Re: PATCH: Add --size-check=[error|warning]

[Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>]

On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 12:24 PM, Steven Rostedt <rostedt@goodmis.org> wrote:
>
> If it was a bug in asm, but binutils can cope with it, then it should be
> a warning. If binutils can't cope, then error.

I think this is the really fundamental issue: anybody who makes a hard
error out of something that is recoverable is a total moron.

We have that in the kernel too - I've berated people for using
BUG_ON() _much_ too eagerly. If you make a hard error out of
something, that just makes things much much harder to handle, and is
just a big inconvenience for everybody. Why do it?

In the kernel, a hard error (like BUG_ON()) tends to result in a
system that is unusable and makes logging things harder. And in
development tools, a hard error just means that you stop _everybody_,
whether the user is a developer or just a tester who can't
realistically fix it (or a developer who is not involved in that
area). And even for developers who _are_ directly involved, a hard
error stops the build, instead of just letting it continue and help
him see if there are perhaps _other_ cases that should also be fixed.

So anybody who makes something a hard error when it's not required is
just being a STUPID. It hurts everybody. Don't do it.

                             Linus