- Kernel Janitor Project - Compiler Cleanups

Hi folks:

In my delusional attempt to contribute to the Linux Kernel, I have chosen the "clean up compiler warnings" item from the Kernel Janitors list. This cleanup applies to base 2.4.18.

To expose the warnings, all one needs to do is change the CC defination from "gcc" to "gcc -w" in the toplevel Makefile.

The typical warnings exposed are:
signed vs unsigned comparison
unsigned compared to negative constant
unused parameters
unused variables
missing initializers

While there has been some limited discussion (thanks Keith Owens) regarding if GCC is doing the right thing wrt initializing structures, the fact remains that if GCC is emitting a warning, then I did what I could to squash it. I am usign GCC v2.95.3 as distributed with Slackware 8.0.

This patch touches a LOT of different files in the include, kernel, drivers/block, drivers/acpi, and drivers/char directories and while the changes should be benign, you are advised to handle with care.

This patch is a work in progress so expect more in the future from me. I am releasing what I have now for commentary and if necessary, course correction. PLEASE be gentle in the commentary as this is my first major contribution to the kernel.

The patch, at 42k gzip'ed, is sitting on my webserver:
http://www.rongage.org/2.4.18-rg1-diff.gz

Thanks!

Ron Gage - Saginaw, MI
([email protected])

Hi Ron.

I seem to remember somewhere that CC should always be defined to be just the name of the executable, and any flags should be defined in CFLAGS rather than in CC itself. Memory says that in some circumstances, make can do the wrong thing if this rule isn't followed.

Perhaps somebody can confirm this?

Best wishes from Riley.