_rx_buffers(), ql_alloc_rx_buffers())
> > > >  * reorder struct members to avoid holes if it doesn't impact performance
> > > > -* in terms of namespace, the driver uses either qlge_, ql_ (used by
> > > > -  other qlogic drivers, with clashes, ex: ql_sem_spinlock) or nothing (with
> > > > -  clashes, ex: struct ob_mac_iocb_req). Rename everything to use the "qlge_"
> > > > -  prefix.
> > >
> > > You only renamed ql -> qlge. The prefix needs to be added where there is
> > > currently none like the second example of that text.
> >
> > On second thoughts, these structs like ob_mac_iocb_req are defined in
> > local headers and there is no mixed usage. So even when we want to
> > build this diver and other qlogic drivers into the kernel instead of
> > as separate modules, it won't lead to real problems, is it right?
>
> Using cscope or ctags and searching for ob_mac_iocb_req will yield
> ambiguous results. It might also make things more difficult if using a
> debugger.
Even if I have been using gtags, I didn't realize it. Thank you for
explaining it to me.
> Looking at other drivers (ex. ice, mlx5), they use a prefix for their
> private types, just like for their static functions, even though it's
> not absolutely necessary. I think it's helpful when reading the code
> because it quickly shows that it is something that was defined in the
> driver, not in some subsystem.
Good point!

> I didn't think about it earlier but it would have been better to leave
> out this renaming to a subsequent patchset, since this change is
> unrelated to the debugging features.

It seems it's more reasonable to do renaming first. So in a sense, the
renaming is a preparatory step for the debugging features.

--
Best regards,
Coiby