Re: [PATCH] can: softing: remove redundant NULL check

[Oliver Hartkopp]

Hi Simon,

On 2024-02-19 18:00, Simon Horman wrote:
> On Fri, Feb 16, 2024 at 08:47:43PM +0100, Oliver Hartkopp wrote:
> > Hi Simon,
> >
> > I have a general question on the "Fixes:" tag in this patch:
> >
> > On 16.02.24 18:27, Simon Horman wrote:
> > > On Sun, Feb 11, 2024 at 07:05:35AM -0800, Daniil Dulov wrote:
> > > > In this case dev cannot be NULL, so remove redundant check.
> > > >
> > > > Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with SVACE.
> > > >
> > > > Fixes: 03fd3cf5a179 ("can: add driver for Softing card")
> >
> > IMHO this is simply an improvement which is done by all patches applied to
> > the kernel but it does not really "fix" anything from a functional
> > standpoint.
> >
> > Shouldn't we either invent a new tag or better leave it out to not confuse
> > the stable maintainers?
>
> Hi Oliver,
>
> sorry for missing that in my review.
>
> Yes, I agree that this is probably not a fix, for which my
> rule of thumb is something that addresses a user-visible problem.
> So I agree it should not have a fixes tag.
>
> I would suggest that we can just change the text to something that
> has no tag. Something like:
>
> ...
>
> Introduced by 03fd3cf5a179 ("can: add driver for Softing card")

Yes, but the "Introduced-by:" tag would be an optional tag for people 
that like blaming others, right?

IMHO we should think about completely removing the "Fixes:" tag, when it 
has no user-visible effect that might be a candidate for stable kernels. 
It is common improvement work. And it has been so for years.

Best regards,
Oliver