[Info-vax] [OT?] Should compiler warnings be treated as errors ?

[plugh]

On Friday, September 10, 2021 at 10:35:19 AM UTC-7, Simon Clubley wrote:
> On 2021-09-09, Craig A. Berry <craig... at nospam.mac.com> wrote: 
> > 
> > Which warnings with which versions of which compilers? gcc and clang 
> > have different warnings available and different default warnings (though 
> > they do emulate each other to some extent). Presumably some Linux 
> > distros have to be able to build with other compilers, possibly from IBM 
> > or Intel. The default warnings enabled with each version of each 
> > compiler change, usually adding new ones, but sometimes removing 
> > warnings that were felt to create more noise than light. 
> > 
> > So, in general, yes, getting people to pay attention to warnings and fix 
> > things is a good idea. But that's not a particularly simple matter for 
> > something that is expected to be portable and compiled against various 
> > version of numerous compilers. 
> >
> Of course, the other way of looking at that is that one compiler might 
> be picking up potential problems in your code that another compiler missed.
> > I still routinely see warnings with the ancient DEC/CPQ/HP/HPE/VSI C 
> > compiler for code that produces no warnings with current gcc and clang.
> Interesting. Are they "genuine" warnings or nonsense type warnings ? 
> 
> Thanks to everyone for their responses. Given the general positive 
> response here, it makes me wonder why there's such pushback against 
> this change among some of the Linux developers. 
> 
> I know some are taking the short-term (and short-sighted IMO) view 
> about the cleanup work required, but those warnings are being issued 
> by the compiler for a reason.
> Simon. 
> 
> -- 
> Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP 
> Walking destinations on a map are further away than they appear.
Compromise on WERROR

TL;DR
> Elver proposed a compromise. "The appropriate usecase for -Werror is therefore compile-test focused builds (often done by developers or CI systems).

https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/08/compromise_linux_kernel_compiler_warnings/

There are never enough volunteers for "... the cleanup work required..."