Should stringop/array warnings move from -Wall to -Wextra?
Debate continues on whether certain GCC warnings about string and array operations should be moved from `-Wall` to `-Wextra` due to high false-positive rates.
The ongoing discussion centers on moving certain middle-end string and array operation warnings from the -Wall flag to -Wextra in GCC. The rationale is that these warnings, while sometimes useful, generate a high number of false positives, causing more annoyance than help for developers. Moving them to -Wextra would keep them available for those who want them, while reducing noise for the average user. The suggestion is seen as a reasonable intermediate step.
- proposer
Suggests moving string and array operation warnings to -Wextra as a reasonable intermediate step.
“It seems to be a reasonable, if intermediate step.”
- other
Prefers keeping the warnings at least in -Wextra, noting their usefulness in C and the stricter nature of modern languages.
“I sometimes find them useful (in C, C++ might be affected differently). I also observe that people invent entirely new languages which are much stricter and which fail hard for things which would be considered false positives, so keeping them at least in -Wextra would seem appropriate to me.”
Technical Tradeoffs
- Reducing false positives in `-Wall` by moving less reliable warnings to `-Wextra`.
- Potentially hiding real issues from developers who rely solely on `-Wall`.
- Maintaining a balance between comprehensive warnings and a clean build process.
In Details
GCC's -Wall flag enables a set of commonly useful warnings. Some middle-end warnings (e.g., those emitted during IPA or tree-SSA passes related to string and array operations) have a high false positive rate. Moving them to -Wextra would still allow developers to enable them, but avoid the noise for those expecting -Wall to be relatively quiet. The discussion hinges on which warning flags are 'essential'.
For Context
Compilers can be configured to emit warnings about potentially problematic code. GCC uses flags like -Wall to enable groups of warnings. Some warnings related to how strings and arrays are handled can be overly sensitive, flagging code that is actually safe. This discussion is about whether these more noisy warnings should be moved to a different flag (-Wextra) so that new projects are not burdened with them by default. This creates a trade-off between catching potential errors and overwhelming developers with false alarms.