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| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/dev-tools/checkpatch.rst | 11 |
1 files changed, 11 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/dev-tools/checkpatch.rst b/Documentation/dev-tools/checkpatch.rst index 891779c7f0bf..70480e38848e 100644 --- a/Documentation/dev-tools/checkpatch.rst +++ b/Documentation/dev-tools/checkpatch.rst @@ -984,6 +984,17 @@ Permissions Permission bits should use 4 digit octal permissions (like 0700 or 0444). Avoid using any other base like decimal. + **SYMBOLIC_PERMS** + Permission bits in the octal form are more readable and easier to + understand than their symbolic counterparts because many command-line + tools use this notation. Experienced kernel developers have been using + these traditional Unix permission bits for decades and so they find it + easier to understand the octal notation than the symbolic macros. + For example, it is harder to read S_IWUSR|S_IRUGO than 0644, which + obscures the developer's intent rather than clarifying it. + + See: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/CA+55aFw5v23T-zvDZp-MmD_EYxF8WbafwwB59934FV7g21uMGQ@mail.gmail.com/ + Spacing and Brackets -------------------- |