Re: [Qemu-devel] [PATCH for-2.9 34/47] qapi: Move empty doc section checking to doc parser

[Markus Armbruster]

Eric Blake <address@hidden> writes:

> On 03/13/2017 01:23 AM, Markus Armbruster wrote:
>> Markus Armbruster <address@hidden> writes:
>> 
>>> Results in a more precise error location, but the real reason is
>>> emptying out check_docs() step by step.
>>>
>>> Signed-off-by: Markus Armbruster <address@hidden>
>> 
>> Perhaps we should simply drop this error condition.  Are empty sections
>> this a mistake users make accidentally?
>
> Parse error; did you mean "empty sections _like_ this"?

Yes.

> I'm okay with keeping the error; especially if we can't guarantee that
> the generator copes gracefully with an empty section (different than an
> omitted section).

We'd have to verify it does.

>                    On the other hand, even if we remove the error,
> you're probably right that anyone proposing a patch for incorporation
> that adds an empty section will have to explain themselves, whether or
> not the parser flagged it, and if the error is cheap to maintain in the
> parser, then it saves some review cycles.

The patch adds two methods and changes three existing ones just to catch
empty sections.  I can't help to ask: why bother?