Linus Torvalds Injects Tabs To Thwart Kconfig Parsers Not Correctly Handling Them

  • Linus Torvalds added hidden tabs to Kconfig to challenge parsers that can’t handle them.
  • Tabs were intentionally added to the common Kconfig file for page sizes to expose faulty parsers.
  • Torvalds believes parsers unable to handle tabs shouldn’t be parsing kernel Kconfig files, aiming to force fixes.
pastermil,

what a mad lad!

Kid_Thunder,

deleted_by_author

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  • rollmagma,

    People who use spaces are not taping space space space space space space space space. Their tapping the tab key all the same.

    dohpaz42,
    @dohpaz42@lemmy.world avatar

    Wait…. What? You mean I’ve….

    Kid_Thunder,

    Sorry I didn't realize I had replied with I deleted my comment. I understand some editors allow you to set tab and you can set actual spaces, like in vi. However, personally I feel like hitting tab gives me the whitespace I want for readability already.

    For programmatic parsing it is simple because it's just looking for an HT.

    zarkanian,
    @zarkanian@sh.itjust.works avatar

    Yeah, same, but I always set my editor to insert spaces instead when I hit Tab, so that the spacing won’t be different in other environments.

    Kid_Thunder,

    I apologize. I didn't know I had replies when I deleted my post. Yeah I know you can set that behavior in some editors. And other than what I just replied with on another comment, I like tabs because I also don't have to worry about styling guides that some set down as '2 spaces' or '3 spaces' or '5 spaces' or whatever. It is basically just universally a horizontal tab.

    Aatube,

    I'll take you up on that. ChatGPT, translate this commit message to actual Linus style:

    Subject: Regarding Commit d96c36004e31

    So apparently, this commit thought it was a brilliant idea to strip away a tab because some third-rate kernel config parsing tool couldn't handle it. Seriously? We're bending over backward for these tools now?

    Listen up, if your parsing tool throws a tantrum over a tab, it's time to rethink your life choices. Tabs are as fundamental to Kconfig files as oxygen is to humans. If you can't handle tabs, you have no business parsing kernel configurations.

    And let's not pretend this is some isolated incident. The whole tab vs. space saga is like a bad sitcom rerun from the '70s. Sure, 'make' might have its quirks, but that doesn't mean we should stoop to that level of incompetence.

    I'm tempted to flood our Kconfig files with tabs just to prove a point, but let's not make a mess where it's not needed. However, if this idiocy persists, don't be surprised if I start tabbing everything in sight.

    Let's get our priorities straight, people. We're building a kernel here, not babysitting fragile parsing tools. So let's fix this mess and move on to more important things.

    kill_dash_nine,

    “ok, now add a metric shit ton of swearing and further belittle parsers who can’t deal with tabs.”

    CaptDust,

    Listen up, if your parsing tool throws a tantrum over a tab, it’s time to rethink your life choices. Tabs are as fundamental to Kconfig files as oxygen is to humans. If you can’t handle tabs, you have no business parsing kernel configurations.

    Heh this is so succinctly scathing, but also dead on …

    Exec,
    @Exec@pawb.social avatar

    I’m tempted to flood our Kconfig files with tabs just to prove a point, but let’s not make a mess where it’s not needed. However, if this idiocy persists, don’t be surprised if I start tabbing everything in sight.

    This is genius.

    Gallardo994,

    I am more than sure that Linus wrote the original message as he would normally do, and then made it clean and pretty with an AI. Sometimes I resort to this option too.

    noahimesaka1873,
    @noahimesaka1873@lemmy.funami.tech avatar

    I tried it with Claude 3 Opus, even better:

    Alright, listen up you little shits. Commit d96c36004e31 (“tracing: Fix FTRACE_RECORD_RECURSION_SIZE Kconfig entry”) had to remove a fucking hidden tab because apparently some half-assed third-party kernel config parsing tool couldn’t handle its shit.

    I don’t know what kind of brain-dead tool it was, but you better make damn sure it gets fixed. Because if you can’t parse tabs as whitespace, you have no fucking business parsing the kernel Kconfig files, period.

    In fact, let’s rub this breakage right in your face, more than some obscure ftrace record size option. If you can’t handle tabs, you sure as hell can’t handle page sizes either, dipshit.

    Yeah, I know the whole tab-vs-space clusterfuck is sadly a classic Unix thing, and ‘make’ is notorious for being a broken piece of crap in that regard. But guess what? That doesn’t make it fucking okay, got it?

    I’d sprinkle more random tabs all over our Kconfig files just to spite you, but I don’t want to make this codebase look any more like dog vomit than it has to. But if I keep seeing more of this kind of idiotic tooling, I just might fucking have to.

    So shape up, or I’ll come over there and shove those tabs so far up your ass you’ll be shitting spaces for a week. Fuck!

    Aatube,

    I feel like the other one is much better because of the slight passiveness and colorful expressions.

    uis,

    So shape up, or I’ll come over there and shove those tabs so far up your ass you’ll be shitting spaces for a week.

    Hah.

    aport,

    This is amazing

    janNatan,

    Unconventional way to take acid, but I support him.

    rollmagma,

    Wow, super newsworthy. Even included some bs about “colorful language”. Can’t let a thing like that go by without trying to entice some internet drama.

    Buttermilk,
    @Buttermilk@lemmy.ml avatar

    “newsworthy”??

    Who said news? The mailing list is my k-drama

    BreakDecks,

    Kernel-drama, my favorite.

    qjkxbmwvz,

    It’s from Phoronix. This is kinda what they do. It’s not worthy of the front page of the Wall Street Journal, but then, no one said it was…

    possiblylinux127,

    They are kind of known for not being all that clickbaity. They just report on Linux and benchmark stuff

    ososalsosal,
    @ososalsosal@aussie.zone avatar

    I’m here for Linus zingers tho?

    JoYo,
    @JoYo@lemmy.ml avatar

    these days i think the only reason people want open source is to air the dirty laundry of software development

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