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diff --git a/Documentation/process/clang-format.rst b/Documentation/process/clang-format.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..1d089a847 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/process/clang-format.rst @@ -0,0 +1,184 @@ +.. _clangformat: + +clang-format +============ + +``clang-format`` is a tool to format C/C++/... code according to +a set of rules and heuristics. Like most tools, it is not perfect +nor covers every single case, but it is good enough to be helpful. + +``clang-format`` can be used for several purposes: + + - Quickly reformat a block of code to the kernel style. Specially useful + when moving code around and aligning/sorting. See clangformatreformat_. + + - Spot style mistakes, typos and possible improvements in files + you maintain, patches you review, diffs, etc. See clangformatreview_. + + - Help you follow the coding style rules, specially useful for those + new to kernel development or working at the same time in several + projects with different coding styles. + +Its configuration file is ``.clang-format`` in the root of the kernel tree. +The rules contained there try to approximate the most common kernel +coding style. They also try to follow :ref:`Documentation/process/coding-style.rst <codingstyle>` +as much as possible. Since not all the kernel follows the same style, +it is possible that you may want to tweak the defaults for a particular +subsystem or folder. To do so, you can override the defaults by writing +another ``.clang-format`` file in a subfolder. + +The tool itself has already been included in the repositories of popular +Linux distributions for a long time. Search for ``clang-format`` in +your repositories. Otherwise, you can either download pre-built +LLVM/clang binaries or build the source code from: + + https://releases.llvm.org/download.html + +See more information about the tool at: + + https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ClangFormat.html + + https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ClangFormatStyleOptions.html + + +.. _clangformatreview: + +Review files and patches for coding style +----------------------------------------- + +By running the tool in its inline mode, you can review full subsystems, +folders or individual files for code style mistakes, typos or improvements. + +To do so, you can run something like:: + + # Make sure your working directory is clean! + clang-format -i kernel/*.[ch] + +And then take a look at the git diff. + +Counting the lines of such a diff is also useful for improving/tweaking +the style options in the configuration file; as well as testing new +``clang-format`` features/versions. + +``clang-format`` also supports reading unified diffs, so you can review +patches and git diffs easily. See the documentation at: + + https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ClangFormat.html#script-for-patch-reformatting + +To avoid ``clang-format`` formatting some portion of a file, you can do:: + + int formatted_code; + // clang-format off + void unformatted_code ; + // clang-format on + void formatted_code_again; + +While it might be tempting to use this to keep a file always in sync with +``clang-format``, specially if you are writing new files or if you are +a maintainer, please note that people might be running different +``clang-format`` versions or not have it available at all. Therefore, +you should probably refrain yourself from using this in kernel sources; +at least until we see if ``clang-format`` becomes commonplace. + + +.. _clangformatreformat: + +Reformatting blocks of code +--------------------------- + +By using an integration with your text editor, you can reformat arbitrary +blocks (selections) of code with a single keystroke. This is specially +useful when moving code around, for complex code that is deeply intended, +for multi-line macros (and aligning their backslashes), etc. + +Remember that you can always tweak the changes afterwards in those cases +where the tool did not do an optimal job. But as a first approximation, +it can be very useful. + +There are integrations for many popular text editors. For some of them, +like vim, emacs, BBEdit and Visual Studio you can find support built-in. +For instructions, read the appropriate section at: + + https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ClangFormat.html + +For Atom, Eclipse, Sublime Text, Visual Studio Code, XCode and other +editors and IDEs you should be able to find ready-to-use plugins. + +For this use case, consider using a secondary ``.clang-format`` +so that you can tweak a few options. See clangformatextra_. + + +.. _clangformatmissing: + +Missing support +--------------- + +``clang-format`` is missing support for some things that are common +in kernel code. They are easy to remember, so if you use the tool +regularly, you will quickly learn to avoid/ignore those. + +In particular, some very common ones you will notice are: + + - Aligned blocks of one-line ``#defines``, e.g.:: + + #define TRACING_MAP_BITS_DEFAULT 11 + #define TRACING_MAP_BITS_MAX 17 + #define TRACING_MAP_BITS_MIN 7 + + vs.:: + + #define TRACING_MAP_BITS_DEFAULT 11 + #define TRACING_MAP_BITS_MAX 17 + #define TRACING_MAP_BITS_MIN 7 + + - Aligned designated initializers, e.g.:: + + static const struct file_operations uprobe_events_ops = { + .owner = THIS_MODULE, + .open = probes_open, + .read = seq_read, + .llseek = seq_lseek, + .release = seq_release, + .write = probes_write, + }; + + vs.:: + + static const struct file_operations uprobe_events_ops = { + .owner = THIS_MODULE, + .open = probes_open, + .read = seq_read, + .llseek = seq_lseek, + .release = seq_release, + .write = probes_write, + }; + + +.. _clangformatextra: + +Extra features/options +---------------------- + +Some features/style options are not enabled by default in the configuration +file in order to minimize the differences between the output and the current +code. In other words, to make the difference as small as possible, +which makes reviewing full-file style, as well diffs and patches as easy +as possible. + +In other cases (e.g. particular subsystems/folders/files), the kernel style +might be different and enabling some of these options may approximate +better the style there. + +For instance: + + - Aligning assignments (``AlignConsecutiveAssignments``). + + - Aligning declarations (``AlignConsecutiveDeclarations``). + + - Reflowing text in comments (``ReflowComments``). + + - Sorting ``#includes`` (``SortIncludes``). + +They are typically useful for block re-formatting, rather than full-file. +You might want to create another ``.clang-format`` file and use that one +from your editor/IDE instead. |